Today we are going to talk about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a chronic anxiety disorder that affects millions of people in the United States. After a brief introduction to anxiety disorders, we will examine the criteria for a diagnosis of OCD, the distinction between obsessions and compulsions, and common tactics to relieve these anxieties in your daily life.
Everyone gets anxious sometimes. Whether you feel butterflies in your stomach before an important interview or get too sweaty around someone you are attracted to, anxiety is often a normal process, but can act as a massive roadblock for individuals who worry excessively. These persistent fears can inhibit performance, cripple relationships, and stand in the way of your happiness. Some anxiety disorders can even take over your life if you are not careful, and few groups are more at risk than those diagnosed with OCD.
OCD is a life-long anxiety disorder that instigates unwanted, repetitive thoughts and behaviors. You may have seen habitual actions in movies like The Aviator and Rain Man, but OCD is not just a series of strange rituals. For an individual to be diagnosed with OCD, they must have either recurrent impulses, called obsessions, or repetitive acts, called compulsions. While you do not need both, many individuals with OCD demonstrate obsessions and compulsions together in their daily lives.
Why do individuals with OCD have these repeated thoughts or perform these rituals? Often, they do it to attempt to gain control of whatever is causing their anxiety. Their fears may be nonexistent or irrational to someone without the disorder, but individuals with OCD struggle to step away and view their fears from a different perspective. The subject of these anxieties can widely vary, but it almost always stimulates frequent and unwanted distress.
Most individuals with OCD are very aware of their condition, having struggled with repetitive thoughts and actions since adolescence or even birth. Over time, they may have developed their own strategies to cope with their condition, but these techniques do not prevent the disorder from worsening. For many, ritual behavior and complex schedules can provide temporary relief from their worries; however, anxieties can be accidentally strengthened by constantly trying to escape them. This structured lifestyle can also significantly restrict their ability to think clearly, work effectively, and operate in social settings. Alternatively, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven rather effective at addressing this chronic anxiety disorder, sporting a very high success rate among motivated patients. CBT aims to assess the individual’s fears, while establishing steps to challenge and overcome them.
If you are experiencing severe symptoms or struggling to navigate your daily life with OCD, seek help from a local Spokane health care professional. Reach out to Damaris through her contact page or calling 509-342-6592.
