Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment

Do you often double or even triple check frequently? Do you often forget to lock the door when leaving for work?

While these are very normal behaviours that many people often face in their daily lives, they can also indicate the presence of a serious condition: obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This is especially true when you tend to repeat specific tasks excessively. Read on to learn more about this health issue and possible treatments.

What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is a health condition characterized by a pattern of unwanted obsessions, including fears and thoughts. This results in repetitive behaviours, also known as compulsions. People with this disorder might experience considerable distress that can disrupt their daily lives.

Perhaps you would make an attempt to stop or ignore obsessions. However, this would increase the severity of anxiety and distress. These symptoms might keep occurring more frequently, causing vicious cycles of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Causes and Risk Factors for OCD

The exact triggers of OCD have not fully understood yet. However, some studies have suggested several theories. This condition can be a direct result of variation in our brain functions or natural chemistry.

In addition, a few genetic factors would also be associated with this health issue, but particular genes have not been identified. Compulsive behaviours and obsessions can also be learned from other family members over time.

Some risk factors might increase the risk of triggering or developing OCD. These include family history, stressful events, and some related mental health problems.

How is OCD Diagnosed?

To start diagnosing OCD, your doctor might start with a psychological exam. This process involves describing your behaviour patterns, symptoms, feelings, and thoughts to find out whether your compulsions or obsessions would disrupt your daily lives.

Based on the provided information, some physical or lab tests can also be conducted to determine associated conditions or measure the levels of severity.

Since the symptoms of OCD are relatively similar to those of other mental issues, such as depression, anxiety disorders, or anxiety, it can be challenging to diagnose this condition. Therefore, make sure to provide honest and detailed answers for a more precise assessment.

OCD Symptoms

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder often experience both compulsions and obsessions. However, it is possible to have one of these two conditions.

1. Obsession signs

Obsessions in OCD are unwanted, persistent, or repetitive behaviours or thoughts that can lead to many mental issues. Some typical examples include the fear of mess, problem with symmetry or orderly, obsessive thoughts of harming yourself, trouble dealing with uncertainty, unwanted desires of sexual topics

2. Compulsion signs

Compulsions are basically repetitive behaviours that force you to do. In some cases, they can be a temporary relief from your obsessions. However, when these signs occur too often, they can disrupt your daily lives. For instance, you might feel the urge to follow a routine, count numbers, washing your hands, and demand security.

OCD Treatments

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment option for OCD. The goal is to show you how to face your fears and alleviate mental issues without obsessions. This technique typically focuses on minimizing catastrophic or exaggerated thoughts that usually happen in people with OCD.

You might need to visit a psychologist to start this treatment. It requires a lot of commitment and time to see improvements.

Exposure and Response Prevention

In exposure and response prevention or ERP, the therapist will expose people with OCD to those elements that they obsess or fear over. As a result, these patients can learn some coping strategies to deal with symptoms.

Therapy sessions would consist of group, family, or one-on-one sessions. Professional guidance is necessary, especially in more serious cases.

Imaginal Exposure

Several doctors apply imaginal exposure to treat OCD. This technique makes use of short narratives to stimulate common situations which trigger anxiety and obsessions. The final goal is to help them get used to the triggers and manage the symptoms.

Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation considered a more ‘last resort’ treatment for anxiety. This option is ideal for adults over 18 years old. During this process, the doctor will attach electrodes within some brain areas to control abnormal impulses.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy is a process that sends minor electrical currents through the brain to trigger a brief seizure. This is proved to change your brain chemistry and help reverse OCD symptoms. While it is a safe option, there might be still some side effects and risks.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic stimulation

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can be a treatment option for adults with OCD when traditional techniques do not work. This process is noninvasive and stimulates brain cells with magnetic fields. As a result, obsessive symptoms and convulsions can be improved over time.

Get in touch today

OCD is a common health issue that would disrupt your daily lives. Therefore, proper treatments are important to prevent obsessive thoughts and convulsions behaviours. If you are looking for a professional service for OCD treatment, then do not hesitate to call us.

With a team of experienced and qualified experts, we can guarantee to provide you with the most effective techniques and methods to manage symptoms and speed up recovery.