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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder in which individuals have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, and/or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do an action repetitively (compulsions). These repetitive behaviors can include hand washing, checking, cleaning, ordering, organizing, collecting, counting, hoarding, or  mental compulsions (e.g. special words or prayers repeated in a set manner). These cause significant interference with their daily activities, home life, work, and social interactions.

There are many people without OCD who have repetitive behaviors or distressing thoughts. But, for many people these thoughts and behaviors do not disrupt their daily life. People who have OCD, thoughts are persistent, and behaviors are rigid – they cannot be changed. If the person does not perform the behaviors commonly cause a great deal of distress. Those who have OCD know or suspect their obsessions are not realistic. However, others may think they could be true. People with OCD have difficulty stopping and ending the obsessive thoughts and stopping the compulsive actions.

Obsessions

Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that cause distressing emotions such as anxiety or disgust. Many people with OCD recognize that the thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of their mind and are excessive or unreasonable. However, the distress caused by these intrusive thoughts cannot be resolved by logic or reasoning. Most people with OCD try to ease the distress of the obsessions with compulsions, ignore or suppress the obsessions, or distract themselves with other activities.

Typical obsessions:

  • Fear of getting contaminated by people or the environment
  • Disturbing sexual thoughts or images
  • Fear of blurting out obscenities or insults
  • Extreme concern with order, symmetry, or precision
  • Recurrent intrusive thoughts of sounds, images, words, or numbers
  • Fear of losing or discarding something important

Compulsions

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. The behaviors typically prevent or reduce a person’s distress related to an obsession. Compulsions may be excessive responses that are directly relate to an obsession (such as excessive hand washing due to the fear of contamination) or actions that are completely unrelated to the obsession. In the most severe cases, a constant repetition of rituals may fill the day, making a normal routine impossible.

Typical compulsions:

  • Excessive or ritualized hand washing, showering, brushing teeth, or toileting
  • Repeated cleaning of household objects
  • Ordering or arranging things in a particular way
  • Repeatedly checking locks, switches, or appliances
  • Constantly seeking approval or reassurance
  • Repeated counting to a certain number

OCD Treatments and Therapies

Pill bottle opened

Medications

Medications are useful for helping with the symptoms of OCD and are often prescribed in conjunction with other therapies. Medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), typicall used to treat depression, can be effective in the treatment of OCD. Other psychiatric medications can also be effective. Noticeable benefit usually takes six to twelve weeks. Dr. Singareddy and his team have the experience and knowledge to find the right medication and supplement it with other therapies in order to best give you help with depression.

TMS

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation treatment uses a magnetic field emitted by BrainsWay’s H7-coil to directly reach broader and deeper brain regions, TMS stimulation regulates the neural activity of brain structures associated with OCD – specifically the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex. TMS is a non-invasive procedure, which means most people well-tolerate it and have no side effects. It does not require a significant recovery period, and the 20-min treatment can easily be integrated into each patient’s day-to-day schedule.

man on couch covering his face

Therapy

Therapy for OCD mainly focuses on the thoughts, feelings, behavior and physical reactions linked to OCD, while helping patients become less anxious in reaction to them. Dr. Ravi Singareddy and his team tailors the therapy to your specific symptoms and diagnosis. Most of the time therapy is combined with medication or other treatments. This multiple area of treatment approach helps provide relief quicker and in a way to provide robust results for those looking for help with Obessive-complusive disorder.

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