Obsessive-compulsive Disorder - Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Obsessive compulsive disorder

The word "obsession" in translation into Russian means: siege, blockade. Compulsion is compulsion. Thus, obsessive-compulsive disorder is translated from Latin as a forced protection from obsessive fears. In this case, compulsions imply movements in a certain sequence with the consolidation of an unnecessary dynamic stereotype.

Violent movements performed against the will of a person turn into certain rituals that are unpleasant for the patient, and at the same time are considered necessary for him. Fears can be very diverse: from the fear of open space (agarophobia) to the obsessive fear of developing mental illness (lissophobia).

Fear of mental disorder is characteristic of absolutely all people who develop obsessive-compulsive disorder, since the realization of the absurdity of their own actions generates serious fears about their own mental health. Nevertheless, similar conditions are found in many people with a completely healthy psyche.

Manifestations of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Almost everyone is subject to some fear. Such a state is fixed by the most important innate reflex - defensive. Reasonable behavior does not allow you to risk your life and health. People take preventive measures to prevent accidents. If a person pays more attention to his own fears, then he mentally predicts accidents that may occur. The further train of thought suggests a system of protection against danger.

Therefore, the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder involves "stopping thought." Otherwise, people can wash their hands twenty to thirty times a day so as not to get infected. The emerging concerns prompt the development of a protection system. A person begins to perceive life as a certain system. At the everyday level, in a mild form, obsessive-compulsive disorder is expressed in following various folk signs. A man knocks on a tree, saying something "terrible", spits over his left shoulder, after the black cat crosses the road, returns home and always looks in the mirror.

More complex cases are expressed in long-term actions aimed at protecting against obsessive fears. A person hides sharp objects, fearing for the health of households. With a strong obsession, there is a fear of committing dangerous actions. Suddenly appearing thoughts are imperative. The patient is suddenly seized by the desire to throw himself under a car or push a loved one under a train. He understands the complete absurdity of such a cruel desire and is afraid to commit such an act.

A characteristic feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder is a kind of mental compensation, which consists in certain actions. In mild cases, it is enough for the patient to get out of bed without fail with the right leg, and then the obsessive fears recede. With a protracted course of the disease, when treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder is not carried out, the rituals become multi-stage and noticeable to others. The patient puts objects in a strictly defined order. When this system is disturbed by a careless movement, he repeats the manipulation again. This continues until the sequence is executed in impeccable order. A person's mood immediately deteriorates as soon as he sees that the objects he has folded, "guaranteeing protection", are out of place.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Tests

In order to identify changes in the psyche by the type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the author's tests have been developed that reveal a predisposition to obsession and reveal a person's tendency to magical thinking.

When obsessive-compulsive disorder is present, the test indicates the presence of a collision in the processes of inhibition and excitation of higher nervous activity. If the result is positive, the person needs qualified medical care.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Treatment

In the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the following methods are used:

• Psychotherapy;
• Drug treatment;
• Social rehabilitation.

Psychotherapy has a positive effect, but not always. The principles of psychotherapy: individual and group, which provide for the constant replay of a traumatic situation in order to defeat unreasonable fear. However, for some patients, fears are not far-fetched, but are perceived as a very real threat. The constant reminder of the traumatic factor, on the contrary, aggravates the depressive state. Therefore, when obsessive-compulsive disorder is diagnosed, only a psychiatrist should prescribe treatment.

Medication for obsessive-compulsive disorder is usually carried out stationary for two months. Then the patient is discharged under observation in the clinic. If necessary, further medication is recommended, but, most often, treatment is limited to social rehabilitation. Supportive conversations are held with the patient to provide hope for a full recovery. A person learns to live without fears, learns the correct behavior in society, an adequate assessment of the environment.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: prognosis

When treating a disease lasting up to one year, in more than half of the cases, the prognosis is favorable - a complete and final recovery occurs. If therapy is started later, obsessive-compulsive disorder becomes chronic and lasts for several years.

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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!