“I need to go back home and check if I locked the door, although I checked twice before leaving”
“Did I turn off the stove? Let me make sure AGAIN”
“I feel like I need to shower again. I just feel like there is something sticky on my body”
You probably know up till now that I am talking about OCD here. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a grave psychological mental illness which has the power to disrupt an individual’s regular life and make that person a slave to his/ her intrusive and recurrent thoughts.
It is of utmost importance to understand the dynamics of this illness. The name itself reflects two dimensions: compulsion and obsession. Compulsive acts are performed in response to obsessive thinking patterns. This obsessive thought process tends to cause anxiety in an individual, and to dampen this anxiety these afflicted people resort to performing rituals which become their compulsive acts. For instance, someone who frequently has thoughts about the safety of his house will repeatedly check if the doors are locked or if the stove is off.
The most common forms of OCD that we witness are related to germs and contamination; order and symmetry. However, there is a wide range of spectrum of these other forms of OCD which include repetitive sexual thoughts, hoarding behavior, constantly worried for one’s life, preoccupied with thoughts about one’s body. Living with OCD can greatly take a toll on an individual’s life and even confine them within the four walls of their houses. The suffering afflicted due to OCD should not be undermined, and it is our responsibility to show compassion to such individuals and take them to a therapist for the treatment.
What causes OCD?
The causes of OCD range from biomedical to cognitive and behavioral to psychodynamic. When we consider the biomedical branch, it has been analyzed in some studies that OCD can be genetically transmitted and genes like DRD4 and PTRD implicated with SLITRK3 play a role in developing OCD.
Oxytocin dysfunction can also cause OCD because although it is a love hormone it can increase fear of any stimuli hence posing a threat to survival. Brain abnormalities also offer an explanation of a potential reason behind OCD as problematic functioning of basal ganglia along with orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus results in constant “something is wrong” signals being sent to the brain.
Secondly, we see that OCD comprises cognitive behaviors and obsessive compulsions; therefore, cognitive theory suggests that the faulty thinking patterns due to schemas of life can lead to OCD. This explanation states the role of operant conditioning, where an enforcer makes a person repeat an action. The person suffering from OCD perceives his/her compulsive behavior as a positive reinforcer (these acts are negative reinforcers too) as these rituals assists in reducing his/her anxiety and makes him/her feel rewarded, albeit temporarily. The following example can better help you understand this element of operant conditioning: Someone who fears germs and contamination feels rewarded by frequently washing his/her hands which further acts as a positive reinforcement.
Thirdly, the father of psychology, Sigmund Freud, proposed his psychodynamic theory as an explanation to OCD. (Fun fact: Freud had been such a controversial figure that a lot of psychologists burned midnight oil and came up with their theories just to prove Freud wrong). The psychodynamic theory suggests symptoms of OCD appear as a result of a clash between ID and superego within ourselves, which rises mostly in the anal stage of a psychosexual development of a child. The obsessive thoughts usually stem from the ID part which disturbs the rational and responsible ego within ourselves, and this leads to rituals of tidying, cleaning, and checking etc. During the toilet training phase of a child, parents often try to control their child’s urinating or defecating patterns, but a child will fight to gain control so either he/she will retain the urine/feces or soil themselves leading to anally expulsive or anally retentive behavior.
OCD can sink its rapacious teeth so deeply into the lives of people that they start questioning their survival and become ominous, melancholic, depressed and anxious. All these things fuse together to further exacerbate this illness. People can end up losing their employment, social life, schooling and education, and can indulge into substance and drugs usage. However, it is vital to help out these individuals and refer them to a therapist.
Just like our body, our brain needs care too. So, make sure you do not leave your loved ones or yourself combating through this alone.
Is There a Beacon of Hope?
Although OCD cannot be completely cured, these advance times and proper identification of causes behind OCD can open up doors to numerous treatment plans which can enable the affected people to live their lives to a degree closer to normality. There are SSRI medicines, Cognitive Behavioral Therapies and Exposure and Response Prevention therapies that can greatly assist in making lives of these individuals a bit easy.
It is okay to ask for help. Be there for yourself and those you love.
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