People with obsessive-compulsive disorder do not suffer as much from their compulsions as they do from other people's perceptions of their condition. Society may assume that a person with OCD has the choice and ability to control their obsessions and compulsions. Some people also believe that the obsessions they experience result from a supernatural force that drives them to perform compulsive acts. We present this article to build awareness of obsessive-compulsive disorder by explaining its meaning and answering the following questions: Why do people develop OCD? How do you know if you have OCD? What is the treatment for OCD?

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental illness that causes the patient anxiety and distress and consumes their time, thereby affecting their life and daily activities. It consists of obsessions, compulsions, or both.

Obsessions are thoughts, mental images, or impulses that suddenly intrude into a person's mind. They recur frequently, affect daily activity, and cause severe anxiety because the person rejects these obsessions and recognizes how absurd they are but cannot remove them from their mind. Examples include contamination, infection, harm, doubt, sexual and frightening mental images, religious obsessions, ordering, counting, collecting and hoarding objects, and hair-pulling.

Also read about how obsessive-compulsive disorder develops.

What do we mean by compulsions?

Compulsions are the patient's desperate attempt to control the anxiety accompanying an obsession. For example, someone with “obsessions about contamination and infection” will perform actions that make them feel clean, such as washing their hands and showering frequently and using cleaning products and alcohol for disinfection and cleaning in an exhausting and excessive way.

If someone has “religious obsessions,” they may repeat the same prayer more than once, perform ablution several times for one prayer, and repeatedly ask for forgiveness. This is an attempt to overcome offensive thoughts that they regard as their responsibility, fearing greatly that these thoughts will anger God.

Why do people develop obsessive-compulsive disorder?

The direct causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder have not yet been identified. However, it can be said that several factors combine to explain why a person may develop OCD, including:

  1. Hereditary factors: The likelihood of developing obsessive-compulsive disorder increases if a family member is found to have OCD. It must be noted, however, that it has not yet been determined whether the condition has direct genetic causes.
  2. Biological factors: A disruption that occurs in brain functions or neurotransmitter activity may lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  3. Environmental factors: A stressful and unhealthy surrounding environment may contribute to obsessive-compulsive disorder in someone who grew up in it. Examples include living in a family that uses beating and abuse as methods of discipline, experiencing the loss of a loved one, and suffering from life pressures, particularly financial pressure.

How do you know if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder?

When you have an obsession focused on some of the following matters:

  1. Fear of touching something dirty or contaminating yourself with it.
  2. Constant doubt and an inability to believe what is certain.
  3. A constant drive to keep everything around you highly ordered and organized.
  4. Aggressive thoughts overwhelm you when you are unable to fulfill the obsession you experience.

Treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder:

It cannot be stated with certainty that any type of treatment will eliminate obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, treatment can reduce the severity of symptoms so that they do not reach a level that disrupts the normal course of your life.

The treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder relies on two types of treatment:

  1. Psychotherapy:Cognitive behavioral therapy is regarded as the best treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, particularly when using exposure and response prevention. This technique involves exposing the person to one of the obsessions they experience, with the aim of helping them recognize the methods and means that enable them to avoid the compulsive acts resulting from the obsession. In general, this treatment aims to help the person learn how to manage the compulsive behaviors that their obsessions drive them to perform.
  2. Medication: Some medications are used to reduce the severity of the symptoms experienced by the patient and the compulsions that accompany them. Antidepressants are the most commonly used medications for this purpose. It must be noted, however, that any medication you receive must be taken with a prescription from your specialist psychiatrist. You should also bear in mind that medication may take time before you notice an improvement in your symptoms, so you need to be patient.