OCD Therapy

Question 1

Describe Anti-Depressants SSRI’S

Answer 1

• SSRI’S are a group of drugs that are used to reduce the
  anxiety experienced in OCD.
  -These drugs are specifically designed to bind to the serotonin receptors of the post-synaptic neuron in order for the serotonin that has been released from the pre-synaptic neuron to remain
  available in the synaptic cleft for re-use.
  -This means that there is more serotonin available for use and this
  increases the activity of the serotonergic pathway.
• As low levels of serotonin activity are associated with
  anxiety, increasing this activity reduces the anxiety associated with OCD.

Question 2

A03 - Side Effects

Answer 2

Common side effects of SSRIs include nausea, drowsiness and weight gain.
- This included dizziness, over sedation and greater number of bone fractures from falling.
- Hence, SSRI’s may not be appropriate for every individual

Question 3

A03 - Ease

Answer 3

• Patients find drug therapy to be a quick and easy solution, compared to the average 20/30 sessions required for CBT, as well as the emotional effort of challenging one’s own thought processes. -
  
  • Further, the ease of use may lead to patients sticking to their therapy, and this may contribute to longer-term effectiveness.
    -Whilst this may temporarily improve a patient’s condition, drugs will only have an effect whilst they are being taken.
• As soon as a person stops taking the drugs the symptoms may reappear and their effectiveness ceases.

-Support for this comes from Maina et al (2001) who found that most patients relapse back to their symptoms within a few weeks of the stopping of their medication.
-Questioning the therapy’s use to enable an individual to overcome OCD.