Imagine yourself waking up in the morning and preparing to go to work, you go down to your car place your things and get ready to drive, all of a sudden you need to check that you brought your phone with you and yes you did, 2 minutes later you feel the urge to check for your phone again, another 2 minutes’ pass and you get a bigger urge to check it again. Later you get distressed over the thought of not locking your door, the thought will remain in your head and increase your anxiety and stress levels until you leave and double check that everything is safe and locked, this is what an O.C.D person suffers from.
O.C.D. (obsessive compulsive disorder) is one of the most common diseases, the causes of O.C.D. are unknown however there are some risk factors:
- Genetics play a major role if the parents are first-degree relatives
- The way a person’s brain functions and is structured
- The environment a person was born in, example abused individuals
Symptoms for O.C.D include:
- Contamination obsession leading to excessive cleaning
- Harmful obsessions and checking compulsions, example checking doors if locked
- Counting in a certain pattern
- Symmetry obsession, example making sure all products are placed in the same exact way
- Pulling your hair from anxiety
- Doubting yourself from having doors open and electric outlets on
- No control over thoughts
- Hoarding
To know whether you are suffering from O.C.D or another type of disorder there are a series of medical tests, blood tests and psychological evaluation an individual can do.
Scientists have tested and discovered the exact chemical that triggers O.C.D like behavior, it is called mGluR5. Sadly, studies have shown that around 3.3 million people suffer from O.C.D. and the only solution is medication alongside psychological treatment to allow people to lead a normal healthy life as much as the can, while some may be able to live with it others may not.
To help individuals who are suffering from O.C.D. one must first have a good insight about the disease, second they should be patient and accepting as possible since any negative behavior towards an action they do can increase their anxiety and stress levels, and lastly allow the person to freely express what they are passing through so that there can be a mutual understanding.
