Ocd thoughts examples

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - Symptoms and causes

Overview

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress.

You may try to ignore or stop your obsessions, but that only increases your distress and anxiety. Ultimately, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to try to ease your stress. Despite efforts to ignore or get rid of bothersome thoughts or urges, they keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior — the vicious cycle of OCD.

OCD often centers around certain themes — for example, an excessive fear of getting contaminated by germs. To ease your contamination fears, you may compulsively wash your hands until they're sore and chapped.

If you have OCD, you may be ashamed and embarrassed about the condition, but treatment can be effective.

Symptoms

Obsessive-compulsive disorder usually includes both obsessions and compulsions. But it's also possible to have only obsession symptoms or only compulsion symptoms. You may or may not realize that your obsessions and compulsions are excessive or unreasonable, but they take up a great deal of time and interfere with your daily routine and social, school or work functioning.

Obsession symptoms

OCD obsessions are repeated, persistent and unwanted thoughts, urges or images that are intrusive and cause distress or anxiety. You might try to ignore them or get rid of them by performing a compulsive behavior or ritual. These obsessions typically intrude when you're trying to think of or do other things.

Obsessions often have themes to them, such as:

Fear of contamination or dirt
Doubting and having difficulty tolerating uncertainty
Needing things orderly and symmetrical
Aggressive or horrific thoughts about losing control and harming yourself or others
Unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects

Examples of obsession signs and symptoms include:

Fear of being contaminated by touching objects others have touched
Doubts that you've locked the door or turned off the stove
Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way
Images of driving your car into a crowd of people
Thoughts about shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately in public
Unpleasant sexual images
Avoidance of situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands

Compulsion symptoms

OCD compulsions are repetitive behaviors that you feel driven to perform. These repetitive behaviors or mental acts are meant to reduce anxiety related to your obsessions or prevent something bad from happening. However, engaging in the compulsions brings no pleasure and may offer only a temporary relief from anxiety.

You may make up rules or rituals to follow that help control your anxiety when you're having obsessive thoughts. These compulsions are excessive and often are not realistically related to the problem they're intended to fix.

As with obsessions, compulsions typically have themes, such as:

Washing and cleaning
Checking
Counting
Orderliness
Following a strict routine
Demanding reassurance

Examples of compulsion signs and symptoms include:

Hand-washing until your skin becomes raw
Checking doors repeatedly to make sure they're locked
Checking the stove repeatedly to make sure it's off
Counting in certain patterns
Silently repeating a prayer, word or phrase
Arranging your canned goods to face the same way

Severity varies

OCD usually begins in the teen or young adult years, but it can start in childhood. Symptoms usually begin gradually and tend to vary in severity throughout life. The types of obsessions and compulsions you experience can also change over time. Symptoms generally worsen when you experience greater stress. OCD, usually considered a lifelong disorder, can have mild to moderate symptoms or be so severe and time-consuming that it becomes disabling.

When to see a doctor

There's a difference between being a perfectionist — someone who requires flawless results or performance, for example — and having OCD. OCD thoughts aren't simply excessive worries about real problems in your life or liking to have things clean or arranged in a specific way.

If your obsessions and compulsions are affecting your quality of life, see your doctor or mental health professional.

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Causes

The cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder isn't fully understood. Main theories include:

Biology. OCD may be a result of changes in your body's own natural chemistry or brain functions.
Genetics. OCD may have a genetic component, but specific genes have yet to be identified.
Learning. Obsessive fears and compulsive behaviors can be learned from watching family members or gradually learned over time.

Risk factors

Factors that may increase the risk of developing or triggering obsessive-compulsive disorder include:

Family history. Having parents or other family members with the disorder can increase your risk of developing OCD.
Stressful life events. If you've experienced traumatic or stressful events, your risk may increase. This reaction may, for some reason, trigger the intrusive thoughts, rituals and emotional distress characteristic of OCD.
Other mental health disorders. OCD may be related to other mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse or tic disorders.

Complications

Problems resulting from obsessive-compulsive disorder may include, among others:

Excessive time spent engaging in ritualistic behaviors
Health issues, such as contact dermatitis from frequent hand-washing
Difficulty attending work, school or social activities
Troubled relationships
Overall poor quality of life
Suicidal thoughts and behavior

Prevention

There's no sure way to prevent obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, getting treatment as soon as possible may help prevent OCD from worsening and disrupting activities and your daily routine.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Associated Procedures

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - HelpGuide.

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Are obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors interfering with your daily life? Explore the symptoms, treatment, and self-help for OCD.

