OCD

Question 1

what is OCD

Answer 1

OCD is chararterised by either obsession (recurring thought, images e.t.c) and/or compulsions

Most people with a diagnosis of OCD have both obsessions and compulsions

Question 2

what is trichotilomania

Answer 2

compulsive hair pulling

Question 3

hoarding disorder

Answer 3

the compulsive gathering or possession and the inability to part with anything regardless of its value

Question 4

excoriation disorder

Answer 4

compulsive skin picking

Question 5

what are the behavioural characteristics of OCD

Answer 5

Compulsions

Avoidance

Question 6

what are the two elements of compulsions

Answer 6

compulsions are repetitive

compulsions reduce anxiety

Question 7

what do we mean when we say that compulsions are repetitive

Answer 7

typically sufferers of OCD feel compelled to repeat a behaviour.
A common example is hand washing
Other common repetitions include counting, praying and tidying/ ordering groups of objects as CD collections or containers in a food cupboard

Question 8

what do we mean when we say that compulsions reduce anxiety

Answer 8

around 10% of suffers of OCD show compulsive behaviour alone - they have no obsessions, just a general sense of irrational anxiety

However, for the vast majority, compulsive behaviours are performed in an attempt to manage the anxiety

Question 9

what are the emotional characteristics of OCD

Answer 9

anxiety and distress
obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening and the anxiety that goes with this is frightening, and anxiety that goes with these can be overwhelming.
The urge to repeat a behaviour (a compulsion) creates anxiety

guilt and distress
- irrational guilt e.g. over minor moral issues or disgust which may be directed against something external like dirt or at the self

Question 10

what are the cognitive characteristics of OCD

Answer 10

obsessive thoughts
e.g. impulses to hurt someone, worries of being contaminated by dirt and germs

cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions
- religious person tormented by obsessive guilt nay respond by praying/ mediating
This may help manage anxiety but can make the person appear abnormal to others and distract them from everyday tasks

insight into excessive anxiety
- people suffering from OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational - this os necessary for diagnosis of OCD id someone really believed their obsessive thought were based pon reality that would be a symptom of a quite different form of mental disorder