Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Uploaded by whosyourdadyjosh on Apr 25, 2000
Approximately five million people in the U.S., or about one in every 50 Americans, suffer from OCD. That’s about 2%, a substantial number of sufferers. It affects men, women, and children, as well as people of all races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms that can include powerful, unwanted, or recurrent thoughts and/or compulsive, repetitive behaviors.
Some of the most common obsessions are:
Fear of contamination
Fear of causing harm to another
Fear of making a mistake
Fear of behaving in a socially unacceptable manner
Need for symmetry or exactness
Excessive doubt
Some of the most common compulsions may include:
Cleaning/Washing
Checking
Arranging/Organizing
Collecting/Hoarding
Counting/Repeating
Obsessions are unwanted, recurrent and unpleasant thoughts that cause anxiety. Compulsions are repetitive, ritualistic behaviors that the person feels driven to perform to decrease anxiety. At least 80 percent of patients with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions.
OCD appears to be caused by increased activity in the orbital frontal cortex and caudate nucleus of the brain. OCD may also involve abnormal functioning of the neurotransmitter seratonin in the brain. Stress does not cause OCD; however, a stressful event can trigger the disorder. There are no hard facts to tell how OCD is obtained. OCD is thought to be a genetic disorder. This idea has plenty of evidence and is believed by most doctors. The chemical imbalance in the Brain is an imbalance of Seratonin and Dompamine. 80 percent of the people with OCD have another disorder called Tourettes Syndrome (TS). This syndrome is caused by the imbalance of Dompamine in the Brain. This causes the person to have muscular and/or verbal spasm which are called tics. Some people who are familiar with TS may think of people shaking wildly of cursing a lot, but that is only in a severe case. These are a couple of examples, or case studies, that I got off the internet.
I. Dick
Up until this year, Dick had done fairly well in school, played basketball, held down a part time job cleaning a fish plant, and spent most weekends with his girl friend. Over the last year, he has had to let most of this go. His girlfriend found someone who had more time, he quit his job, and he stopped going to basketball. He could barely get his schoolwork done. Why? It took him about three hours to get ready in...