OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)

Tammy Anderson JohnTossey Mary Young

WHAT IS OCD
OCD is characterized by intrusive and senseless thoughts and impulses that together are defined as obsessions, as well as repetitive and intentional behaviors, referred to as compulsions. OCD once was thought to be primarily psychological in origin, but now there is growing evidence that there is a genetic basis behind OCD, which will help us better understand the condition.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)

OCD is a potentially disabling type of anxiety disorder. It effects 1 in 50 adults. People with OCD are plagued with recurring and distressing thoughts, fears, images or obsessions they can not control. The anxiety produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines.

Most people who have OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are irrational, yet they feel powerless to stop them. Obsessions and rituals can substantially interfere with a person's normal routine, schoolwork, job, family, or social activities. Several hours every day may be spent focusing on obsessive thoughts and performing seemingly senseless rituals.

LIVING LIFE WITH OCD

In this clip you will see two teenage girls with OCD. You will see what their obsessions or compulsions are, as well as how they affect them and the people around them.
Please click on the link below, when finished click the red X and you will return to the power point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53uCDjLkiDQ

LIVING LIFE WITH OCD

This is a real brain scan of a patient with OCD.

Brain scans have shown that the orbital cortex in patients with OCD is overactive which can cause a "worry circuit" that includes the caudate nucleus which is part of the basal ganglia that allows the brain to "switch" from one thought to another. The cingulate gyrus which causes the physical and emotional responses to great anxiety and high emotion, and the thalamus which receives and process sensory inputs from the body.

OCD TREATMENTS

The more common therapy for treating OCD is to learn what triggers symptoms and to then learn how to confront the triggers. Once that step is achieved, the patient must then learn to tolerate triggers so he or she can be weaned from the distressing behaviors produced by the disorder. (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Anti-depressants treat many forms of mental illnesses, like obsessive compulsive disorder. Many patients on antidepressants say the medicine makes them feel normal.

OCD MEDICATIONS

Fluvoxamine Maleate (Prozac)

Once-daily antidepressant, extended-release formulation. It's not usually prescribed for mental health, but rather as an antibiotic to treat a very different condition - tuberculosis. But it has a handy sideeffect - it opens up the learning centers of the emotional brain.

D-cycloserine

Sertraline (Zoloft)

Widely prescribed to help treat OCD.

Antidepressant used to treat people who suffer from obsessions and compulsions.

Clomipramine (Anafranil)

OCD AND CHILDREN

About half of adults with an anxiety disorder had symptoms of some type of psychiatric illness by age 15. Adults with obsessive-compulsive disorders tended to have had delusional beliefs and hallucinations as children. Children can suffer from OCD. Unlike adults, however, children with OCD do not realize that their obsessions and compulsions are excessive. Children and teens have anxiety in their lives, just as adults do, and they can suffer from anxiety disorders in much the same way. Stressful life events, such as starting school, moving, or the loss of a parent, can trigger the onset of an anxiety disorder.

WHATS WRONG WITH ME?

Research has shown that if left untreated, children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, to have less developed social skills and to be more vulnerable to substance abuse. A childs self-esteem can be negatively affected because the OCD has led to embarrassment or has made the child feel bizarre or out of control. Obsessions and compulsions related to food are common, and these can lead to irregular or quirky eating habits.

COMMON OBSESSIONS
Fear

of dirt or germs Fear of making a mistake Fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts Need for order, symmetry or exactness

COMMON COMPULSIONS

Refusing to touch objects or shake hands. Repeated hand washing or showering. Constant counting, mentally or aloud, while performing routine tasks. Constantly arranging things in a certain way. Repeating specific words, phrases or prayers.

REFERENCES
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What is O.C.D.? By Stephen Phillipson, Ph.D. www.ocdonline.com/defineocd.php Mental Health: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/obessivecompulsive-disorder About OCD. www.ocfoundation.org/what-isocd.html Obsessive-compulsive disorder. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessivecompulsive_disorder OCD in children. http://www.ocfoundation.org/ocdin-children.html

References
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Half of Adults With Anxiety Disorders Had Psychiatric Diagnoses in Youth. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessivecompulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml Depression: Medications Effect On Your Body. http://www.wkrg.com/news/article/depression_part_3/1 0090 The "I" and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web2/ Zaldivar.html Images of Human Behavior: A Brain SPECT Atlas. http://www.amenclinics.com/bp/atlas/ch13.php

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REFERENCES
http://www.virtualneurocentre.com/news.asp ?artid=8286 11. http://www.numh.gov/health/topics/obsessiv e-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index 12. http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.ph p?type=doc&id=10921&cn=8
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