Article by: Ariana Ebrahimi
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a mental disorder that interferes with everyday life by forcing people who have it to obtain excessive thoughts that lead to repetitive behaviors. This disorder can be treated, but not cured. It is treated by talk therapy, or in some cases, medication depending on your diagnosis(you do have to be diagnosed).
This disorder is chronic, meaning it lasts for years or could be lifelong. Symptoms of the disorder include being afraid of other people’s germs or giving other people your germs, losing control of your thought process and accidentally hurting someone you don’t mean to hurt, being too religious or strictly following morals, having violent or sexual thoughts, and hoarding things. Usually people who have OCD have constant panic attacks when they are put in a situation where they need to make a choice.
Sometimes, OCD leads to anorexia, which is an eating disorder or it leads to depression or constant fear. People with OCD also have nightmares, and they overthink everything. OCD is very common, almost 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with OCD every year.
Ways that OCD can be treated or helped are by all these therapies: Support group, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Aversion therapy, Psychoeducation, Rational emotive behavior therapy, Exposure and response prevention, Psychotherapy, Systematic desensitization, and Group psychotherapy. Medications that can be used are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI), Anxiolytic, and Antidepressant. Specialists that could help these people are Clinical psychologist and Psychiatrist. If you know someone with OCD, encourage them to start taking therapy or help them find a treatment that suits their needs.