Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) At some point during their lifetimes, some people are bound to suffer from a psychological disorder. They may be afflicted with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. However, one anxiety disorder interests me personally, which locks the individuals that suffer from it into a perpetual cycle of continuous thoughts and behaviors. This disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is commonly known as OCD. Essentially, OCD is a psychological disorder where people possess unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to perform certain actions (compulsions). Keeping this definition in mind, it makes sense that those who are distressed by this disorder are preoccupied with rules, orderliness, and control. More specifically, the symptoms of OCD include a sense of urgency in actions, feeling upset if routines are interrupted, perfectionism, emotional withdrawal when the situation is uncontrollable, the inability to throw things away (hoarding), a lack of flexibility, & obsessions/compulsions that aren’t due to medical illness or drug use (and which cause major distress or interfere with everyday life). Since this disorder emphasizes obsessions and compulsions (hence the name OCD), it is important to focus on what exactly these two things are. I will begin by defining what obsessions are: the thoughts, images, or impulses that recur or persist despite a person’s efforts to suppress them. They are experienced as an unwanted invasion of consciousness that appear to be senseless and obnoxious, as well as being unacceptable to the person enduring them. In addition, the obsessive thoughts of people with OCD are very compelling, cause a lot of pain & agony, and may interfere with their occupational or social functioning. On top of that, part of the pain that OCD