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

It’s normal, on occasion, to go back and double-check that the iron is unplugged or worry that you might be contaminated by germs, or even have an occasional unpleasant, violent thought. But if you suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors become so consuming they interfere with your daily life.

OCD is characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and ritualized, repetitive behaviors you feel compelled to perform. If you have OCD, you probably recognize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational—but even so, you feel unable to resist them and break free.

Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, OCD causes the brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge. For example, you may check the stove 20 times to make sure it’s really turned off because you’re terrified of burning down your house, or wash your hands until they’re scrubbed raw for fear of germs. While you don’t derive any sense of pleasure from performing these repetitive behaviors, they may offer some passing relief for the anxiety generated by the obsessive thoughts.

You may try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen your symptoms or self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. But while it can seem like there’s no escaping your obsessions and compulsions, there are plenty of things you can do to break free of unwanted thoughts and irrational urges and regain control of your thoughts and actions.

Is OCD an anxiety disorder?

Historically, OCD was categorized as an anxiety disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). However, in the fifth edition, the DSM separated OCD from the “Anxiety Disorders” section and created a new section called “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Conditions.”

The change was made after researchers noted important differences between OCD and anxiety disorders. For example, with OCD you respond to unwanted thoughts with repetitive, unhelpful rituals. You may or may not realize that your thoughts and compulsions, such as excessive hand washing, are irrational. With anxiety, though, you're more likely to ruminate over real-world concerns, such as a fear of being mocked or judged. You may respond by avoiding the source of your fear, but won’t use odd rituals to ease your distress.

Certain interventions for OCD and anxiety disorders can also differ. To deal with an anxiety disorder, you might need to practice gradually facing your fears, whereas with OCD, it’s also important to address the compulsive behavior.

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OCD obsessions and compulsions

Obsessions are involuntary thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again in your mind. You don't want to have these ideas, but you can't stop them. Unfortunately, these obsessive thoughts are often disturbing and distracting.

Compulsions are behaviors or rituals that you feel driven to act out again and again. Usually, compulsions are performed in an attempt to make obsessions go away. For example, if you're afraid of contamination, you might develop elaborate cleaning rituals. However, the relief never lasts. In fact, the obsessive thoughts usually come back stronger. And the compulsive rituals and behaviors often end up causing anxiety themselves as they become more demanding and time-consuming. This is the vicious cycle of OCD.

Most people with OCD fall into one of the following categories:

Washers are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions.
Checkers repeatedly check things (oven turned off, door locked, etc.) that they associate with harm or danger.
Doubters and sinners are afraid that if everything isn't perfect or done just right something terrible will happen, or they will be punished.
Counters and arrangers are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements.

OCD and hoarding

Hoarding used to be considered a category of OCD. While estimates suggest that up to 25 percent of people with OCD experience compulsive hoarding, it can also be a sign of a separate condition, hoarding disorder.

Hoarders fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away and hoard things that they don’t need or use. However, there are distinctions between OCD-related hoarding and hoarding disorder.

OCD-related hoarders tend not to accumulate so many possessions that their homes become unmanageable. Hoarding for them is usually unwelcome and distressing—a way to manage intrusive thoughts.

Someone with hoarding disorder, on the other hand, experiences both positive and negative emotions. Acquiring possessions provides pleasure rather than simply satisfying a compulsion and they being surrounded by their things provides comfort. The distress in hoarding disorder stems more from the consequences of hoarding—the clutter and unsafe environment—along with the anxiety of having to discard possessions.

Read: Hoarding Disorder: Help for Hoarders.

Just because you have obsessive thoughts or perform compulsive behaviors does NOT mean that you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. With OCD, these thoughts and behaviors cause tremendous distress, take up a lot of time (at least one hour per day), and interfere with your daily life and relationships.

Most people with obsessive-compulsive disorder have both obsessions and compulsions, but some people experience just one or the other.

Common obsessive thoughts in OCD include:

Fear of being contaminated by germs or dirt or contaminating others.
Fear of losing control and harming yourself or others.
Intrusive sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images.
Excessive focus on religious or moral ideas.
Fear of losing or not having things you might need.
Order and symmetry: the idea that everything must line up “just right”.
Superstitions; excessive attention to something considered lucky or unlucky.

Common compulsive behaviors in OCD include:

Excessive double-checking of things, such as locks, appliances, and switches.
Repeatedly checking in on loved ones to make sure they're safe.
Counting, tapping, repeating certain words, or doing other senseless things to reduce anxiety.
Spending a lot of time washing or cleaning.
Ordering or arranging things “just so”.
Praying excessively or engaging in rituals triggered by religious fear.
Accumulating “junk” such as old newspapers or empty food containers.

