Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD)

PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION
WINTER SEM 2019-20
ASSIGNMENT-1
● Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which a person
feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly (called "compulsions"),
or has certain thoughts repeatedly (called "obsessions").

● The person is unable to control either the thoughts or activities for more than
a short period of time.
OCD TYPES
Checking: Such as locks, alarm systems, ovens, or light switches.

Contamination:A fear of things that might be dirty or a compulsion to clean.

Mental contamination involves feeling like you’ve been treated like dirt.

Symmetry and ordering, they need to have things lined up in a certain way.

Ruminations and intrusive thoughts, an obsession with a line of thought. Some

of these thoughts might be violent or disturbing.
 SYMPTOMS
Signs of obsession:

● Repeated unwanted ideas

● Fear of contamination
● Aggressive impulses
● Persistent sexual thoughts
● Images of hurting someone you love
● Thoughts that you might cause others harm
● Thoughts that you might be harmed
Various obsessions
 Signs of compulsion:

● Constant checking
● Constant counting
● The repeated cleaning of one or more items
● Repeatedly washing your hands
● Constantly checking the stove or door locks
● Arranging items to face a certain way
Repeatedly washing hands
CAUSES
● Genetic causes:OCD runs in families and can be considered a “familial
disorder.”

● Brain Sructure:Imbalances in the brain chemicals serotonin and glutamate

may play a part in OCD.

● Environmental causes:Environmental stressors may be a trigger for OCD in

people with a tendency toward developing the condition
CONTD

● Autoimmune causes:Some rapid-onset cases of OCD in children might be

consequences of Group A streptococcal infections.

● Cognitive causes:Most people have unwelcome or intrusive thoughts at

certain times, but for individuals with OCD, the importance of those thoughts
are exaggerated.
Main causes of OCD
BIOLOGICAL PART AFFECTED
● Prefrontal cortex(orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices)

● Basal ganglia

● Thalamus

● Striatum
What happens in OCD brain?
Brain areas are listed with summary of function. In healthy people, initiation of an
SEC can generate motivational anxiety. Completion of such an SEC(structured
event complex) results in a reward signal and a reduction in anxiety.

The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in reward, the anterior cingulate cortex in error
detection, the basal ganglia in affecting the threshold for activation of motor and
behavioral programs, and the prefrontal cortex in storing memories of behavioral
sequences (called “structured event complexes” or SECs).
CONTD
The authors propose that the initiation of these SECs can be accompanied by
anxiety that is relieved with completion of the SEC, and that a deficit in this
process could be responsible for many of the symptoms of OCD.

People with OCD do not receive the full reward signal and reduction of anxiety
upon completion of an SEC, giving them the sensation of leaving a task undone,
which they attempt to remove by repeatedly performing an SEC or segments of an
SEC.
Real case of a patient
I have seen an OCD patient.

He is our schoolmate,Aravind.He never maintain a physical contact with others,

not even give a handshake to others.

He used to wash his school tie and belt daily whereas the other students wash
their tie and belt once in a week.

One day one of my friend’s saliva sprinkles fell on him,he washes that area about
half an hour and thought he might get AIDS due to that saliva.
He takes bath thrice in a day.

He sweeps his room 4-5 times even if the sweeper has swept once.

He checks that his rack is locked perfectly or not for 5-6 times. He take keys of his
rack even to the bathroom.

He never give his slippers or dresses to anyone,he not even like others to touch
his belongings.
Some other real cases:
Great inventor Nikola Tesla, who created the foundations for X-Rays, radar, and radio, had a very
obsessive mind.

Although he had a fantastic memory, he suffered with chronic OCD. Not only did Tesla have a serious
germ phobia, but he really liked the number three, so he would often walk around the block three times
before entering a building.

Tesla also was scared of round objects, especially women’s jewelry, and refused to shake hands with
people or touch anyone’s hair. Not only did he count his jaw movements during dinnertime, which guests
found disruptive, but he would always require eighteen napkins and would never eat with only a woman
present.
https://beyondocd.org/stories/adult/my-battle-with-obsessive-compulsive-disorder

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-is-state-mind/201704/true-story-living-obsessive-compulsive-disorder
Treatment
● Cognitive behavioral therapy:

CBT is a type of psychotherapy (talking therapy) that aims to help the individual change the way they
think, feel, and behave.

It refers to two distinct treatments:

● exposure and response prevention (ERP)

● cognitive therapy
Research has shown that 75 percent of people with OCD are significantly helped by cognitive behavioral
therapy. And in ERP following procedure is done

● Exposure: This involves exposure to situations and objects that trigger fear and anxiety. Over time,
the anxiety generated by these obsessional cues decreases and, eventually, the obsessional cues
cause little or no anxiety. This is called habituation.
● Response: Response prevention refers to the ritual behaviors that people with OCD engage in to
reduce anxiety. This treatment helps people learn to resist the compulsion to perform these rituals.
SSRIs:

There are a number of drugs available for treating OCD, with the development of SSRIs expanding the range
of treatment options. SSRIs that may be prescribed to help people manage OCD include:

● clomipramine
● fluoxetine
● fluvoxamine
● paroxetine hydrochloride
● sertraline
● citalopram
● escitalopram