Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

According to National Institute of Mental Health 2008 studies, it was reported that obsessive compulsive disorder is a widespread psychiatric disorder. OCD affects nearly 2.2 million Americans each year. It is an anxiety disorder, in which the victim repeatedly faces unwanted sensations, thoughts, ideas, feelings or behaviors that forces them to perform the same rituals over and over again. People suffering from OCD often feel helpless and isolated because of their condition. However, educating yourself about obsessive compulsive disorder can help you effectively deal with such uncontrolled thoughts and feelings. Here in this article we will take a look at the different forms in which the disorder manifests itself.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Types of Manifestations

Obsessions are spontaneous and irrepressible thoughts or impulses that come to your mind over and over again. These unwanted thoughts occur frequently, and tend to be quite distracting and disturbing. On the other hand, compulsions are rituals that force you to act repeatedly. These compulsive rituals are performed as a result of obsessions. Over time these compulsive behaviors cause anxiety and start taking a toll on the person’s life.

Obsessive compulsive disorder primarily manifests itself in the following forms:

• Washers: These people are mainly fears of being contaminated by dirt or germs. They usually suffer from hand-washing or cleaning compulsions.
• Checkers: Such people repeatedly double check things, which they relate to danger or harm, such as checking appliances, locks and switches.
• Sinners and Doubters: These types of people always fear that haven’t done things perfectly or correctly. As a result they always feel that they will be punished or something horrible will happen, if they don’t do things correctly.
• Arrangers and Counters: These people are mainly obsessed with symmetry and order. These people spend a lot of time ensuring that everything is in the right place and in the right order, and get very upset if things are rearranged or moved around. Sometimes they may also have superstitious views about some colors, numbers or arrangements.
• Hoarder: Such people are afraid that something terrible will happen if they chuck out anything. They suffer from the habit of compulsively gathering things, even those things that are completely useless to them, such as empty food containers or old newspapers.

People suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder suffer from distress and faces interference in their lives and relationships. However, the good news here is that there are so many ways to deal with such feelings and thoughts. Various medications are available today to treat such disorders. However, medication alone is not an effective treatment. Also, medications may have side effects. This is why doctors suggest using cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating obsessive compulsive disorder in conjunction with some antidepressants. You could also try to keep yourself occupied with healthy things such as going out for a jog, exercising, walking, listening to music, playing games or surfing Internet in order to avoid such obsessions and compulsions.