Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) was first described by Esquiral in 1838. In the first period, it is evaluated in psychosis and depression depending on the culture. In the clinical picture, it was first mentioned by Freud in 1917. OCD is an integrated disorder that progresses with obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are repetitive, automatic and involuntary images that are difficult to control. People cannot prevent these thoughts from coming. Often the person is aware that thoughts are unrealistic and meaningless. Obsessions are so strong and repetitive in a person's life that the person has difficulty in fulfilling their daily tasks. They have problems in interpersonal relations, business life and social activities.
People diagnosed with OCD are people who postpone their work and have intense indecision during the day. At the same time, these people often have difficulty in trusting their memories. Common obsessions are: order, religion, cleanliness, fear of contamination, fear of not being able to control impulses, fear of not being able to control sexual impulses and body problems. Compulsions are behaviors done to relieve anxiety in obsessive thoughts. The person feels obliged to do this behavior and performs the action repetitively. The behavior is clearly exaggerated. Compulsions can occur not only in behavior but also mentally. The main purpose is to reduce the anxiety created by the obsession. In this disorder, the person believes that very bad disasters will happen to him if he does not perform the compulsion. Compulsions are not rational. The frequency of compulsions can be exaggerated. Some compulsion behaviors are as follows: Compulsion to wash hands in an exaggerated manner due to fear of contamination, counting up to a certain number in the mind when faced with an event or situation, or touching certain parts of the body a certain number of times. Behavior of checking 7 to 8 times to make sure the door is locked. In this disorder, the stop command signal is usually not sent to the brain. The person does not know where to stand while performing the behavior and thought. many people he can stop himself with this enough command, but there is no intuitive stasis in OCD.
OCD usually appears in adolescence before the age of 10. As an exception, there are data that it is seen in a 2-year-old child. Its incidence in the adult population is 1%. This rate is estimated to be higher today. Recent studies have found that OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder. While some studies state that there is no difference in incidence between men and women, some studies state that women develop OCD more than men. OCD is a lifelong chronic condition. A longitudinal study in 1950 found that only 20% of OCD patients fully recovered.
More than one third of people diagnosed with OCD have comorbidities. The most common disorders are depression and anxiety disorders. The causes of OCD are discussed under two headings, biological and psychosocial. In the biological part, genetic factor has an important place. In family longitudinal studies, OCD is seen in 35% of first-degree relatives of people diagnosed with OCD. In OCD, we can talk about 30-50% heredity. In brain imaging studies, intense blood flow and acceleration in metabolism are observed in the frontal lobe and caudate nucleus regions of the brain. Bilateral reduction is observed, especially in the caudar nucleus region. In the psychosocial part, the behavioral model states that compulsions are reinforced. Simply put, the behavior is reinforced because compulsions calm obsessions. Another model for obsessions states that obsessions are difficult to suppress. It is stated that the more people try to suppress the worrisome thought, the more the thought grows. In studies conducted with patients diagnosed with OCD, he stated that thinking about worrisome thoughts increases the belief in experiencing the worrisome event. Childhood traumas are seen as an important risk factor in the development of OCD.
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