People naturally want to make sense of everything that happens around them and in their inner world. No one wants to be in a situation that they cannot understand or understand. Life becomes even more difficult, especially if there are 'nonsensical' thoughts going around in our heads, thoughts that we cannot tell anyone about, thoughts that embarrass us or make us extremely anxious. The person cannot make sense of this situation. Even worse, he cannot share his problems with anyone. This disorder, called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as 'Obsession-Compulsive Disorder' in Turkish, is actually a sign that there is something wrong in our inner world.
Almost all of us may have such mild thoughts. Some of us count the stairs, some of us don't step on the lines on the floor, some always skip a certain step, while others constantly wonder whether they locked the door or not.
This is the persistent existence of a thought or feeling that cannot be removed from consciousness with logical effort. They are symbols or impulses that come to the person's mind involuntarily, make the person anxious, are foreign to the ego, cannot be removed by willpower even though the person knows that these are nonsense, repeat stubbornly, and stick to the person's mind like gum. It is against logic and views.
Such obsessive thoughts do not go away by banishing them from the mind. It literally takes its power from your resistance. In other words, the more you resist these thoughts, the stronger these thoughts respond. Therefore, people feel under a grip. No matter what he does, he can't get rid of these thoughts. He feels obliged to exhibit certain behaviors in order to neutralize these thoughts, that is, to get rid of the anxiety caused by these thoughts. These behaviors are called compulsions. For example; Even though he locks the door, he constantly thinks about whether he locked the door or not. Therefore, there is only one way to get rid of this anxiety; Go and check the door. This behavior, even if unintentional, may necessarily happen many times. However, when he checks the door, he gets rid of this anxiety, but the same thought appears next to him again.
Another example; When a person touches something he knows is clean, he thinks his hands are dirty (obsession). feeling the need to wash hands many times, passionately washing hands many times; Like a person having to repeat his ablution many times (compulsion) because of thoughts of blasphemy against God (obsession) while performing ablution. The person forces himself not to think of his obsessions or to make compulsive movements; But as you force it, unwanted thoughts come again, unwanted actions are made again and again.
YOU CANNOT CONTROL EVERYTHING
Most people with such thoughts have an overly controlling view. They are extremely detailed when doing a job and want everything to be perfect. They are very meticulous and organized. They seek perfection in the work they do. For these people, who are overly normative and controlling, it is a disaster if the events or planned work are not as perfect as they want. Its rules are extremely strict and its moral values are punitive with no flexibility.
These obsessive thoughts hit the person right where he is most moral and normative. It captures the religious person in prayer, and appears in the mind of a person who has no hesitation about loyalty to his spouse as sexual fantasies about various women. In a person known for his fondness for his mother, it may appear as a fear of killing his mother. All these thoughts cause the person extreme pain. And again the same vicious circle; resisting thoughts, and the more you resist, the stronger your thoughts become.
Obsessive Compulsive disorder is a disorder that incredibly reduces a person's quality of life. It is sad that some people are afraid to share these 'ridiculous' thoughts with others. Because they are afraid of being labeled 'crazy'.
The patient cannot accept these; He finds it contrary to his logic, views, sense of morality and beliefs. He tries to get rid of these thoughts. But trying to throw away any thought inevitably means keeping that thought alive in the head. It increases with effort, becomes more frequent, and the patient becomes very depressed. Obsession-compulsive disorder is generally a chronic, persistent (stubborn) disease. At first, patients try to hide their obsessions and compulsions. Try not to show these things because they find them meaningless and unnecessary. They flow. They think they can beat it with their own efforts. After years of trying, they consult a doctor. As the symptoms increase and spread, the patient's life becomes limited, his productivity decreases, those around him become fed up, and only in such a case do they consult a physician. By the time they see a doctor, most of them have become chronic. If a disorder such as panic or depression occurs, it may be earlier to consult a physician. As obsessions and compulsions increase, the patient's adaptation deteriorates; He can't mind his business. He cannot maintain healthy relationships with his environment.
SYMPTOMS
1. Repetitive and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that sometimes appear to be forced and unwanted, causing significant anxiety or distress in most people.
2.The person tries to ignore or suppress these thoughts, impulses, or images, or attempts to unburden them with another thought or action (by fulfilling a compulsion).
3.In reaction to the person's obsession or in rigid Repetitive behaviors (e.g., washing hands, arranging, monitoring) or mental actions (e.g., saying religious words, counting, repeating words silently) that one feels as if one is somehow forced to follow rules.
