Obsessive Compulsive Disorders...

Talking about yet another compulsive disorder usually present in some individuals without them realizing, are obsessions. OCD's involves unwanted and disturbing thoughts, images or urges(obsessions) that intrudes an individual's mind causing a great deal of discomfort and anxiety which the individual tries to overcome by engaging in repetitive behavior or mental acts (compulsions).

It's a chronic and long-lasting disorder in which the person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over again.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, people with OCD's have symptom that may interfere with all aspect of their lives. Common symptoms of obsessions includes: Having things symmetrical or in perfect order, Fear of germs or contamination, unwanted forbidden or taboo thoughts involving sex, religion and harm and also Aggressive thoughts towards others or self. 

These obsessions come in the form of repeated thoughts urges or mental images that cause anxiety and when the sufferers are faced with these thoughts, they tend to behave in a certain way in response to such obsessive thoughts such as ordering and arranging things in a particular way, excessive cleaning and/or hand washing, repeatedly checking on things such as repeatedly checking to see of the door is locked or repeatedly checking on a loved one to ensure they are safe, or ensuring the oven has been turned off, compulsive counting, accumulating ''junk'' such as old newspapers, clothes or empty food containers.
It is good to emphasize that not all rituals or habits are compulsions as everyone double checks things sometimes but a person with OCD would generally:

• Spend at least 1 hour a day on these thoughts or behaviors
• Can't control his or her thoughts or behaviors even when those thoughts or behaviors are recognized as excessive
• Doesn't get pleasure when performing these rituals but may feel brief relief from the anxiety the thoughts cause.
• Experience significant problems in their daily life due to these thoughts or behaviors.

Motor tic are common with most individuals with OCD and these includes sudden,brief repetitive movements, such as eye blinking and other eye movements, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging and head or shoulder jerking. Common vocal tics include repetitive throat clearing, sniffing or grunting sounds.

Symptoms may come and go , ease over time or worsen and as a result of this, people with OCD may try to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their obsessions, or implore the use of alcohol or drugs to clam themselves.

Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, OCD causes the brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge, imagine going to check the door hinges over 20 times at night or washing your hands until they turn white and sometimes peel.. due to fear of getting infected. Sufferers fall into any of these categories:

Washers are afraid of contamination so they have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions.

Checkers repeated check things that they associate with danger such as the gas, door locks etc.

Doubters&Sinners are just afraid that if everything isn't perfect or done just right something terrible will happen or they will be punished.

Counters and arrangers are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers , colors or arrangements.

Hoarders fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away. they compulsively hoard things that they don't need or use and as such they live amidst clutters.

According to www.helpguide.org there are 3 tips aimed at enabling suffers to resist OCD rituals

• Tip 1 : Invest in Self care as it is believed that lifestyle can help sufferers manage their anxiety and function better. This can be achieved through exercising regularly as it aids in strengthening the  nervous system, helping the sufferers refocus their mind when these thoughts and compulsions arise. Staying connected to family and friends is also helpful as social isolation does nothing but aggravate OCD's. Getting enough rest is crucial  as this eliminates anxiety thus making it more easier for the suffer to keep their emotional balance and finally mastering the art of relaxation such as Mindful Meditations, yoga,deep breathing etc is ideal in managing the symptoms.

• Tip 2 : Learning to resist OCD Rituals as their elimination is one of the most powerful strategies aimed at fighting obsessions. These includes resisting the urge to avoid your fears as the more you avoid them, the scarier they feel. It is thus advisable to expose yourself to your OCD triggers, then try to resist or delay the urge to complete your relief-seeking compulsive ritual. It's a gradual process as overtime you may develop more self control over your obsessions. Another way you could learn to resist OCD rituals is by refocusing your attention to other things such as exercises, jogging, walking, listening to music, reading, surfing the web, gardening or whatever you may enjoy for at least 20 mins in order to delay the response to the urge. Finally anticipate OCD urges before they arise by creating a solid mental picture of your worry and speaking to your mindset.. ''The door is closed'', ''My loved one is safe'', ''I know the gas has been turned off''. etc and when the urge check arises later, you will know it's just an obsessive thought.

• Tip 3: Challenging Obsessive thoughts Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes the brain to get stuck on a particular anxiety-provoking thought and as such this tip involves monitoring your obsessive thoughts or worries and understanding the routines. 

Studies have shown that the most effectiveness treatment for OCD is the Cognitive-behavioral therapy and it involves two component namely:

- Exposure and Response prevention
-Cognitive therapy

While the former involves the deliberate exposure of the suffer to the obsessive thoughts, for example, a compulsive hand washer might be asked to touch the door handle in a public restroom and then be prevented from washing up or a suffer with a compulsion for arrangement/order might be made to watch their stuffs been rearranged in a different pattern and then prevented from rearranging them etc. As time goes on, the urge gradually begins to die down. According to www.helpguide.org ,exposure and prevention can actually ''retrain'' the brain, permanently reducing the occurrence of OCD symptoms.

It's important to note that in helping a loved one with OCD, the way we react to their symptoms can greatly impact on them and so we must avoid making personal criticisms, we must never scold them or harshly tell them to stop performing the rituals, we must never play along with their OCD rituals as helping with the rituals would only reinforce the behavior and above all we must learn to keep communications clear and positive.

Support the Person and not the Ritual!

For more information on these please log on to the National  Institute Of Mental Health website on www.nimh.nih.gov