ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Signs And Symptoms

Updated on June 6, 2014

What Is OCD?


Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), is obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors so unpleasant that they complicate your daily life. It's rational on occasion to go back and verify that the stove is turned off or your door is locked. But when these compulsions start dictating your life it becomes an obsession.

If you have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder you may feel ostracized, not to mention helpless and ashamed. You are not alone. In the United States, one in 50 adults have OCD, and twice that many have had it at some point in their lives.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable thoughts with recurrent ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to act out almost continuously. People with OCD recognize their obsessive compulsive behaviors as being irrational. The problem is they cannot resist doing them. That is why they are called compulsions.


Obsessions are distressful feelings of fear, disgust, and the need to manage things.  Even things you have no control over. Compulsions are not gratifying, the rituals are preformed to gain relief from the recurrent obsessions.

Symptoms Of OCD:

  • Checking doors/windows repeatedly
  • Washing your hands excessively
  • Thoughts you might hurt someone
  • Picking at your skin or other areas- This goes by the name trichotillmonia
  • Impulse to shout in inappropriate places- Mild tics
  • Intrusive images that are disturbing
  • Excessive worrying
  • Hoarding
  • Revulsion of body waste
  • Superstitious fears
  • The need for symmetry and order
  • Mental rituals to distract obsessive thinking

It is not uncommon for people with OCD to share difficulty with daily activities, such as tardiness, perfectionism, procrastination, indecision, discouragement and family upsets.

Routinely, compulsions are performed in an attempt to make obsessions go away. For example, if you are afraid of contamination, you might develop elaborate cleaning rituals. Unfortunately though, the relief never lasts. Or you may may have a counting ritual to stop a washing compulsion.

OCD Is Treatable

You don't have to hide in a bubble
You don't have to hide in a bubble

There Is Hope

Most people with obsessive-compulsive disorder usually fit into following categories:

Washers are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions. They will wash their hands up to 50 times a day.

Checkers. Repeatedly check things they associate with harm or danger. Such as repeatedly checking to make sure a door is locked.

Doubters and sinners. Are afraid that if everything is not just right or done perfectly something bad is going to happen and they will be punished.

Counters and arrangers. Are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements. Everything needs to be in particular order.

Hoarders cannot throw anything away without fearing something bad will happen.They compulsively hoard things they have no use for. Even when they know it is a piece of trash, it has a use for them.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder can cause enormous distress, it can take up a lot of time, and interfere with your daily life, job, or relationships. It consumes hours and hours out of the day.

Many doctors use a tool called Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders to diagnose obsessive compulsive disorder. Other ways to diagnose OCD is an examination of current symptoms, family history, symptoms take up more than 1 hour a day or interfere with work, home and relationships. About 80% of people who suffer from OCD usually experience depression in some capacity or another.

Treatment usually includes behavioral therapy and medication. The therapy goal is to identify the obsessions and compulsions. Then the therapist starts Exposure ritual/response prevention (ERP) . Which includes being exposed to objects or situations that trigger the fear and anxiety, but averts you from engaging in the compulsive behavior.

Medications prescribed might include antidepressants. About 70% of people with OCD respond remarkably well to antidepressant medication, and about 40% experience a partial reduction of their OCD symptoms.

Some of the medications used to treat OCD are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Luvox and Anafranil. As with any medication, it commonly takes 8-12 weeks to feel the affect. Your doctor may increase the dosage over that time period to make sure you are getting the correct dosage.

Although there is no cure for obsessive-compulsive disorder, blending the two therapies, it is feasible to have alleviation of OCD symptoms and live a normal life.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)