4. These behaviors or mental acts are performed for the purpose of preventing or reducing anxiety or distress or to avoid a feared event or situation; but these behaviors or mental acts are not realistically related to the situations they are designed to relieve or protect against, or are clearly excessive. Note: Young children may not be able to articulate the purpose of their behaviors or mental acts.
5. Obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (e.g., take up more than an hour a day) or cause clinically significant distress or social, work-related problems. It causes a decrease in functionality in areas or other important areas of functionality.
6. Obsession-compulsive symptoms cannot be attributed to the physiological effects of a substance (a substance that can be abused, a drug) or another health condition.
7 .The disturbance is not better explained by symptoms of another mental disorder (e.g., excessive preoccupations, body image disturbances, as in generalized anxiety disorder). Excessive preoccupation with appearance, as in � disorder; Difficulty in disposing of possessions or cutting ties with them, as in hoarding disorder; pulling out one's hair, as in trichotillomania [hair-pulling disorder]; picking one's skin, as in skin picking disorder; stereotyped behavior, as in stereotypic behavior disorder; ritualistic eating behavior, as in eating disorders; preoccupation with drugs or gambling, as in substance-related and addictive disorders; Preoccupation with thinking that you have an illness, as in illness anxiety disorder; sexual urges or fantasies, as in sexual perversion disorders; impulses, as in disruptive disorders, impulse control and conduct disorders; preoccupations with guilt, as in major depressive disorder; Thought intrusions or delusional preoccupations, as in the case of schizophrenia and other disorders with psychosis, or repetitive behavior patterns, as in the disorder in the autism spectrum).
Intruder of the brain: Obsession[]
Obsession is one of the characteristics of the human mind per enemy. A thought or a dream comes to our mind, sits there and never gets up. No matter what we do, that thought or dream is there. The head stays stuck in the same place like a broken record. Franks call obsession obsession. Obsession can also be translated into Turkish with the word obsession. If we give a clear definition, obsession or obsession is:
1-Unwanted,
2-Disturbing,
3-Repetitive and constant thought, impulse or dream.
It is contaminated to some people. He feels the need to go and clean himself. Some people worry that they will harm their child. Some people cannot get rid of the sinful thoughts floating around in their minds. Examples can be multiplied. If you pay attention, these thoughts, impulses and dreams always come unintentionally, are distressing and repetitive.
We call the actions that a person does in line with his obsession and cannot stop himself as compulsions. Although compulsion is translated into Turkish with the word 'compulsion', this word probably does not mean much to people whose native language is Turkish. However, until a better word is coined, avoid using the words compulsion or compulsion. We have no choice.
So, for example, thinking that one is dirty is an obsession, and going and washing one's hands is a compulsion. Not being able to prevent swearing at God is an obsession, and repenting is a compulsion. Thinking about picking up your child and throwing him out the window is an obsession, and staying away from the window edges is a compulsion.
In summary, compulsions are behaviors (or mental actions such as praying, etc.) that:
1- They are performed in response to obsession.
2- The person cannot stop himself from doing these behaviors.
3-It is repetitive. (Hands are washed many times, the floor or socket is constantly checked, seven or multiples of seven are said astaghfurullah.)
4-It is generally applied strictly, even with ceremonial strictness. (A certain number of hands are washed in a certain way, a certain number of repentance is made, the socket is checked and the date and time are noted in the notebook.)
Many readers who looked at the examples above probably said, "Oh, I have this obsession too." Yes, most people have many obsessions, large and small. But in order to say that a person is 'obsessive', the obsessions must be disturbing. We all have a mother, brother, neighbor, or friend around us who quickly gets disgusted with everything and washes their hands frequently. Are all of these people sick? Of course not. But, as seen in the examples I gave, if obsession causes pain to the person or harms his work, strength, school success, or human relations, then there is an 'obsession disease'. Obsession disease is called obsessive-compulsive disorder in scientific language.
Various Types of Obsession
We can summarize the obsessions we frequently see as follows:
1-Contamination obsessions: Fear of contamination by substances such as dirt, germs, semen, urine...
2-Doubt obsessions: Whether he closed the door, pulled the plug, performed the prayer correctly, etc. not being sure.
3-Illness obsessions about our body: Not being able to get rid of the feeling of having a fatal disease.
4-Order and symmetry obsessions: Being extremely disturbed by the fact that things are not orderly and symmetrical. Feeling uneasy when the ironing line on your trousers is not razor sharp...
5-Aggression obsessions: “Would I throw my child out the window? Attacks women
Read: 0
