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What Is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

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ABSTRACT
This paper explains the psychological disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (also known as OCD). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the repetitive thoughts and behaviors that the patient is unable to control themselves from doing, conducting certain habits that affect their way of life. This documentation condenses information on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The symptoms are explained thoroughly in this paper, as also the treatment for this specific disorder. A case study is also added as an example for a patient with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The information on treatment includes the medication Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SRIs), and therapy such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This paper can help understand if a person …show more content…
These two are Obsessions and Compulsions. The person can have one symptom or the other and, in some instances, both. It is stated by the American Psychiatric Association (2000) that obsessions are repeated thoughts or mental images a person has that causes anxiety in them. One example of an obsession a person with OCD may have is having everything in perfect order. These obsessions would result in compulsions, where the person repeats certain behaviors as a result of those repeated thoughts. An example of a compulsion from the obsession stated earlier would be the same person trying to make everything look perfect and orderly. They would spend numerous hours just to get everything asymmetrical (American Psychiatric Association, …show more content…
It is known that both the therapy and medication has worked the same for some. For therapy, a certain type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used. The type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is known as Exposure and Response Prevention, where the patient is put in a situation where it would normally provoke fear in them, but would not receive the consequences that they fear because of their actions. This treatment can help the brain “unlearn” behaviors that were a result of their OCD and even possibly increase the effectiveness of the medication if used together (National Institute of Mental Health,

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