OCD symptoms in children

While the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder usually occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, younger children sometimes have symptoms that look like OCD. However, the symptoms of other disorders, such as ADHD, autism, and Tourette's syndrome, can also look like obsessive-compulsive disorder, so a thorough medical and psychological exam is essential before any diagnosis is made.

The sudden development of intense OCD symptoms can also be a sign of pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS).

Read: PANS and PANDAS: Acute-Onset OCD in Children.

OCD self-help tip 1: Identify your triggers

The first step to managing your OCD symptoms is to recognize the triggers—the thoughts or situations—that bring on your obsessions and compulsions. Record a list of the triggers you experience each day and the obsessions they provoke. Rate the intensity of the fear or anxiety you experienced in each situation and then the compulsions or mental strategies you used to ease your anxiety. For example, if you have a fear of being contaminated by germs, touching a railing at the mall might generate a fear intensity of 3, whereas touching the restroom floor in the mall might generate a 10 and require 15 minutes of hand washing to ease your anxiety.

Keeping track of your triggers can help you anticipate your urges. And by anticipating your compulsive urges before they arise, you can help to ease them. For example, if your compulsive behavior involves checking that doors are locked, windows closed, or appliances turned off, try to lock the door or turn off the appliance with extra attention the first time.

Create a solid mental picture and then make a mental note. Tell yourself, “The window is now closed,” or “I can see that the oven is turned off. ”
When the urge to check arises later, you will find it easier to re-label it as “just an obsessive thought.”

Identifying and recording your triggers also provides an important tool for learning to resist your OCD compulsions.

Tip 2: Learn to resist OCD compulsions

It might seem smart to avoid the situations that trigger your obsessive thoughts, but the more you avoid them, the scarier they feel. Conversely, by repeatedly exposing yourself to your OCD triggers, you can learn to resist the urge to complete your compulsive rituals. This is known as exposure and response prevention (ERP) and is a mainstay of professional therapy for OCD.

ERP requires you to repeatedly expose yourself to the source of your obsession—and then refrain from the compulsive behavior you’d usually perform to reduce your anxiety. If you are a compulsive hand washer, for example, that could mean touching the door handle in a public restroom and then not allowing yourself to wash your hands. As you sit with the anxiety, the urge to wash your hands will gradually begin to go away on its own. In this way, you’ll learn that you don’t need the ritual to get rid of your anxiety and that you have some control over your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

Tackling your biggest fears straight off might be too extreme, so ERP exercises start with you confronting lesser fears and then working your way up the “fear ladder.” Confront those situations that generate a low fear intensity and once you’re able to tolerate the anxiety you can move on to the next, more difficult exposure challenge.

Building your fear ladder

Think about your end goal (to be able to use a public restroom without fear of contamination, for example, or to drive to work without stopping to check if you’ve hit something) and then break down the steps needed to reach that goal. Using the information you recorded in identifying your triggers, make a list of situations from the least scary to the most scary. The first step should make you slightly anxious, but not so frightened that you’re too intimidated to try it.

Here's a sample fear ladder:

Goal: To drive to work without stopping to check if you’ve hit something
Fear intensity	Situation
10	Drive all the way to work without stopping to check if you've hit something
8	Don’t phone your spouse to check they got to work safely
6	Leave the house, lock the front door and walk away without checking
4	Turn off the stove and leave the room without checking
2	Put milk in the refrigerator without checking the top is secure

Using your fear ladder

Work your way up the ladder. Start with the first step and don’t move on until you start to feel more comfortable doing it. If possible, stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to decrease. The longer you expose yourself to your OCD trigger, the more you’ll get used to it and the less anxious you’ll feel when you face it the next time. Once you’ve done a step on several separate occasions without feeling too much anxiety, you can move on to the next step. If a step is too hard, break it down into smaller steps or go slower.

As you’re resisting your compulsions, focus on the feelings of anxiety. Instead of trying to distract yourself, allow yourself to feel anxious as you resist the urge to engage in your compulsive behavior. You may believe that the discomfort you’re feeling will continue until you engage in the compulsion. But if you stick with it, the anxiety will fade. And you’ll realize that you’re not going to “lose control” or have some kind of breakdown if you don’t perform the ritual.

Practice. The more often you practice, the quicker your progress will be. But don’t rush. Go at a pace that you can manage without feeling overwhelmed. And remember: you will feel uncomfortable and anxious as you face your fears, but the feelings are only temporary. Each time you expose yourself to your trigger, your anxiety should lessen and you’ll start to realize that you have more control (and less to fear) than you thought.

