Miho
07-17-2008, 03:31 PM
This is a thread to discuss OCD. (Obsession Compulsion Disorder) It's a disorder that is hugely under-looked, and often times, people confuse OCD with an addictive behavior. I have a problem with this, because people who have a legitimate form, and sometimes severe form of OCD are not diagnosed properly. Also, especially in the case of men, they are more reluctant to openly discuss this disorder with others.
I've been doing a lot of reading about OCD, and about 50% of the United States who have OCD are men, and that doesn't include men who, like I mentioned above, are reluctant to talk about this disorder with others. So, that percentage is probably much higher. Anyway, gender isn't an important issue, but I thought I'd mention that as a side note.
I've had OCD since I was about 14-15 years old, and over the years, its nature has changed into different obsessions and fears. It really is one of the most awful mental disorders that I can think of. Truly, if you have a severe form of OCD, it's as if your mind is in a mental prison. I happen to be at the point where I've reached the peak of severity that this disorder can possibly go, but I won't hold my breath, at this point. I have gotten professional help sometime ago, and am taking medication, and even seen a therapist a couple times, but the therapist wasn't very effective, at least for me. There is one method I haven't attempted to do yet, which is a form of therapy called exposure and response prevention, or ERP. In ERP, a person learns to to tolerate a repeated exposure to something they fear and obsess about, and it's provided in stages, each reaching closer to the exposure. The theory goes, repeated exposure to the source of an anxiety will desensitize a person to it, losing its emotional attachment to it.
Here a few excerpts from an interesting article regarding OCD in the August issue of Men's Health magazine: (Don't ask. My sister brought it for me while I was in the hospital)
The author of the article talks about the difference between an obsession and a compulsion, as explained by Sanjaya Saxena, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California at San Diego and the director of the school's OCD program:
A true obsession, though, is a "a recurrent, intrusive fear, impulse, or image that is distressing and anxiety-provoking," he says, while a compulsion is "a repetitive behavior done in response to an obsessional fear or worry and designed to prevent something bad from happening or to reduce distress"
Also, of interest, is a quote by Jeff Szymanski, Ph.D., OCDI's (Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Institute) director of psychological services:
The core of OCD and the core of all anxiety is uncertainty. In uncertainty there is the potential for danger
OCD really has its field day in stress and in transition. Every time people with OCD go through a change, they're struck with uncertainty. They want to make themselves certain, and they spend all their time replaying what-if scenarios
I leave you with one last quote that I found impactful, said by Michael Jenike, M.D., the medical director of the center, who spoke of a patient at the center:
I had a 17-year-old who had kidney cancer that was going to kill him in 5 or 6 months. He also had a bad case of OCD. He said he'd rather get rid of his OCD and live only 6 months, than get rid of the cancer and live with the OCD. That's when it first hit me: This is some serious stuff
If anyone else has OCD, feel free to share. I made this thread to clear any confusion regarding the disorder, and to have a general discussion about it.
I've been doing a lot of reading about OCD, and about 50% of the United States who have OCD are men, and that doesn't include men who, like I mentioned above, are reluctant to talk about this disorder with others. So, that percentage is probably much higher. Anyway, gender isn't an important issue, but I thought I'd mention that as a side note.
I've had OCD since I was about 14-15 years old, and over the years, its nature has changed into different obsessions and fears. It really is one of the most awful mental disorders that I can think of. Truly, if you have a severe form of OCD, it's as if your mind is in a mental prison. I happen to be at the point where I've reached the peak of severity that this disorder can possibly go, but I won't hold my breath, at this point. I have gotten professional help sometime ago, and am taking medication, and even seen a therapist a couple times, but the therapist wasn't very effective, at least for me. There is one method I haven't attempted to do yet, which is a form of therapy called exposure and response prevention, or ERP. In ERP, a person learns to to tolerate a repeated exposure to something they fear and obsess about, and it's provided in stages, each reaching closer to the exposure. The theory goes, repeated exposure to the source of an anxiety will desensitize a person to it, losing its emotional attachment to it.
Here a few excerpts from an interesting article regarding OCD in the August issue of Men's Health magazine: (Don't ask. My sister brought it for me while I was in the hospital)
The author of the article talks about the difference between an obsession and a compulsion, as explained by Sanjaya Saxena, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California at San Diego and the director of the school's OCD program:
A true obsession, though, is a "a recurrent, intrusive fear, impulse, or image that is distressing and anxiety-provoking," he says, while a compulsion is "a repetitive behavior done in response to an obsessional fear or worry and designed to prevent something bad from happening or to reduce distress"
Also, of interest, is a quote by Jeff Szymanski, Ph.D., OCDI's (Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Institute) director of psychological services:
The core of OCD and the core of all anxiety is uncertainty. In uncertainty there is the potential for danger
OCD really has its field day in stress and in transition. Every time people with OCD go through a change, they're struck with uncertainty. They want to make themselves certain, and they spend all their time replaying what-if scenarios
I leave you with one last quote that I found impactful, said by Michael Jenike, M.D., the medical director of the center, who spoke of a patient at the center:
I had a 17-year-old who had kidney cancer that was going to kill him in 5 or 6 months. He also had a bad case of OCD. He said he'd rather get rid of his OCD and live only 6 months, than get rid of the cancer and live with the OCD. That's when it first hit me: This is some serious stuff
If anyone else has OCD, feel free to share. I made this thread to clear any confusion regarding the disorder, and to have a general discussion about it.