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What is OCD?
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is an anxiety disorder that a growing body of research links to a chemical imbalance in the brain. A unique feature of OCD is that
sufferers are aware that their behaviors are irrational, yet are still powerless to stop them.
What are some of the symptoms of OCD?
Generally, OCD symptoms are unwanted behaviors and/or thoughts that occur at least several times a day.
These include the following:
Checking switches, doors, locks, stoves, etc. repeatedly
Counting throughout the day, silently or out loud, while performing normal tasks
Feeling compelled to do certain things a specific number of times
Arranging things in an extremely orderly way, a way that often makes no sense to anyone except the OCD sufferer
Being haunted by pictures, words, or phrases (sometimes disturbing,sometimes nonsensical) that refuse to go away
Being held in a constant state of anxiety by "what if..." questions
Hoarding of objects with (usually) no apparent value
Fearing contamination; obsession with germs and cleanliness
If untreated, these symptoms can take up a larger and larger percentage of a sufferer's waking hours.
1. If I have any symptoms, does it mean that I have OCD?
The degree to which the symptoms manifest themselves makes all the difference.
Interference with thinking, reasoning, and functioning, or affecting family, work, or other relationships is an indicator that treatment might be appropriate.
2. Does everyone with OCD have obsessions and compulsions?
Approximately 80 percent of people with OCD have
identifiable obsessions and compulsions.
3. What are the chances that children of OCD sufferers will have OCD themselves? In general, ten percent of the relatives of people with OCD have the disorder, and
another five to ten percent have mild OCD symptoms. The risk of having a child with OCD depends on whether the parent has childhood-onset vs. adult-onset OCD, as
there is a higher risk of genetic transmission with a parent who had childhood-onset
OCD. If both parents have OCD, the risk is doubled.
4. What is the best treatment for OCD?
The treatments for OCDdrug therapy and behavior therapyare most effective when used together. Behavior therapies include Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and exposure-and-response prevention methods. Medications prescribed for OCD are typically SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors): , Prozac1, Paxil2, and Zoloft3, as well as the tricyclic Anafranil4. But, overall, no one treatment can
guarantee success.
5. How common is OCD?
OCD afflicts as many as five million Americans, or one in fifty. The disorder is not limited to North Americait afflicts men, women, and children uniformly, and is
found in people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds, from Sweden to China to Sudan.
6. Is OCD just a fad diagnosis?
No. Cases of OCD have been documented throughout the centuries. However, the secretive, sometimes internal nature of OCD has kept many sufferers away from doctors and other health care professionals. Now, since effective treatments have been developed, more people have come forward with their symptoms or have been diagnosed by clinicians who are better equipped to recognize the disorder.
1 Prozac is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly.
2 Paxil is a registered trademark of SmithKline Beecham.
3 Zoloft is a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc.
4 Anafranil is a registered trademark of Basel Pharmaceuticals.
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