Tip 3: Challenge obsessive thoughts

Everyone has troubling thoughts or worries from time to time. But obsessive-compulsive disorder causes the brain to get stuck on a particular anxiety-provoking thought, causing it to play over and over in your head. The more unpleasant or distressing the thought, the more likely you are to try to repress it. But repressing thoughts is almost impossible and trying usually has the opposite effect, causing the unpleasant thought to resurface more frequently and become more bothersome.

As with resisting compulsions, you can overcome disturbing, obsessive thoughts by learning to tolerate them through exposure and response prevention exercises. It’s also important to remind yourself that just because you have an unpleasant thought, that doesn’t make you a bad person. Your thoughts are just thoughts. Even unwanted, intrusive, or violent thoughts are normal—it’s only the importance you attach to them that turns them into damaging obsessions.

The following strategies can help you see your thoughts for what they are and regain a sense of control over your anxious mind.

Write down your obsessive thoughts

Keep a pad and pencil on you, or type on a smartphone. When you begin to obsess, write down all your thoughts or compulsions.

Keep writing as the OCD urges continue, aiming to record exactly what you're thinking, even if you're repeating the same phrases or the same urges over and over.
Writing it all down will help you see just how repetitive your obsessions are.
Writing down the same phrase or urge hundreds of times will help it lose its power.
Writing thoughts down is much harder work than simply thinking them, so your obsessive thoughts are likely to disappear sooner.

Create an OCD worry period

Rather than trying to suppress obsessions or compulsions, develop the habit of rescheduling them.

Choose one or two 10-minute “worry periods” each day, time you can devote to obsessing.
During your worry period, focus only on negative thoughts or urges. Don’t try to correct them. At the end of the worry period, take a few calming breaths, let the obsessive thoughts go, and return to your normal activities. The rest of the day, however, is to be designated free of obsessions.
When thoughts come into your head during the day, write them down and “postpone” them to your worry period.

Challenge your obsessive thoughts

Use your worry period to challenge negative or intrusive thoughts by asking yourself:

What’s the evidence that the thought is true? That it’s not true? Have I confused a thought with a fact?
Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation?
What’s the probability that what I’m scared of will actually happen? If the probability is low, what are some more likely outcomes?
Is the thought helpful? How will obsessing about it help me and how will it hurt me?
What would I say to a friend who had this thought?

Create a tape of your OCD obsessions or intrusive thoughts

Focus on one specific thought or obsession and record it to a tape recorder or smartphone.

Recount the obsessive phrase, sentence, or story exactly as it comes into your mind.
Play the tape back to yourself, over and over for a 45-minute period each day, until listening to the obsession no longer causes you to feel highly distressed.
By continuously confronting your worry or obsession you will gradually become less anxious. You can then repeat the exercise for a different obsession.

Tip 4: Reach out for support

OCD can get worse when you feel powerless and alone, so it’s important to build a strong support system. The more connected you are to other people, the less vulnerable you’ll feel. And just talking to an understanding person about your worries and urges can make them seem less threatening.

Stay connected to family and friends. Obsessions and compulsions can consume your life to the point of social isolation. In turn, social isolation will aggravate your OCD symptoms. It’s important to invest in relating to family and friends. Talking face-to-face about your worries and urges can make them feel less real and less threatening.

Join an OCD support group. You’re not alone in your struggle with OCD, and participating in a support group can be an effective reminder of that. OCD support groups enable you to both share your own experiences and learn from others who are facing the same problems.

Tip 5: Manage stress

While stress doesn’t cause OCD, it can trigger symptoms or make them worse. Physical exercise and connecting with another person face-to-face are two very effective ways to calm your nervous system. You can also:

Quickly self-soothe and relieve anxiety symptoms by making use of one or more of your physical senses—sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste—or movement. You might try listening to a favorite piece of music, looking at a treasured photo, savoring a cup of tea, or stroking a pet.

Practice relaxation techniques. Mindful meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and other relaxation techniques can help lower your overall stress and tension levels and help you manage your urges. For best results, try practicing a relaxation technique regularly.

Tip 6: Make lifestyle changes to ease OCD

A healthy, balanced lifestyle plays a big role in easing anxiety and keeping OCD compulsions, fears, and worry at bay.

Exercise regularly. Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment that helps to control OCD symptoms by refocusing your mind when obsessive thoughts and compulsions arise. For maximum benefit, try to get 30 minutes or more of aerobic activity on most days. Ten minutes several times a day can be as effective as one longer period especially if you pay mindful attention to the movement process.

