Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Problem That’s No Joke

Do you know someone who likes to organize things and goes around saying they have OCD? Or someone who cleans the house every day and also labels themselves that way? It turns out that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a serious problem and one that deserves to be discussed in a much more thoughtful way than you might think. Discover the characteristics of OCD, its truths and its myths.

Content index:

Types of OCD

A frequent doubt regarding OCD is about the existence of different types for this disease. Psychologist Carlos Vieira (CRP 08/26916) clarifies that these types are characterized from the behavior of the person who suffers from the disorder.

Check/Verification

According to Carlos, the individual who suffers from this type of OCD feels the need to, before leaving home in the morning, check if the stove is really off or if the sink faucet is turned off, for example.

“He can turn the stove on and off burner by burner over and over again with certain patterns – the first burner turns on and off four times, the second only once, the third seven times. In the case of the faucet, the person arrives at the car and suspects that the water in the sink is dripping (but it is not). She comes back, checks the sink, opens and closes it more than once, checks the water register…” she says.

This can all result in a delay of at least half an hour and prevent the person from arriving on time for an appointment.

Contamination

This type of OCD is based on an illusion that everything a person touches or eats may contain germs.

According to the psychologist, she can go to a restaurant and not get the food because she is sure there is contamination. In this case, she prefers not to eat properly.

of relationships

Carlos talks about recent research that confirms the existence of a new type of OCD: that of relationships.

“The disorder can affect the romantic relationship in a way that the individual doubts the commitment or love of the other, even having constant evidence that there is consideration, affection, respect on the part of the partner”.

All of this may seem like overkill to you, but for OCD sufferers, these are situations over which you have no control.

Signals and symptons

According to Carlos, OCD is an anxiety disorder. “Its symptoms involve recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions/thoughts) that make a person perform tasks and rituals (compulsions/actions) systematically”, says the professional.

The biggest problem of OCD does not necessarily fall on the quirks that the individual must exercise, but on the consequences of not complying with them. This can lead to a need for self-punishment.

The person may think: “If I don’t do a certain task, my parents will die in 3 hours. If I think of such a thing, my car will overturn on the way home and hit defenseless people. These thoughts are almost always accompanied by anxiety”, emphasizes Carlos.

That is, the symptoms of OCD basically occur in an attempt to alleviate an anguish or anxiety crisis through a series of rituals that, most of the time, interfere with the routine.

Causes

There are still no studies that prove the causes of OCD, according to the psychologist. It is only known that there are some factors that can influence the picture:

• fragile family structure
• Strong religious influence (in the sense of believing that for bad behavior there is always a divine punishment)
• Extremely stressful lifestyle
• traumatic situations
• Changes in the level of serotonin (neurotransmitter responsible for controlling anxiety).

Risk factors

Studies on risk factors for OCD are also inconclusive. What is known is that there is a chance that there is a strong link between the development of the disorder and family history.

OCD affects men and women in the same proportion and tends to develop in childhood or early adolescence. However, Carlos points out that there are, indeed, cases in which the disorder appears only in adult life.

Diagnosis

According to Carlos, the diagnosis of OCD should be performed by a competent professional in clinical psychology or a physician (usually psychiatrists). For diagnosis from psychotherapy, there are three forms of occurrence:

• Prior diagnosis by a physician and referral to a psychologist to confirm the condition;
• Patient’s complaints regarding intrusive behaviors and thoughts that may come to characterize OCD;
• Other distinct complaints and, during a long analysis process, identify the possibility of the occurrence of OCD.

In any case, it is extremely important that the patient does not diagnose himself and, if there is any suspicion, that he resort to a professional in the field of psychology or psychiatry.

treatments

Because it is a disorder that affects individuals in very different ways, the treatment of OCD depends on each case.

Therapy

According to Carlos, psychological support can be very valuable for people who suffer from OCD, as it is a practice that allows human beings to reflect on this problem.

Therapy sessions can help us to deal with the symptoms of the disorder, to understand them, to accept them. This can considerably reduce the anxiety attacks resulting from this disease.

Medicines

As OCD affects serotonin levels, the drugs indicated in the treatment of OCD are, in general, antidepressants.

“The drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, usually the same ones used in depression. They are the only ones that work”, says Carlos.

