Jasmin Esquivel

Research Project

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

I chose the topic because i have always wanted to learn more information about it. In my opinion i feel as if we all have a bit of OCD in all of us. The reason i chose the article was because i wanted to know more information on how it works, what it does to the human mind and body, and some causes and symptoms. I feel as if this article will give me a lot of information about what i want to learn exactly. OCD consists of two characteristics, which are obsessions and compulsions. It is considered a mental health condition, and it is common in both children and adults. The first symptoms often begin during childhood or adolescence, the media age of onset is 19. Seems like a very young age to acquire such a mental condition. But it is triggered by a combination of genetic, neurological,behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors. It can occur in both men and women regardless of their race or background. Obsessions include losing control, perfectionism,unwanted sexual thoughts, religious obsessions, and other obsessions. Compulsions include washing a cleaning, checking, repeating, and other compulsions. There is treatment, it will involve a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The article then lists common OCD obsessions and compulsions which then have information of the types of examples. For example, Contamination is one, which includes body fluids, germs and disease, household chemicals, and dirt. A compulsion, washing and cleaning, includes excessive showering, tooth brushing, grooming, or toilet routines, and cleaning household items or other objects to much. The exact cause of obsessive compulsive disorder has not been identified. But what could be to blame would be abnormalities or an imbalance in the neurotransmitter. Article then goes into more depth of the mental disorder. The behavioral theory suggests that people with OCD associate objects or situations with fear and to avoid these things that trigger fear they must performs these tasks in order to help reduce fear. Article lists symptoms, signs and early indications that can become worse with age. I knew some information on the topic, no to this extent as i do now. This information was very helpful and i feel like i do know more about the topic now than i did before. I knew that OCD involved doing things repeatedly but i did not know that the mental disorder was a combination of both compulsions and obsessions. Like i said i believe everyone has a bit of OCD in us. Sometimes i do tend to fix things that bother me a lot. Especially as a designer, it’s those little things that can easily get to us. Whether its the layout of the design or the typography, it has to be perfect, well to me. Also with my room sometimes, well the whole house actually. Once i start cleaning i begin to clean the whole house. Especially with my room, my shoes have to be in order, all of my button shirts hanging in the closet, all of my jeans in one pile, my bed has to be done, theres not a day that goes by with my bed not being done. The things on my bookshelf have to be organized, the things in my desk drawers in order, the things under my bed as well, and finally the clothes in my drawers have to fit properly. So yeah i would say i have some experience with OCD. I do agree very much with the article. I believe it gives out a lot of helpful and useful information. I learned a lot from this article and i would definetly recommend it to someone who would want to learn more about obsessive compulsive disorder.