Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder which is uncontrollable, unwanted and repetitive behaviours in which the individual feels they must do. OCD is known as a mental disorder, one which people can not control no matter what they do. This disorder can affect anyone from young children to adults. It is not specific for a particular social background. The WHO (world health organisation) ranks this as the tenth most disabling illness, mostly because of the lost of earnings and a diminished quality of life. |
Symptoms:
The most noticeable and perhaps most common symptom of ocd is cleaning and washing. Sufferers of this disorder may feel the need to wash their hands repetitively as well as cleaning things such as clothes, the house, dishes, etc. This could be because they fear having dirt or germs around them so they compulsively clean and make sure that there is no or little chance of germs affecting their health and life. Some sufferer's actually find cleaning and washing relaxing and do them to try and reduce anxiety. Other symptoms include the following; having things exact, they want things to be symmetrical and right otherwise they may feel quite anxious. Religious prayer, some may pray quietly in order to have the 'bad thoughts' go away. And a rather serious one is aggression, where the sufferer may harm loved ones, people or themselves. In relation to the documentary, getting a selection of people with OCD who have different symptoms could work to show how the disorder affects different people.
Treatment:
There are different treatments that people can take for OCD. There are therapy's, medication, family support and support groups. Medication such as antidepressants have be used and are known to reduce anxiety levels, although they are rarely effective by themselves. They are used along with therapy to treat this disorder. Although there are not many support groups outside the individual's family there are charities which aim to help and improve the life of those who are suffering from the disorder. OCD-UK is one charity which is run by sufferer's for sufferer's therefore they can connect with each other and share past experiences and obstacles they have had with the disorder. The organisation strongly believes in improving the life of not only the sufferer's but also those around them such as families and fellow co-workers. OCD-Action is another organisation which is actually located in Eastleigh where there are meetings once a month on the first saturday of every month. Meetings help OCD sufferer's connect with others and as told before share their experiences. They can feel less embarrassed and communicate in a relaxed atmosphere where they should not feel threatened.
Cognitive therapy has been said to be the most effective treatment for OCD sufferer's. It helps to teach the sufferer's the healthy and effective ways of responding to obsessive thoughts without continuing with the compulsive behaviour. The four 'R' steps of this are as follows:
1. Relabel - Recognizing that the obsessive thoughts and urges are a direct result of having OCD.
2. Reattribute - Realizing that the intensity of the thought or urge is cause by OCD, but also recognising that this is probably because of the biochemical imbalance in the brain.
3. Refocus - Focusing your attention on something else for a few minutes which should eliminate the OCD thoughts the sufferer may have.
4. Revalue - Make sure you as the sufferer understand that the OCD thought is not significant itself.
