Aden is a boy who is 14 years old. His parents recently discovered that he has been washing his hands very frequently and repetitively for long periods of time throughout the day. Additionally, his parents have also noticed his strange behavior that he doesn’t like germs, getting dirty and has a fear of contamination. Aden’s parents have also noticed that he doesn’t like using his hands a lot and he stresses and gets very anxious over touching something that is appears dirty to him. His parents have been observing that he also shows signs of being depressed. When Aden is asked to grab, hold, or do anything, he distresses over it and with difficulty he will do it, but as soon as he is done, he has the urge to wash his hands repeatedly for over
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Criteria A in the DSM-5 indicates that to have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder a person must show signs of having obsessions, compulsions, or signs of both (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017). According to Nolen-Hoeksema and Marroquin (2017) obsessions are defined by two things, the first by having “recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause anxiety or distress” (p. 140). The second thing is that the “individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, images, or to neutralize them with another thought or action”; for example, having a compulsion (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, p. 140). Such “compulsions are defined by having repetitive behaviors like hand washing, ordering, and checking or having mental acts like praying, counting, or repeating words silently which drives the individual to perform in response to an obsession or to something that must be done rigidly” (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, p. 140). It is also defined by having “behaviors or mental acts that help prevent or reduce anxiety or distress, or preventing a dreaded event or situation” (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, …show more content…
Aden’s OCD may have developed by genetic heritability or by cognitive-behavioral learning. Since Aden’s father was previously diagnosed with OCD, this might have been passed down on to him or made him more vulnerable to developing it. Another possibility that there might be is that Aden had the thought of contamination and how bad it can be. Aden might have developed an obsession over the thought and consequently it grew into a fear for not wanting to get dirty or contaminated, so he started to wash his hands more frequently to avoid getting germs. Aden knew that by washing his hands, he would get rid of the germs and would not contaminate or be contaminated. This resulted in Aden creating a compulsion of washing his hands frequently to the point that it takes up most of his time every day, becoming a functional
Criteria A in the DSM-5 indicates that to have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder a person must show signs of having obsessions, compulsions, or signs of both (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017). According to Nolen-Hoeksema and Marroquin (2017) obsessions are defined by two things, the first by having “recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause anxiety or distress” (p. 140). The second thing is that the “individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, images, or to neutralize them with another thought or action”; for example, having a compulsion (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, p. 140). Such “compulsions are defined by having repetitive behaviors like hand washing, ordering, and checking or having mental acts like praying, counting, or repeating words silently which drives the individual to perform in response to an obsession or to something that must be done rigidly” (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, p. 140). It is also defined by having “behaviors or mental acts that help prevent or reduce anxiety or distress, or preventing a dreaded event or situation” (Nolen-Hoeksema & Marroquin, 2017, …show more content…
Aden’s OCD may have developed by genetic heritability or by cognitive-behavioral learning. Since Aden’s father was previously diagnosed with OCD, this might have been passed down on to him or made him more vulnerable to developing it. Another possibility that there might be is that Aden had the thought of contamination and how bad it can be. Aden might have developed an obsession over the thought and consequently it grew into a fear for not wanting to get dirty or contaminated, so he started to wash his hands more frequently to avoid getting germs. Aden knew that by washing his hands, he would get rid of the germs and would not contaminate or be contaminated. This resulted in Aden creating a compulsion of washing his hands frequently to the point that it takes up most of his time every day, becoming a functional