What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? OCD is a mental illness consisting of obsessive thoughts, ideas and impulses, repetitive behaviors and mental rituals.It is popularly known as anxiety and obsession.
Obsession. What is (Obsession)?
Thoughts, feelings, images and images that come to our minds involuntarily, disturb us and that we cannot prevent from coming to our minds.
What is Compulsion? ?
These are behaviors or mental rituals performed repeatedly to reduce the anxiety caused by disturbing thoughts.
These may also be visible behaviors; cleaning, washing, etc.
There may also be mental rituals; such as counting numbers, praying.
The duration of these rituals aimed at reducing distress gradually increases and they begin to take up most of the obsessive patient's time.
We may all have small obsessions and simple rituals, but our daily life, social, When it starts to affect life and work life, we can now call it a disease.
Most of us experience disturbing thoughts and involuntary thoughts. We can also say that this rate is over 80%. For example, our minds immediately create negative disaster scenarios about a relative we call several times a day and cannot reach. Or, tapping our ears and hitting the board/wall while talking about a sad subject is a ritual that most of us do.
The distinguishing point here is one; We pay attention to or believe disturbing thoughts. Two; These thoughts and behaviors affect daily life, social life, relationships and business life.
For example; When a mother comes to the thought of "I might harm my child", she pays attention to this thought and tries to get rid of this thought, and over time, if she becomes afraid of the thought itself and begins to remove all the cutting tools in the house and take precautions to avoid being alone with her child, this behavior is no longer normal and has reached the level of a disease.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Types
Cleaning, Pollution, Contamination Obsession; Obsessive thought that if you touch something, your body or clothes will become contaminated with dirt, germs, or viruses. and behaviors such as washing hands, taking a bath, or constantly washing clothes to get rid of the troubles caused by these obsessive thoughts.
Doubt Obsession; The person doubts his behavior, such as unplugging the iron or turning off the gas (doubt obsession), and checks it again and again to make sure (checking compulsion).For example, a 40-year-old man thinks that he did not close the door of his workplace and repeatedly checks it. He comes and checks.
Sexual Obsessions; Sexual thoughts about relatives or people around them occur. He/she is disturbed by these thoughts and shows escape and avoidance behaviors. For example, a 35-year-old man thinks that he is having sexual intercourse with all the women around him whenever he sees them. He cannot get rid of this thought, feels intense distress and begins to avoid women.
Religious Obsessions; It is seen in people with intense religious beliefs. He is disturbed by the thoughts or images that come to his mind during worship. These thoughts that conflict with his beliefs cause him to experience intense distress. For example, during prayer, thoughts or sexual images that contradict his beliefs come to his mind (obsession). The person is disturbed by this and stops praying and performs ablution (compulsion) again. This behavior, which is comforting at first, is repeated for increasingly longer periods of time and to a level that becomes disturbing.
What are the Causes of OCD?
What are the Causes of OCD? There are various factors that cause OCD. OCD is one of the most biologically powerful diseases. It is common in first-degree relatives of patients with OCD, so it can be said that genetic transmission is effective. In addition to the genetic aspect, the learned aspect is also strong. People whose personality traits are meticulous, disciplined, perfectionist, and normative are considered to be close to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It may cause the development of OCD in childhood in people who were exposed to severe trauma such as sexual abuse in childhood.
Is OCD Treated? How Is OCD Treated?
Is OCD Treated? How Is OCD Treated? In the past, non-obsessive compulsive disorder was called "cancer of the soul". This is undoubtedly a name used to show that treatment is very difficult. However, with the recently developed therapy methods, it can be said that it is among the diseases that respond to treatment to a great extent.
During therapy, first of all, the areas where OCD affects the patient's life are determined in detail. Basic fears, automatic thoughts, basic beliefs are discovered.
Sample question; for someone with a contamination obsession;
“What are you afraid of what will happen if you touch this? What is the worst thing that can happen?”
The behavioral model is conveyed very well and exposure techniques are primarily done in the least distressed area of the therapy room.
As a result, OCD is not detected during therapy. The patient learns that; It's not the thoughts that come to people's minds that make them sick. All kinds of thoughts come to people's minds. What is important is the precautions we take against these thoughts. The more you wash your hands, the more you show the behavior of checking what you are suspicious of, that is, the more often you do the behavior, the more often you will fall into the clutches of the disease.
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