Obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by excessive thoughts
and unreasonable fears that lead to repetitive behaviors.
Here we will discuss the most common symptoms
of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Let's read it carefully!
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| What are the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)? |
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by frequent, undesirable, intrusive, suspicious
thoughts and fears (obsessions) or impulses, and intense incentives to do
compulsive behaviors in an attempt to reduce the anxiety caused by the
obsessive behaviors.
Obsessive-compulsive
behaviors cause great distress and affect school performance in children and
relationships.
One of the OCD
conditions is that there are some people who just systematize things or misuse
them as a way of describing those people. But if you have an actual condition
that is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, then you might assume that your
obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational but still, you feel
unable to oppose them and break free.
OCD does not usually happen suddenly, the OCD causes the brain to stumble over a particular thought or insistence.
For example, you can
check the stove 20 times to make sure it is actually closed, or wash your hands
until they are raw.
While you do not get any
sense of bliss from doing these repetitive behaviors, they can provide some
relief for some of the problems caused by obsessive thoughts.
You can try to avoid
situations that trigger or spoil your symptoms or self-medication with alcohol
or drugs.
But it seems that there
is nothing to avoid your passion and compulsion, you can do a lot of things to
help yourself and control your thoughts and actions.
Symptoms can be
triggered by personal distress, abuse, or something negative that affects you
like the death of a loved one.
The obsessive-compulsive disorder usually begins during adolescence or young adulthood; Young children
sometimes have symptoms that look like OCD.
It is more likely that
if your family members have OCD or other mental health disorders such as
depression or anxiety.
However, the symptoms of
other disorders such as ADHD, Tourette's syndrome and autism can also look like
an obsessive-compulsive disorder, so before any diagnosis, a complete medical
and a psychological examination is necessary.
Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Common obsessive views
in OCD include:
- High focus on moral thoughts, and superstitions
- Feeling lucky or unlucky and paying too much attention
- Fear of losing something or not getting objects you want
- Fear of not doing control and harming others
- Fear of contamination with microbes or dirt and germs
- Infiltrating sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images
- The idea that everything must be in the right symmetry and correct order
Common
compulsive behaviors in OCD are:
- Spending lots of time cleaning or washing
- Collecting old newspapers or empty food containers such as "junk"
- Tapping, counting, or repeating some particular words, or doing other stupid things to reduce anxiety
- Organizing or ordering things "just so"
- Checking the loved ones, again and again, to ensure that they are safe
- Extra double-checking of things like locks, switches, and tools
Read here:
1. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
2. Brain Training App Helps Reduce Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
1. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
2. Brain Training App Helps Reduce Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Symptoms of OCD in children
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder symptoms usually appear gradually, but most children can hide their
symptoms initially.
Children are
often obsessed with worries and fears of being harmed, such as catching a fatal
disease or injury to them or others, and feel compelled to do something to
balance or to neutralize their concerns and fears. For example, they may do the
following things repeatedly:
- Excessive washing of hands, resulting in roughness and cracking
- Making several corrections to the homework
- Verifying that they turned off the alarm or locked the door
- Chewing food a certain number of times
- Avoiding touching certain things
- Counting different things (like steps)
- Sitting and getting up from the chair repeatedly
- Constantly cleaning and arranging certain things
- Making frequent requests for reassurance, sometimes for dozens or even hundreds of times a day
There is a
logical link between some obsessions and compulsive behaviors. For example,
children who have a craze for not having diseases may wash their hands very
frequently, but there is no complete connection between each other. For
example, children may count to the number 50 repeatedly.
Again, to
prevent the grandmother from experiencing a heart attack. If they resist
compulsive situations or are prevented from carrying them out, they become
overly anxious and involved in them.
Most
children realize to some extent that their obsessive and compulsive behaviors
are abnormal and feel embarrassed about them often and try not to show them,
but some children strongly believe that these obsessions and compulsions are
true.
The obsessive-compulsive disorder begins in the average at about 19-20 years of age, but approximately
25% of cases begin before 14 years of age. This disorder often subsides after
children reach adulthood.
The obsessive-compulsive disorder disappears after a few years after about 5% of children and at the
beginning of puberty at about 40%, and for other children, this disorder tends
to be chronic, but with continued treatment, most children can perform
normally. About 5% of children do not respond to treatment and remain very
vulnerable.
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