Obsessive-Compulsive is an Anxiety and Distress Disorders

Obsessive ¡V Compulsive Disorder (OCD) .

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (henceforth OCD) is an anxiety-related disorder and is a potentially disabling condition that can persist throughout a person¡s life. The key features of OCD are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions can be defined as persistent ideas, thoughts impulses or images that are experienced as inappropriate and intrusive. This then causes the person high levels of anxiety and distress. Compulsion, on the other hand, Are repetitive behaviors like hand washing, ordering, and checking. The reason for doing this is to prevent or to reduce the anxiety or distress felt.

The cause of OCD is no longer solely attributed to the attitudes the patient learned as a child. The search for causes now focuses on the interaction of neurobiological factors and environmental influences and cognitive processes.

It has been found that OCD affects 1 to 2 % of the population in Malaysia and the United States. It cuts across all ethnic groups and affects both males and females. The onset of OCD is earlier in males i.e. between 6 to 15 years of age while the disorder affects females in the age range of 20 to 29.

¡§ Bob saw his psychiatrist for treatment of depression for six months before he finally had the courage to bring up his other ‘secret¡ problem. Since childhood, he had a compulsion to count things. He had to count the letters in words and in people¡s names. If the letters added up to any number except 9, he felt a sense of release and could stop counting. He knew it was silly but nevertheless, he had a fear that if he did not do this, something bad could happen to his mom or dad. He seemed unable to stop doing this. He did poorly in school because he was distracted by his secret compulsion to count letters when he should be paying attention to the teacher¡s lessons. He was later bothered as a teenager by upsetting sacrilegious mental images when he was in church.