In addition to these two forms of treatment, it is of great advantage that each patient looks for ways to relieve the tension caused by the disease, but without leaving professional follow-up aside. Artistic or physical activities can act to reduce anxiety.

Living with OCD

Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is quite delicate for those who suffer from this problem. The routine can be broken at any time by a ritual that must be followed, which causes delays and extreme anxiety attacks.

But that’s not all: OCD symptoms tend to interfere not only in the lives of those who suffer, but also of those who live with diagnosed people.

Understanding is essential for the patient to be able to deal with this problem. Therefore, it is very important that everyone frees themselves from the stereotypes that label this serious disorder, which is nothing to joke about.

“In cases of disorders such as obsessive-compulsive, bipolar, panic and even depression, if there is a commitment from family and friends to avoid a prejudiced or neglectful look, and, mainly, to support the person during treatment, the chances of progress increase”, warns psychologist Carlos Vieira.

Depositions

Check out three anonymous testimonials from people who suffer from OCD. In them, it is easy to visualize the troubled routine and how difficult it is to deal with anxiety:

“Every time I drove somewhere far away, which took at least 10 minutes, I would shuffle a playlist on my car stereo. The thing is, I need to get to my final destination before three songs. If I played the third song and didn’t get to the place, I would redo the course from scratch and put on other songs before arriving at a third. In order for me to arrive on time, I ran a lot, overtakes and even crossed red lights. If I didn’t ‘obey’ this command, I felt that my week would be compromised and all my weekdays would be bad. It wasn’t easy, I always liked listening to music in the car, but after a while of therapy, the solution slowly emerged and today I rarely have this behavior. And if I do, the only punitive effect on myself is that I get irritated. An advance for those who have already retraced the route twice to a certain destination.”

“When I started my sex life, I was having safe sex and my girlfriend was taking birth control regularly, I had never forgotten it. One day I was in my college class and I got a text from her at 8 am. She said she was feeling sick and that’s why she didn’t leave the house. I was upset, I knew we had had sex two days before and I thought she might be pregnant. I walked out of class just five minutes after it started. When I got home, I Googled pregnancy symptoms in several languages, I saw probably more than twenty pages in each language, I looked up different combinations… I remember spending a whole morning and afternoon literally sitting in front of the computer researching and reading about this and yet my anxiety would not go away. If I didn’t, I felt like my girlfriend was really going to be pregnant and the way to avoid it was if I read and researched a lot on the subject. I knew there was something different about me a few years ago, but I never cared what it was. After that episode, I realized I needed help. I went to a GP and he recommended a psychologist, and after a while I was diagnosed with OCD. I have been in therapy and on medication ever since.”

“I can’t pay attention in my college classes, even though they are subjects I like. After about 20 minutes of class, I go to the last pages of the notebook and make lists of all kinds: songs I like, movies I like, I make up discographies in order of albums that don’t exist. Anxiety won’t leave me alone if I don’t. These behaviors even make classes go by much faster, but I almost never take advantage of them.”

To be sure, OCD is a very serious problem that cannot be clothed in stereotypes. A difficult coexistence like this needs to be discussed more carefully. Do you have any questions regarding this disorder? Perhaps it is possible to resolve it.

Common questions

What is myth and what is true when it comes to OCD? There are many doubts regarding this disorder, which must be clarified to demystify several points about this very recurrent disease, but not taken seriously.

1. Is OCD curable?

According to Carlos, no. “But there are a variety of treatments with excellent results within psychology and medicine that can lead to a considerable decrease in symptoms,” he says.

2. Can organization and/or cleanliness mania characterize OCD?

It’s not a rule. Enjoying cleaning and organizing the house is not necessarily a problem and there is no reason to label yourself as a disorder.

This becomes worrying, according to Carlos, when mania is accompanied by a fear of unrealistic punishment and/or a great deal of anxiety if the person does not perform these activities.

“A person without OCD would be happy to complete these tasks, while someone with OCD would not, even after performing them over and over again, in many different ways and for a long time,” says the professional.

3. Is it possible to live with OCD without medication? And without psychological support?

“The absence of medication will depend on each specific case. Currently, there are more and more cases of people who are resistant to medications. Be for…