FREE ESSAY ON OCD

OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an illness that traps people in endless cycles of
repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). Although we all have habits
and routines that help us organize our daily lives, people with OCD develop patterns of
behavior that take up too much time and interfere with their daily lives. Obsessions are
unwanted and intrusive ideas, images and impulses that run through the person's mind over
and over again. Sometimes these thoughts come only once in a while and are only mildly
annoying, but at other times the thoughts come constantly and cause great distress. A
compulsion is a behavior that is performed on purpose in response to an obsession. People
perform these compulsive behaviors according to rules they make up themselves to try to
control the nervous feelings that come along with the obsessive thoughts. Sometimes
compulsive behaviors are called rituals. For example, a person may have a profound fear
of germs and spend hours washing his or her hands after using a public toilet. Rituals
like this do make the nervous feelings go away, but usually only for a short while. Then
fear and discomfort return, and the person repeats the routine all over again. Most
people with OCD know that their obsessions and compulsions are ridiculous and make no
sense, but they can't ignore them. Most people with OCD experience common obsessions such
as: fear of dirt, germs, or contamination, fear of harming a family member or friend,
concern with order, symmetry (balance) and exactness, worry that a task has been done
poorly, even when the person knows this is not true. Also fear of thinking evil or sinful
thoughts, and A constant need for reassurance are common obsessions. What Causes OCD? OCD
may be connected with an imbalance in a brain chemical called serotonin. Serotonin serves
as a bridge in sending nerve impulses from one nerve cell to the next, and in regulating
repetitive behaviors. The great improvement that people have when they take certain
medicines makes this idea more believable. How can OCD be treated? Behavioral therapy can
be used to lessen unwanted compulsions. First, people are exposed to the situations that
produce obsessions and anxiety, and then they are encouraged to resist performing the
rituals that usually help control the anxiety. Over time and with practice, OCD symptoms
gradually go away. The person with OCD must really want to use this method, though, to be
able to tolerate the high levels of anxiety that result. Finally, family therapy is a way
to educate the relatives of a person with OCD about their part in the recovery process,
and how to deal with their own feelings of frustration and unhap