Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD PPO

Question 1

behavioural

Answer 1

ways in which people act

Question 2

emotional

Answer 2

related to a person’s feelings or mood

Question 3

cognitive

Answer 3

refers to the process of ‘knowing’, including thinking, reasoning, remembering, believing

Question 4

DSM-5 categories of OCD

Answer 4

OCD is recognised with a range of related disorders that all have repetitive behaviour and obsessive thinking:
OCD both obsessions and compulsions
Trichotillomania compulsive hair pulling
Hoarding disorder compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything
* Excoriation disorder compulsive skin picking

Question 5

behavioural characteristics of OCD

Answer 5

Compulsions are repetitive
Need to repeat a behaviour
* Handwashing
* Counting
* Praying
* tidying/ordering

Compulsions reduce anxiety
* 10% of people with OCD show compulsive behaviour alone
* But for the majority compulsive behaviours are done to manage anxiety
* Compulsive hand washing is to fight fear of germs
* Compulsive checking is a response to always feeling unsafe

avoidance
* Keep away from situations that trigger anxiety
* People with fears of germs may avoid putting bins out

Question 6

emotional characteristics of OCD

Answer 6

Anxiety and distress
* Unpleasant emotional experience because of powerful anxiety
* Obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening

Accompanying depression
* Anxiety can be accompanied with low mood and lack of enjoyment of activities
* Compulsive behaviours bring temporary relief

Guilt and disgust
* Irrational guilt
* Eg over moral issues
* Disgust directed at something eternal like dirt

Question 7

cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 7

Plagued with obsessive thoughts but do adopt cognitive strategies to cope

Obsessive thoughts