OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS OF THIS DISORDER': According to Eric Hollander, the American Psychiatric Associationclassifies Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as an anxiety disorderbecause obsessions and attempts to resist compulsions are often linked withanxiety, the performance of compulsive acts often relieves anxiety andbecause other anxiety disorders, such as phobias, often occur along withOCD (1993). This categorization, however, is rather controversial, for sometherapists argue that the fear and anxiety that persons with OCD experienceare of a different nature than those that occur in phobias or generalizedanxiety disorder. Moreover, giving in to a compulsion does not necessarily More than ninety percent of those with OCD have both obsessions andcompulsions, although some are troubled more by one than by the other.Obsessions are intrusive, irrational ideas that repeatedly well up in aperson's mind and they can take different forms, ranging fromthoughts associated with household problems to even images of doing bodilyharm to another person. The person affected with OCD usually knows thatsuch obsessions are irrational and knows that they will
as a therapy for OCD" (Robins, 1984, 354). WHAT IS THE ACCEPTED TREATMENT FOR OCD': Behavioral therapy and medication have proved equally helpful intreating OCD. Through thisinformation, I now understand how to help my grandmother with her disorder,not to mention how to cope with it myself when I visit her at her home. Sometimesthey share the same obsessions and compulsions. Other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors will probably proveuseful as well. Among the techniques that have proved most helpful for OCD issystematic desensitization. WHAT IS THE PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT': For myself, this assignment has shed some much-needed light on theObsessive-Compulsive Disorder which affects my grandmother. Once thought to be relatively rare, OCD is actually more common thanmany better-known psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and anorexianervosa. Robins describes it as a "severe, chronic, biologicallyrooted syndrome associated with abnormalities in the basal ganglia regionof the brain" (1984, 352). Individuals often suffer from both OCD and major depression, and those witheither disorder often exhibit similar abnormalities in sleep patterns andhormonal activity and experience similar symptoms, such as guilt,indecisiveness, low self-esteem, anxiety and exhaustion. Also, supportive psychotherapy can educate individuals andfamily members about OCD, boost morale and self-confidence, enhanceoptimism and improve compliance with prescribed treatments. Some persons choose behavioral therapy because they wish to avoidthe side effects that may accompany medication. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), inthe course of a lifetime, two to three percent of the population developOCD and as many as four million Americans may be affected (Robins, 1984,350). Others prefer medicationbecause they do not have the time or energy for the demands of behavioraltherapy.
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