OCD Flashcards
What is OCD?
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
OCD is a disorder that is heavily misunderstood and, as a result, is often misdiagnosed or completely ignored.
What are the two main components of OCD?
Obsessions
Compulsions
What are obsessions?
recurrent and persistent thoughts
What are compulsions?
repetitive behaviours
Why doe people with OCD carry out compulsions?
Often the person carries out the compulsions to get rid of the obsessions, but this only provides temporary relief. Not performing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety.
What are the DSM - 5 categories of OCD?
OCD
Trichotillomania
Hoarding disorder
Excoriation disorder
What is Trichotillomania?
compulsive hair-pulling
What is Hoarding disorder?
the compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything, regardless of its value.
What is Excoriation disorder?
compulsive skin-picking.
What is the cycle of OCD?
Repetitive behaviours, e.g. hand washing, checking, counting, are performed to reduce anxiety and to stop unwanted thoughts. However, performing these behaviours only provides short-term relief, while not performing these behaviours increases anxiety.
The perceived consequences of not carrying out certain behaviours is one of the causes of people becoming trapped in a cycle of unwanted thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?
Compulsions
Avoidance
What is the behavioural characteristic compulsions?
Compulsions are repetitive. Sufferers feel compelled to repeat a certain behaviours (eg. hand washing, counting, praying)
Compulsions reduce anxiety. Compulsions are performed in order to manage the anxiety produced by obsessions (eg. compulsive hand washing is a response to obsessive fear of germs).
What is the behavioural characteristic avoidance?
Avoidance may also be seen in OCD sufferers as a mechanism to reduce anxiety or stay away from situations that trigger it. For example, compulsive hand washers may avoid contact with germs.
Avoidance can interfere with leading a normal, healthy lifestyle as sufferers avoid more and more every day situations.
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?
Anxiety and distress
Depression
Guilt and disgust
What is the emotional characteristic anxiety and distress?
Powerful anxiety accompanies both obsessions and compulsions. The urge to repeat a behaviour causes anxiety, and the obsessive thoughts can be frightening.
What is the emotional characteristic depression?
OCD is often accompanied by depression, low mood, or lack of pleasure in doing things (anhedonia).
What is the emotional characteristic guilt and disgust?
Irrational guilt may be experienced, for example over minor moral issues, as well as disgust, eg. towards germs or oneself.
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?
Obsessive thoughts
Coping strategies
Insight
What is the cognitive characteristic obsessive thoughts?
Affect around 90% of OCD sufferers.
Sometimes known as ‘ruminations’, these vary from person to person and can include fears, moral debates, questions about gender and sexuality, or desires to hurt somebody.
What is the cognitive characteristic coping strategies?
These may help to manage anxiety but can make the person seem abnormal to others and distract them from everyday tasks.
For example, a religious person tormented by excessive guilt may respond by praying or meditating.
What is the cognitive characteristic insight?
Sufferers are largely aware that their behaviours and thoughts are irrational.
In spite of their understanding, sufferers still experience immensely distressing thoughts about what might happen if their worst case scenario and anxieties are justified.
