Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

As Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) begins mainly in childhood, it really becomes hard to detect the symptoms of OCD. This is because kids become adept and hence hide their behavior easily. It is easy for a child to follow the rituals (compulsions) arising due to obsessions for months’ or even years without even giving a simple glimpse of it to parents. Furthermore, the child can also follow the ritual at school and not at home and hence, the parents might think that their child is quite normal and will term it just as a normal phase. The causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder are mainly neurobiological.

It is observed that depression accompanies Obsessive-compulsive disorder and can also either intensify or wither the pre-occupied obsessions. You recognize the senselessness and irrationality of your behavior and thoughts and become irritated (and depressed) because of your inability to harness them.

The two major symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder are obsessions and compulsions. It is not that you will see both of them together. In majority of cases, a person, having OCD only has obsessions of certain types but shows no signs of compulsions. We will see how each of these together forms the core part of OCD.

Obsessions: These are recurring thoughts, ideas, impulses or images, which bear no sense but still haunt the mind. For instance, thoughts of hurting others, images of violence, fears of leaving the stove or lights on or leaving the door unlocked are obsessions, which a person might have. You know that these fears or thoughts are not rational and hence you try to avoid them. However, they remain in your mind for days, months or even for longer periods. These images or thoughts are not simply additional worries about real-life problems but in fact bear no relevance in the real life.

Compulsions: To get rid of the anxiety that arises out of your obsession, you carry out a number of rituals. These are known as compulsions. For instance, washing hands repeatedly to get rid of dirt to remain clean, checking the stove numerous times to see whether it is turned off.

You understand that these things are not needed but still you compel yourself to execute them to get rid of the anxiety arising out of your particular obsession (remaining safe or hygienic). Checking, counting, washing are some of the major compulsions.

Men are known to be good checkers whereas women tend to be more hygienic. That is, the compulsions such as checking of doors numerous times to avoid robbery are mostly evident in men whereas the intensity of washing hands numerous times to stay clean is found in women.

So the next time you touch any doorknob watch out for the number of times you wash your hands and see whether you have developed Obsessive Compulsive disorder. If you have already been doing this, then you don’t need to worry as OCD can be easily treated. The treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder mainly includes relaxation training, exposure and response prevention and even medication.