Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by two distinct types of symptoms:

• Obsessions - intrusive thoughts, ideas, or impulses that recur repeatedly and cannot be controlled even though the person recognizes that these thoughts are irrational.

• Compulsions - repeated ritualistic behaviors or mental processes that a person is driven or compelled to perform over and over again even though they recognize that the behavior is irrational.

Obsessions in people with OCD commonly involve anxieties and fears about specific situations, including:

• Becoming contaminated with dirt, germs, or other objects
• Causing injury to themselves or to someone else
• Losing or misplacing an object
• Contracting a life-threatening disease such as cancer
• Superstitions involving numbers, names, dates, colors, that the person perceives as either bringing good or bad luck.

Common compulsive ritualistic behaviors in people with obsessive compulsive disorder include:

• Personal hygiene rituals (e.g., handwashing; toothbrushing; showering)
• Checking rituals
• Hoarding rituals
• Mental rituals - repeatedly counting numbers or repeating the same word or phrase
• Touching rituals

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder may develop other psychological conditions that can exist together with OCD. The most common co-existing condition that affects people with OCD is depression which has been estimated to occur in about 55% of OCD patients.

In general, the following treatment options are available for the management of obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD):

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy - a form of psychological therapy
• Drug therapy - medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are most commonly used
• Neurosurgery - this option is considered as a treatment of last resort for patients with severe, debilitating OCD when all other treatments have failed to control the condition.

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• What are the risk factors of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
• What standard and alternative treatment options are available?
• Where are the leading doctors, hospitals and medical centers that specialize in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder research and treatment?
• What are the results of the latest clinical trials?
• Where are the support groups and additional resources in my area?
• What are the promising new treatments on the horizon?

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