OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
"I couldn't do anything without rituals. They invaded every aspect of my life.
Counting really bogged me down. I would wash my hair three times as opposed to
once because three was a good luck number and one wasn't. It took me longer to read
because I'd count the lines in a paragraph. When I set my alarm at night, I had to
set it to a number that wouldn't add up to a "bad" number. "
"Getting dressed in the morning was tough because I had a routine, and if I didn't
follow the routine, I'd get anxious and would have to get dressed again. I always
worried that if I didn't do something, my parents were going to die. I'd have these
terrible thoughts of harming my parents. That was completely irrational, but the
thoughts triggered more anxiety and more senseless behavior. Because of the time I
spent on rituals, I was unable to do a lot of things that were important to me."
"I knew the rituals didn't make sense, and I was deeply ashamed of them, but I
couldn't seem to overcome them until I had therapy."
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, involves anxious thoughts or rituals
you feel you can't control. If you have OCD, you may be plagued by persistent,
unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals.
You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, so you wash your hands over and over.
You may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly. You
may have frequent thoughts of violence, and fear that you will harm people close
to you. You may spend long periods touching things or counting; you may be pre-occupied
by order or symmetry; you may have persistent thoughts of performing sexual acts that
are repugnant to you; or you may be troubled by thoughts that are against your
religious beliefs.
The disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the rituals that are
performed to try to prevent or get rid of them are called compulsions. There is
no pleasure in carrying out the rituals you are drawn to, only temporary relief
from the anxiety that grows when you don't perform them.
A lot of healthy people can identify with some of the symptoms of OCD, such as
checking the stove several times before leaving the house. But for people with
OCD, such activities consume at least an hour a day, are very distressing, and
interfere with daily life.
Most adults with this condition recognize that what they're doing is senseless,
but they can't stop it. Some people, though, particularly children with OCD, may
not realize that their behavior is out of the ordinary. If OCD grows severe enough,
it can keep someone from holding down a job or from carrying out normal
responsibilities at home.
How Common is OCD?
- About 2.3% of the U.S. population ages 18 to 54 - approximately 3.3 million
Americans - has OCD in a given year.
- OCD affects men and women equally
- OCD typically begins during adolescence or early childhood; at least one-third
of the cases of adult OCD began in childhood
- OCD cost the U.S. $8.4 billion in 1990 in social and economic losses, nearly 6%
of the total mental health bill of $148 billion
- The course of the disease is variable-symptoms may come and go, they may ease over
time, or they can grow progressively worse.
- Research evidence suggests that OCD might run in families.
Can People With OCD Also Have Other Illnesses?
OCD is sometimes accompanied by depression, eating disorders, substance abuse,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or other anxiety disorders. When a person
also has other disorders, OCD is often more difficult to diagnose and treat.
Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of other disorders are important to successful
treatment of OCD.
The disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the rituals
performed to try to prevent or get rid of them are called compulsions. There is
no pleasure in carrying out the rituals you are drawn to, only temporary relief
from the anxiety that grows when you don't perform them.
This information has been excerpted from material developed by the National Institute for Mental Health.
