Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Difficulties for the Family

While being a sufferer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be extraordinarily difficult, it can also be extremely frustrating for family members who share the same household as the sufferer. Take the case of Maggie whose mother suffers from OCD. Maggie is in her late fifties and her mother is 87. Although she has long left the family home, the shadow of her mother’s OCD hangs over her like a shroud. Every visit to her mother’s is fraught with frustration and anger. She either tries to keep her temper when her aging mother insists on doing things her way, which involves … Continue reading →

Living with a Person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Sharing a household with a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not easy. It is not uncommon for family members to believe that the sufferer is just “picky” and stubborn and therefore unnecessary arguments and stress results, not only for the co-habiter but for the sufferer as well. Fiona’s husband, Steve, had no idea that his wife had OCD. He had never heard of it. Yet when his wife checked the windows every night before going to bed, even when she knew some of them hadn’t even been opened, he complained. When she checked the dials on the oven … Continue reading →

Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria

This article follows on from previous discussions of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Large epidemiological studies of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) rate the prevalence of the condition at roughly 2.6% of the population. Like most anxiety disorders, OCD varies in intensity both from person to person, as well as over time. Hence a single individual may experience a waxing and waning of the condition over a lifetime, with periods of increased stress usually resulting in an increase in obsessive-compulsive activities. The DSM-IV-TR diagnostic guidelines require that a person satisfy all of the following criteria for an accurate diagnosis of this condition: A. Obsessions are … Continue reading →

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Causes and Treatment

Approximately 1 in 50 people suffer from this debilitating disorder to some degree, with the majority of sufferers being female. We all have doubts from time to time about whether we turned the iron off or not, and we may even take steps to check if we actually did switch the iron off. But why do some of us go on to develop this disorder and not others? One theory states that early life experiences may lead the sufferer to believe that some thoughts are unacceptable. This is common is households where discussions about sex are prohibited and the child … Continue reading →

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Origins

In its most extreme form, it is not uncommon for a person with OCD to also experience generalized anxiety disorder, recurrent panic attacks, debilitating avoidance of places and situations, as well as major depression. These are additional to the time-consuming and often distressing rituals which form the basic of this disorder. People with OCD fight a battle against themselves every day. Intrusive thoughts about impending disasters alternate with meaningless and repeated behaviors aimed at reducing the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts of doom. Sufferers of OCD are simply not able to stop either the recurrent thoughts or the associated compulsive … Continue reading →

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Symptoms and Behaviors

As noted in What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? this condition in its most severe form is one of the most distressing conditions of all mental illnesses. OCD varies in severity, but in it most serious form, the suffer will usually also suffer from generalized anxiety disorder (an all-pervasive, yet unspecific fear), panic attacks, avoidance of certain places and situations, together with major depression. The “obsessive” part of OCD refers to the constant stream of intrusive thoughts and images which bombard the sufferer’s mind, which despite the best attempts by the sufferer, are almost impossible to eliminate. The “compulsive” component of the … Continue reading →

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Kathleen cannot leave the house without repeatedly checking that she has locked the front door properly. She rattles the door over and over again to assure herself that the door is locked. She will start to leave the premises only to return up the front steps again to reassure herself that the door is, in fact, locked. She may repeat this more than once. Helen cannot bear to use a towel once it has already been used, even if it has only been used just once to wipe her own hands. It has to be replaced immediately. She also cannot … Continue reading →