OCD Flashcards
How are people with ocd
The lives of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are dominated by repetitive acts and thoughts. Obsessions are persistent intrusions of unwelcome thoughts, images, or impulses that elicit anxiety. Compulsions are irresistible urges to carry out certain acts or rituals that reduce anxiety. Obsessive thoughts are often linked with compulsive acts, eg. thoughts of lurking germs, which lead to the compulsion to wash eating utensils many times before using them. Regardless of whether the repetitive element is a thought (obsession) or an act (compulsion), the central feature of the disorder is the subjective experience of loss of control. The victims struggle mightily to rid themselves of the troublesome thoughts or resist performing the repetitive acts but are unable to do so.
More on people with ocd
It is not uncommon for people to have persistently recurring thoughts and urges to perform ritualistic behaviours. But for people with OCD, such thoughts and acts occupy so much time that they seriously interfere with daily life. These individuals recognize their thoughts as irrational and repugnant but are unable to ignore or suppress them. They realize the senselessness of their compulsive behavior but become anxious when they try to resist their compulsions, and feel a release of tension once the acts are carried out.
Obsessive thoughts
Obsessive thoughts cover a variety of topics, but most often they are concerned with causing harm to oneself or others, fear of contamination, and doubt that a completed task has been accomplished satisfactorily (Hewlett, 2000). The content of obsessions change with the times. In earlier days, obsessive thoughts about religion and sex were common, but these are less frequent today.
Some people with OCD have intrusive thoughts without engaging in repetitious acts, however the majority of OCD patients have both
Compulsions
Compulsions take a variety of forms, of which the two most common are washing and checking (Foa & Steketee, 1989). “Washers” feel contaminated when exposed to certain objects or thoughts and spend hours performing washing and cleaning rituals. “Checkers” check doors, lights, ovens, or the accuracy of a completed task 10, 20, or 100 times or repeat ritualistic acts over and over again. They believe that their actions will prevent future “ disaster” or punishment.
Rituals
Sometimes these rituals are related to the anxiety-evoking obsession in a direct way, eg. repeatedly checking to see if the stove is turned off to avoid a possible fire. Other rituals are not rationally related to the obsession, eg. dressing and undressing in order to prevent one’s spouse from having an accident. The common theme behind all these repetitive behaviours is doubt. OC individuals cannot trust their senses or their judgment. They cannot trust their eyes, even though they see no dirt, or really believe that the door is locked.
OCD evoked by and related to
OCDs are related to phobic disorders in that both involve severe anxiety and both may appear in the same patient. However, there are important differences. Phobic patients seldom ruminate about their fears, nor do they show ritualistic compulsive behavior. The two disorders are evoked by different stimuli. Dirt, germs and harm to others, seldom cause major problems for phobic individuals.
When does ocd begin
OCD often begins at a young age (Foa & Franklin, 2001). It tends to be chronic if left untreated. Obsessive thoughts are very distressing, and engaging in compulsive behaviours can take a great deal of time and be highly maladaptive, eg. washing one’s hands so often that they bleed. People with OCD are quite psychologically impaired.
UNDERSTANDING OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Considerable research evidence suggests that OCD may have biological causes. Some family research suggests that disordered genes may play a role in determining who is vulnerable to OCD (Hettema et al., 2001; Nestadt et al., 2000).
Most of the biological research on OCD has focused on a critical circuit of the brain. People with OCD may have deficiencies in the neurotransmitter serotonin in the area of the brain that regulate primitive impulses about sex, violence and cleanliness – impulses that are often the focus of obsessions (Baxter, Schwartz, Bergman, & Szuba, 1992).
More understanding of ocd
Primitive impulses may break through into consciousness and motivate the execution of stereotyped behaviours much more often in people with OCD than in normal people.
As with panic disorder, however, people may go on to develop a full OCD only if they also have certain cognitive and behavioral vulnerabilities in addition to a biological vulnerability.Cognitive and behavioural theories suggest that people with OCD have more trouble “turning off” intrusive thoughts because they have a tendency toward rigid moralistic thinking (Rachman, 1993). They are more likely to judge negative, intrusive thoughts as unacceptable, and they become more anxious and guilty about these thoughts.
This anxiety then makes it even harder to dismiss the thought (Clark & de Silva, 1985). People with OCD may also believe that they should be able to control all thoughts and have trouble accepting the fact that everyone has negative thoughts occasionally (Clark & Purdon, 1993).
Understanding ocd part 3
They tend to believe that having these thoughts means they are going crazy, or they equate having the thought with actually engaging in the behavior. Of course, this just makes them even more anxious when they have such thoughts, because it’s harder to dismiss them.Compulsions may develop when the obsessional person discovers that some behavior temporarily quells the obsession and the anxiety it arouses. This reduction in anxiety reinforces the behavior, and a compulsion is born – every time the person has the obsession, he feels compelled to engage in the behavior to reduce the anxiety. What recommends the cognitive and behavioural perspectives on OCD is the success/helpfulness of their therapies in treating patients, unlike psychodynamic approaches.According to psychoanalytic theories, obsessions are unacceptable impulses (hostility, destructiveness, inappropriate sexual urges) that have been repressed and reappear in a disguised form. The individual feels that they are not part of himself and may engage in compulsive acts to undo or atone for them.
Examples of ocd
A mother who is obsessed with thoughts of murdering her child may feel compelled to check many times during the night to assure herself that the child is well. Compulsive rituals also serve to keep threatening impulses out of the individual’s conscious awareness: A person who is continually busy has little opportunity to think improper thoughts or commit improper actions.
