Understanding OCD
Understanding O.C.D.
Obsessive -compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, common and long-term disorder where a person has these uncontrollable thoughts and fears that reoccur and behaviors that they feel the absolute urge to repeat over and over. The thoughts are the obsessions that the person deals with and then the behaviors are the compulsions that they need to repeat. These ideas interfere with everyday life and can cause a lot of distress to the person. The person who suffers with OCD can try and stop the repetitive behavior but that just leads to anxious thoughts and more of doing the same behavior even more. People who try to tamp down these urges find themselves performing more compulsive acts trying to ease the stress that they feel. The urges continue to come back and become more of a ritualistic behavior and creates a very vicious cycle.
OCD can center around certain themes that create rituals to avoid those themes. Most people think of the obsession of hand-washing when they think of OCD. This is just an example but most are centered around a fear of some type. A lot of people feel ashamed and embarrassed about this disorder because it overtakes their life. Repeated, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts cause a lot of anxiety and depression. People can try to ignore or get rid of the compulsions on their own but it often doesn’t work and they need outside help. Rules, regulations, and rituals are created by people with OCD and can vary from person to person. OCD can start in childhood but it usually presents in young adulthood. It can start off small and increase in severity as people grow older if they don’t seek help with their disorder. The severity varies between people and they need to see a doctor to help with this disorder.
My OCD goes back to late teenage years and as I have gotten older it has increased in the severity of it. I am on medication for my OCD and I have gone to therapy to come up with ways to cope with my issues and they have helped tremendously. If you think you are suffering with OCD, please see a professional to help you deal with it because I know just how hard it is and how difficult every day can be.