What Exactly Is OCD?
OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a condition whereby a person experiences extreme repetitive behavior that compels them to keep repeating an action many times. For example, a person can keep cleaning objects over and over gain or check under the bed during sleep-time. They might also keep confirming whether doors are locked.
In fact, some people have been known to have a compulsive affinity to arranging objects in a certain order, be it by colors, sizes, or numbers. Some people will not throw away anything in hopes that it might be needed at a later date.
Such a compulsive behavior coupled with its obsessions can result into a critical point whereby the person is always anxious and finding it hard to escape from the net.
Who May Be Vulnerable To OCD?
First, it’s worth noting that OCD is a known mental health condition that can affect anyone of any gender and age. The condition may develop during childhood or puberty. In fact, it’s known to affect about 1.2% of the American adult population. It’s also been found to affect more women than men, albeit with a slight margin in numbers.
The Signs And Symptoms Of OCD
Merely going to check your doors and gas condition is really not an express symptom to define the occurrence of OCD. However, if such behavior persists on a daily basis, then it may surely be a sign that OCD has set in. Below are some of the symptoms of the condition:
- Too much hand washing. This may be caused by fear of contamination by dirt or contracting germs and diseases.
- A compulsive urge to arrange things in a certain order.
- Being too superstitious and harboring excessive thoughts about being lucky or unlucky.
- Fearing a loss or excessive worrying that you may need something you won’t have. This may lead to excessive hoarding of stuff.
- Paying too much attention to moral ideals and religion. This kind of obsession can make people prone to joining cults and being exposed to dangerous rituals.
While people affected by OCD mostly have compulsions as well as obsessions, it’s worth noting that some of them may have just one of the two. If you had to conduct a diagnosis for OCD, you would need to identify the compulsions and obsessions that affect a person’s daily life and results into problems in their social life, work, or home environment.
Is OCD A Condition That Can Be Dealt With?
OCD is a condition that can be dealt with, so if you feel that you may be suffering from it, it’s advisable to get help soon enough before the condition takes a major toll on your life. However, it’s saddening that some people fail to seek help in dealing with OCD because they feel weak and ashamed of it. If you have OCD, you need to know that it’s a mental health problem like any other and there’s absolutely nothing wrong in admitting it and seeking help the soonest possible.
OCD can be treated in two ways:
- Taking medications: A person suffering from this may get a drug prescription for anti-depressants. When taken, these drugs work to upset the concentration of some particular chemicals in the nervous system. However, this treatment may take some time to show results as you gauge their effects to find the right fit of medication for you. Also note that medications don’t really address the root cause of OCD.
- Therapy: psychological therapy is most widely recommended option for treatment. The therapy is usually a mix of hypnotherapy and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The logic behind the treatment is using hypnosis to engage the subconscious mind in 90% of the brain while using CBT to address the other 10% of the brain. For a faster and stronger response to the treatment, some therapists use a combination of hypno-psychotherapy and a special type of CBT.
The Final Take
Since it’s already known that obsessions lead to compulsions as a result of some tricky situations, it can be agreed that hypnotherapy is the ultimate treatment for OCD, given that it provides effective means and responses to manage such situations.
