Atypical psychology

Question 1

ICD criteria for a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Answer 1

are the presence of recurrent, obsessional thoughts or compulsive acts:
* Obsessional thoughts are:
* Ideas, images, or impulses that enter the person’s mind again and again in a stereotyped form.
* Almost invariably distressing, and the person often tries, unsuccessfully, to resist them.
* Recognized as the person’s own thoughts, even if they are involuntary or repugnant.
Compulsive acts or rituals are:
* Stereotyped behaviours that are repeated again and again.
* Not inherently enjoyable, nor do they result in the completion of inherently useful tasks.
* Performed to prevent some objectively unlikely event, often involving harm to, or caused by,
the person, which he or she fears might otherwise occur.
* Usually recognized by the person as pointless or ineffectual and repeated attempts are made
to resist them.
* Anxiety is almost invariably present; if compulsive acts are resisted the anxiety gets
worse