OCD is a disorder that commands your brain to do repetitive tasks for a period of time. It’s basically a mental disorder in which you tend to redo a certain task till the time your brain gets satisfied.
Basically, it makes you doubt your ability to perform a particular task. Due to this, a person does unwanted, uncontrollable, recurring actions continuously. Even after turning off the gas before going to bed, you tend to check the knob at least 20 or more times.
People feel OCD is a disease one can flaunt, but it is a medical condition that needs serious attention. They also feel they maintain a particular discipline and punctuality in life by repeating a particular action, like going to the park regularly, going to bed at a particular time, feeding street dogs, etc.
But this pattern can make them more obsessive as they are repeating this life every day. And one fine day they will get bored of this routine life and that’s when they will experience a serious breakdown.
So basically Obsession is something that will have unwanted intrusive thoughts that are going in a person’s mind over and over again. While on the other hand, Compulsion is giving the command to your body to repeat that activity over again.
It is been discovered that OCD is the underlying factor of depression. A person suddenly slips into depression if not paid attention to it.OCD is also known as ‘Ego dystonic’ disorder as it’s a condition same to Anorexia Nervosa where a person is fully aware that he is stressing about things that don’t exist in the real world.
This disorder also makes a person dominate other people and tell them to follow their orders blindly trusting them. In OCD a person experiences unwanted thoughts of fear and control
Symptoms of a Person suffering from OCD
- The symmetrical arrangement of things
- Unwanted and Unreal thoughts
- Constant fear
- Repeated actions
- Genetically
- Fear of germs and contamination
- Thoughts of hurting others or self
- History of Child Abuse
- Thoughts for forbidden sexual behavior
- Religious belief
Symmetrical arrangement of things
A person who is suffering from OCD believes things to be done as per their will. They feel the whole world is dirty and untidy and they are the only responsible individual on this earth to clean the mess.
They feel very irritated if their things are not found at their place. They get hyper if they see the room as unclean after returning from their work. Like they believe that the bed sheet should not have a single crease before lying on it. They will tuck the bed sheet in a manner that it remains intact throughout the night.
Also in their Bathroom, they have arranged dedicated space for towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoos, shower gels, etc. And if any of these things are mixed and out of their compartment they will get pissed off and will work continuously till all things fall in place.
Unwanted and Unreal Thoughts
In OCD, an individual starts creating unreal and imaginary situations in his own mind that can never exist. Like, what will happen to their life after the death of their loved one. And this is just the beginning because further, they start imagining a life that would be so difficult to sustain after that loss.
It sounds to be funny but deep down it can be life-threatening too. Like Imagining a person who doesn’t exist, trying to kill you every time you step out of the house. Because of this thought, they might injure other people around thinking they might injure them.
Constant fear
A person tries to develop a pattern to protect himself and his family from a particular situation. As mentioned, in OCD a person becomes very dominant and commanding and expects everyone to start believing their ideas.
Fear of staying in the house after 7 in the evening (irrespective of gender) so that her near ones are protected from the darker sides of the city.
This fear stays with them forever if not taken proper medical treatment on time. Also if you disobey them they can break down immediately and become one step closer to depression.
Repeated actions
During OCD Compulsions command your body to do repetitive actions without having any logic to them. For example, if you have turned off the tap, still your mind hears a voice that says ‘Go check the tap’. And this voice would keep on coming and you are compelled to repeat your actions over and over again.
Even if you try to control this repeated action, your intrusive mind will force you to not stop even for a minute. It is again a serious need for medical attention as people around notice this weird habit of yours.
Genetically
In rare cases, OCD can happen to an individual if he or she is having a family history of it. If it’s present in their genes, then you cannot eliminate it completely but could reduce its symptoms.
In this special case, medications can help them to calm themselves or from getting intrusive thoughts. Also, it is not necessary it is carried forward to everyone in the house, but it can hit at different levels in the siblings. They also believe that the whole world is abnormal from their perspective.
Fear of Germs and Contamination
A person suffering from OCD feels that every surface they touch is fully contaminated with germs and microorganisms. Even wiping their hands with tissue paper makes them uncomfortable. It is just a mental disease that put you in thought if not washed hands properly.
It develops a fear of something wrong would happen to them if they do not wash their hand properly. And they are not only compelled to do this action once but over 20 to 30 times till their palms become raw and red.
It’s basically a mental disbelief that has increased in many people during Lockdown. They still sanitize their hand again and again if touched by any surface.
Thoughts of Hurting self or Others
In OCD, this is an advanced state wherein you will feel the whole world is behind you for no reason. They start getting intuitions from their brain that before someone kills them, I should protect themselves by killing them.
You start feeling even in normal conversations; people are making plans to kill you. They develop an unwarranted continuous thought that something is going to happen to them.
They start behaving weirdly and own up to their actions by hurting themselves. They start seeing Death people around coming to take them into their dark world. And these thoughts keep on multiplying uncontrollably.
History of Child Abuse
If you have a past from childhood be it child abuse in a domestic way or sexually, that will definitely impact a child’s brain to develop fear and compulsion.
They don’t open up a lot in front of their acquaintances too. They develop a fear which hits their mind to function in a particular way.
They believe in doing things their own way and with their own will. Due to this they too follow a particular pattern to complete a task. They behave in a weird way and they don’t know how to respond in real-life situations.
Thoughts of Forbidden Sexual Behavior
In this situation, your partner wants to attack you while making Love. They want to punish their partner for the mistake they have done in their daily activity. They feel supremacy in doing this.
As soon as your partner does something against your will, they feel entitled to make them a slave and hurt them in return while loving them.
This can be life-threatening action and could also take your partner’s life. It is very important to be vocal about the situation you are facing so that no one in society faces this serious issue.
Religious Belief
According to our traditional values, we should apologize if our legs unintentionally touch someone else’s body. In the same OCD makes a person believe that if you repeatedly keep taking the name of God, the almighty will protect us from the evil things around.
It’s understood to have a belief and a trust over the almighty but obsessing oneself with his chanting all day long will create a mental imbalance and will have a negative influence in day-to-day life.
Treatment for a Person undergoing OCD
A Person with OCD is in need of medical attention and treatment. This can be fatal to their own lives and the lives of others if neglected.
Treatment can be either through CBT, ERP, or medications depending on the severity of his illness. The most commonly suggested technique is CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) which makes a patient undergo some therapy talk sessions with their counselor and vent out their obsessive thoughts from their mind. They help you with measures to avoid having intrusive thoughts. Also, they will take step by step approach to get through your repeated actions.
Another way to get treated is by ERP (Exposure Responsive Prevention).In this treatment, you counsel the patient to control his anxiety and actions and try to break their repetitive cycle over a period of time. It understands your behavior, then your triggers, and then deals with your anxiety and intrusive issues.
Some antidepressants can also treat OCD and its symptoms. But as per the survey, it is suggested to undergo ERP treatment along with the dosage of medicine for best results.
