Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder that expresses itself with repetitive, persistent and compulsive thoughts and or behaviors. Obsessions are uncontrolled thoughts, impulses or fantasies that come to consciousness spontaneously, are recurring and distressing, and that the person knows are absurd and wrong. Compulsions are ritual-like repetitive movements that are generally developed to get rid of the anxiety and distress caused by obsessive thoughts.
Compulsions temporarily stop the anxiety and anxiety caused by obsessions, but after a while, obsessive thoughts recur and the person feels the need to do the compulsive movements again. . This cycle causes loss of time and energy, prevents the person from doing his daily routine, damages family and friend relationships, and negatively affects his professional and social life.
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder know that their thoughts and obsessions are unreal and meaningless. However, it is not possible for them to overcome this situation.
What are the causes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
The causes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are divided into two main headings: structural and psycho-social.
Structural causes. Structural causes, also called biological, are thought to arise from the irregular and unbalanced release of some biochemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain. It has been proven that genetic factors are to some extent decisive in the release of transmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline, which have proven to be important in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Psycho-Social reasons. It is known that psycho-social causes, also called environmental causes, are related to experiences with high emotional burden and traumatic events during what we call critical developmental periods at early ages. If the obsessive and anxious behaviors of mothers, caregivers or other close people are reflected on the child at an early age, it paves the way for obsessive-compulsive disorder in the future. Obsessive compulsive disorder develops when psychological processes in childhood are conflicting in developmental terms and when the necessary responses to resolve these conflicts are not provided adequately and appropriately.
What are the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
The most common problems in OCD are contamination, contamination, sexual and religious obsessions. Common compulsions include checking, washing, counting, eating in a certain order, fixating on thoughts and or images, doing things in a certain order, the need to ask questions or confess, symmetry and order, and hoarding. People with OCD have contamination concerns about many substances, but the most common ones are urine, feces, semen, germs, dirt and similar substances. Even the thought of touching or contaminating places where these substances are assumed to be present can cause anxiety in people. A person cannot relax without washing the body part that he thinks is dirty, that is, the anxiety caused by contamination obsessions is tried to be relieved by the activation of cleaning compulsions. The most frequently washed area is hands.
Obsesions and compulsions cause a certain amount of time in a person's daily life to be wasted. The patient washes his hands at the sink and standing for hours. Bathing can become a ritual. It may take hours for the person to take a bath, and to avoid such distress and loss of time, he begins to bathe less and less frequently. However, the cleanliness of these people is generally limited to the symptoms of OCD and it is observed that they are generally not very clean and well-groomed.
Doubt obsessions are the most common obsessions. The person doubts whether he has closed the door, window, tap, electricity, stove and similar objects. For this reason, he feels extreme anxiety. This is followed by the emergence of checking compulsions. These checks can become rituals and sometimes last for hours.
People with OCD may also experience inappropriate sexual urges and homosexuality obsessions. In aggressive obsessions, thoughts of harming or killing one's own child, relatives, or others often manifest. Religious obsessions may have sexual and aggressive qualities. People with aggression, sexual and religious obsessions may develop intense feelings of guilt and depression symptoms after a while.
How is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder diagnosed?
OCD Diagnosis is made by evaluating the obsessions the person experiences and the compulsions he develops. Apart from this, there is no special laboratory or other test. Care should be taken regarding the differential diagnosis with some structural and biologically based psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, major depression and Gilles de la Tourette. Although Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is sometimes determinative, it should not be confused with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder as they are fundamentally different.
How is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder treated?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is treated with pharmacotherapy and various medications. While benefits can be obtained, very good results are also obtained from psychodynamic psychotherapies and behavioral cognitive psychotherapy. It is known that in some resistant cases, results can be achieved with the Electro Convulsive Therapy method, while surgical intervention is used in the psychosurgery method, known as a more radical approach to treatment.
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