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Abnormal Ocd

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By mirabw
Words 983
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OCD—a disorder that affects about 1 in 100 adults and 1 in 200 children. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations, or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something. Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, but this only provides temporary relief. Not performing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety.
Obsessive compulsive disorder better known as OCD, is a disorder that personally affects me in by day to day living. Even though I have not been diagnosed with this disorder, I suffer from OCD like symptoms. Symptoms of OCD are as follows, obsessions or compulsions that are not due to medical illness or drug use, and or obsessions or compulsions that cause major distress or interfere with everyday life. Even though I am not affected by the symptoms in the ways that people who have been diagnosed with this disorder are, I still become anxious when something triggers my compulsive or obsessive behavior and the relief to the action is not gained.
Although I have not been to a doctor and diagnosed, it is not ruled out that my anxiousness that come along with this disorder is not relevant. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is more common than was once thought. Most people who eventually develop this disorder begin to show symptoms by the age of 30. No one really knows the cause of OCD, but there are several theories about what may cause it, but none have been confirmed. Some reports have linked OCD to head injury and infections; other studies have shown that there are brain abnormalities in patients with OCD, but more research is needed to finalize the reasoning behind this disorder that affects a large amount of people.
Relating back to my personal experience with OCD, ever since I was younger, I could remember having symptoms. My mom would have me set the dinner table and when I did, all the place settings had to be perfect. Perfect in the instance where all cups had to be the same, all forks and napkins had to be on the same side and perfectly set, as well as the plates had to match the color of the cups; and if they did not, it would make me feel so uneasy. Funny thing is, my mom would joke with me about being so conscious of the place settings for dinner, but when it came to the cleanliness and order of my room, somehow I was not affected by my OCD like symptoms. In addition to orderly dinner place settings, I had a weird habit of having to have something that was done to one side of my body be done to the other. For example, if I accidently scratched or hit my left hand, I would go back and repeat the action, or as close to the action as I could without hurting myself, to my right hand. The same action took place with my clothing, if I had one soak on, both had to be on or I would become uneasy and everything would feel off.
For a while, my OCD started to control my everyday living. Simple task started to become a long tedious process because I focused so much on this disorder. At the time I did not know what was wrong or what it was called that I was “suffering” from, I just knew I caused me to do things other people thought was weird and if I did not carry out my normal doings, I put me in an uncomfortable feeling “bubble”.
I started having symptoms at a pretty young age. Dating back to when I was 8 years old, the obsessive compulsive acts started. I use to smell everything, and when I say everything, I really mean everything. My family use to get upset with me when they would see me smelling and after being told to stop and I still continued, sometimes my actions would come off as being disobedient. What my family did not understand was I was not smelling and doing these “weird” acts because I wanted to, but it was more of a, I had to. Another one of my “episodes” came when it was time to use the restroom. I had anxiety if when I was using the restroom and everything was not perfect; I would not be able to use the bathroom. For a while, I had a hard time using public restrooms.
As I got older, I began to understand what I was going through, and what it was I was having symptoms of. Once I learned about OCD, I began trying to break the “habit”. I learned that I was having multiple “episodes” and reoccurring “episodes” because I was focusing on it more than half my day. Because I knew I had these “episodes”, I expected them; therefore, my mind was always focusing on the next one to come. As soon as I understood my “episodes” I started working on trying to change the way OCD was affecting me. It has been three years since I made the cognitive decision to work on my “episodes”, and I can say, three years later, I have made significant improvement. Although certain things I do still triggers my OCD, I have become less obsessive.
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a disorder that affects many people. There has not yet been an answer to the cause of this disorder, but there is treatment. OCD can be treated with medication and therapy. The type of treatment a person receives depends on the extensiveness of their OCD and what the doctor sees fit. From my personal experience dealing with OCD like symptoms, it is a challenge to deal with and it becomes troubling going through everyday life having episodes knowing you cannot control them.

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