Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

By Julia Kocsis
What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a psychiatric anxiety disorder where

people have unwanted and repeated obsessions and engage in repeated
acts in response to these obsessions.
 How can you get OCD?
The causes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are not fully understood, but some
beliefs about it include:

- Compulsions are learned behaviors which become repetitive and habitual when
they are associated with anxiety relief.
- OCD is caused by both genetic and environmental factors.
- A variety of problems in the brain are the cause.
- The disease is perpetuated through distorted beliefs.

It could be that several factors interact to trigger the development of OCD, and the
underlying causes may be further influenced by stressful life events, hormones, and
personality traits.
 What does it do to your body/mind?
A person suffering with OCD has persistent thoughts and fears that they associate with repetitive behaviors.
The compulsions provide short-term anxiety relief. The symptoms often have themes, such as germs or
order. Some compulsions might include:

1. Handwashing until the skin becomes raw

2. Avoidance of situations such as shaking hands
3. Checking doors repeatedly to make sure they’re locked
4. Checking the stove repeatedly to make sure it’s off
5. Counting or patterning
6. Picking the skin to the point that lesions appear
7. Hair pulling resulting in bald spots.
 Does it spread?
While it is not contagious from person to person within a
community, it can become all-consuming within one person. It
can begin in one area of a person’s life and spread to others. It
can also be passed in families with a genetic component.
How can it be treated?

There are numerous treatment options for OCD, but the most trusted
option is Exposure Response Prevention which exposes people to the things
that trigger anxiety and helps them stop responding to anxiety with
compulsions and rituals. Antidepressants are also commonly used.
5 interesting facts
1. OCD affects about 2.5 percent of people over their lifetime.
2. You are most at risk for developing OCD during late adolescence.
3. Males are more likely to develop OCD during early childhood, but
males and females are at equal risk following puberty.
4. Having family members with OCD significantly increases your risk.
5. Traumatic life events, such as sexual abuse or the death of a loved one,
increase your risk.
Works Cited
1. “Know More. Live Brighter.” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/.
2. “OCD Advocacy & Education.” Intrusive Thoughts, www.intrusivethoughts.org/.
3. “OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Treatment.” OCD Treatment Center - Residential Treatment for
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Timberline Knolls, timberlineknolls.com/mood-personality/ocd.
4. Department of Health & Human Services. “Home.” Better Health Channel - Home, Department of Health &
Human Services, 22 Aug. 2014, www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/.
5. “Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).” Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) |
OCD-UK, www.ocduk.org/ocd.
Works Cited pt. 2 (photos)
● “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).” Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – Research Highlight,
www.dc.nihr.ac.uk/highlights/ocd/.
● “OCD: Expectation Vs Reality.” Disorders and Social Media, 8 May 2016,
disodersandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/ocd-expectation-vs-reality/.
● “Posts about Hair Pulling OCD Obsessive Growth Tangle Depression Hair Loss Bad Habit Bald Anxiety
Awareness Health Body Image Self Conscious Condition Trichotillomania on Jessicadelaforce.” Jessicadelaforce,
jessicadelaforce.wordpress.com/tag/hair-pulling-ocd-obsessive-growth-tangle-depression-hair-loss-bad-habit-bald-
anxiety-awareness-health-body-image-self-conscious-condition-trichotillomania/.
● “OCD, Compulsive Urges and Actions, Dont Be Controled by the Feeling!” OCD: Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, believeyourselforg.blogspot.com/2012/09/ocd-compulsive-urges-and-actions-dont.html.
● Anita, et al. “A ‘Little Bit’ of OCD: When Words Trivialize a Disorder.” Knowing Neurons, 1 July 2017,
knowingneurons.com/2017/02/22/ocd/.