Introduction to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

It has been reported that about seven million people in the United States suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD. This disease is sometimes accompanied by other disorders like eating or personality disorders. Willing Ways Islamabad is the best addiction treatment center in Islamabad. We can treat OCD and many other addiction diseases.

The disease has mainly two elements which are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are generally ideas, thoughts, or fears which strike the victim's mind, and he has no control over them. Obsession may be a fear of murder of his beloved ones. The victim knows that his beloved ones are safe and there is no danger, but an irrational fear or obsession drives him constantly to ensure the windows are closed. An OCD sufferer may have an irrational fear of germs. However, he knows that his hands are clean, but he is tempted to wash them, again and again, a hundred times a day.

The compulsions are associated with a very high level of anxiety. Compulsions are actions or rituals performed by the sufferer to alleviate or suppress obsessive thoughts.

OCD has been considered a sporadic disease for a long time. This was mainly because the actual sufferers did not want to disclose their symptoms due to the fear of embarrassment. A recent study shows that about seven million Americans suffer from this disease in the age group of 18 and 54, accounting for a little over 2 % of the total population.

OCD is a very chronic disorder. Without proper Obsessive Compulsive Disorder treatment, the symptoms may worsen. OCD may sometimes be very dangerous and severe. It has also been found that people suffering from OCD generally delay for years before obtaining the evaluation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

The presence of unwanted thoughts in a person's mind and subsequent actions that occur to prevent or suppress those thoughts is a kind of disease known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. It is generally an anxiety disorder in which the victim's mind is flooded with thoughts which are better known as obsessions. Obsessions may be of any kind, like fear of germs. People suffering from OCD try to eliminate their feelings by exhibiting specific behavior or compulsions. A person afraid of germs may end up washing his hands hundreds of times a day. A point to be noticed is that the victim knows very well that the obsessions are a product of his mind and have nothing to do with reality, but he has no control over them and is bound to have them.

People who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder generally encounter obsessive thoughts which cover their minds and which are irrational. These thoughts cause severe anxiety. To suppress the obsessions and relieve the anxiety, the sufferer performs some kinds of rituals or activities, which are referred to as compulsions, just because of the fact the victim is compelled to perform them. Some common obsessions that OCD victims come across are -

Some examples of obsessions

1. Victim fears harming family members or friends
2. The victim feels that objects are dirty and contaminated with germs
3. Fear of getting murdered
4. Intense fear of making the mistake
5. Fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts
6. Worry about the doors left unlocked or heaters left switched on
7. Constantly cleaning hands or hairs over and over again by fear of germs
8. Always concerned about the order of some items. Checking things again and again
9. Concern with exactness
10. Very worried about the perfection of something and checking it again and again

A common symptom of OCD is that the sufferers generally perform some compulsions in order to suppress the anxiety caused by the obsessions. For example, a person with obsessions about contamination may be compelled to perform repeated hand washing. People with OCD generally have an irrational fear that something terrible will happen if they fail to carry out their compulsions.