OCD Symptoms Causes and Treatment Explained

Are the obsessive thoughts or repetitive behaviors affecting your daily life? Explore the meaning, symptoms and treatment of OCD.

What is OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a type of mental disorder or illness where people have to face obsessive thoughts and compulsions or urges to perform repetitive actions. Most of the people misunderstand OCD as biting nails or always thinking negative. It’s something more than that. This disorder can affect your lifestyle, job, school and relationships that you can’t live a normal life. The thoughts and actions you perform are beyond the control. 

What are the signs and symptoms of OCD?

Most of the people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have to face both obsessions and compulsions, but some of the people have to experience just one or the other. 

Common obsessive thoughts include:

·         Fear of the contamination of germs or dirt

·         Fear of losing control

·         Self-harm or harming to others

·         Excessive violent thoughts running in the mind

·         Excessive focus on moral mannerism or on religious practices

·         Fear of losing things

·         Everything must be in order and must be in proper place

·         Believing in the superstitions or considering something as lucky or unlucky

Common compulsive behaviors that are seen in OCD patients include:

·         Double-checking of things, including if the door is locked properly, appliances and switches

·         Repeatedly checking on the loved ones to ensure that they are safe

·         Counting, tapping, repeating certain words, or doing other activities so that they can lower down the anxiety

·         Wasting a lot of time in washing or cleaning certain objects

·         Ordering or arranging things again and again

·         Praying excessively or engaging in rituals

·         Collecting all the junk material such as old newspapers or other objects

What Are the Treatments for OCD?

The first thing you need to do is to consult a psychiatrist. He can examine you in a proper way and can tell you if these are the exact symptoms of OCD. For most of the people, a combination of talk therapy with medication works best. Other treatment options include CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and ERP or Exposure & Response Prevention can help you out in a positive way. Antidepressants are often suggested by the psychiatrists depending on the age, health, and symptoms. Therefore, consulting psychiatrist in Bhopal can be the best option for the people suffering from OCD.