Get enough sleep. Not only can anxiety and worry cause insomnia, but a lack of sleep can also exacerbate anxious thoughts and feelings. When you're well rested, it's much easier to keep your emotional balance, a key factor in coping with anxiety disorders such as OCD.

Avoid alcohol and nicotine. Alcohol temporarily reduces anxiety and worry, but it actually causes anxiety symptoms as it wears off. Similarly, while it may seem that cigarettes are calming, nicotine is actually a powerful stimulant. Smoking leads to higher, not lower, levels of anxiety and OCD symptoms.

Treatment for OCD

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and generally involves two components:

Exposure and response prevention, which requires repeated exposure to the source of your obsession, as explained above.
Cognitive therapy, which focuses on the catastrophic thoughts and exaggerated sense of responsibility you feel. A big part of cognitive therapy for OCD is teaching you healthy and effective ways of responding to obsessive thoughts, without resorting to compulsive behavior.

Other OCD treatments

In addition to cognitive-behavioral therapy, the following treatments are also used for OCD:

Medication. Antidepressants are sometimes used in conjunction with therapy for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, medication alone is rarely effective in relieving the symptoms.

Family Therapy. Since OCD often causes problems in family life and social adjustment, family therapy can help promote understanding of the disorder and reduce family conflicts. It can also motivate family members and teach them how to help their loved one with OCD.

Group Therapy. Through interaction with fellow OCD sufferers, group therapy provides support and encouragement and decreases feelings of isolation.

Is unresolved trauma playing a role in your OCD?

In some people, OCD symptoms such as compulsive washing or hoarding are ways of coping with trauma. If you have post-traumatic OCD, cognitive approaches may not be effective until underlying traumatic issues are resolved.

How to help someone with OCD

The way you react to your loved one's OCD symptoms can have a big impact on their outlook and recovery. Negative comments or criticism can make OCD worse, while a calm, supportive environment can help improve the outcome of treatment.

Avoid making personal criticisms. Remember, your loved one's OCD behaviors are symptoms, not character flaws.

Don't scold someone with OCD or tell them to stop performing rituals. They can't comply, and the pressure to stop will only make the behaviors worse.

Be as kind and patient as possible. Each sufferer needs to overcome problems at their own pace. Praise any successful attempt to resist OCD, and focus attention on positive elements in the person's life.

Do not play along with your loved one’s rituals. Going along with your loved one’s OCD “rules,” or helping with their compulsions or rituals will only reinforce the behavior. Support the person, not their compulsions.

Keep communication positive and clear. Communication is important so you can find a balance between supporting your loved one and standing up to the OCD symptoms and not further distressing your loved one.

Find the humor. Laughing together over the funny side and absurdity of some OCD symptoms can help your loved one become more detached from the disorder. Just make sure your loved one feels respected and in on the joke.

Don't let OCD take over family life. Sit down as a family and decide how you will work together to tackle your loved one's symptoms. Try to keep family life as normal as possible and the home a low-stress environment.

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.

References
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What You Need to Know About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (PDF) – Including signs, symptoms, and treatment. (International OCD Foundation)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Children – Including common symptoms and behaviors. (KidsHealth)

Build a Fear Ladder – How to create and use fear ladders. (Anxiety Canada Youth)

(Video) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – Explanatory video from Khan Academy and American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (YouTube)

Hotlines and support

In the U.S.: Call the NAMI Helpline at 1-800-950-6264. Or Find a Therapist.

UK: Call Anxiety UK at 03444 775 774.

Canada: Find services at Anxiety Canada.

Australia: Call the SANE Help Centre at 1800 18 7263.

India: Call the Vandrevala Foundation at 1860 2662 345 or 1800 2333 330.

In other countries: Access a global database of OCD resources from the International OCD Foundation.

Last updated: December 30, 2022

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment

Great Thought is an obsessive compulsive disorder treatment program. We will relieve you of obsessive thoughts, movements and rituals. Let's get back to life!

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Frightening images and drives
Compulsive acts (rituals)
Intrusive check of one's own actions
Fear of trouble, pollution or infection
Inexplicable desire to count something
Excessive organization and pedantry
Perfectionism in relationships, work and even leisure
"Stuck", "looping" on one's thoughts

You feel that over time your mood becomes worse: apathy, depression, obsessions increase, and rituals begin to fill all your free time or harm your physical health.

You may have had more than one meeting with psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. You are not given the "scary" psychiatric diagnoses of Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder, but are prescribed medication and psychotherapy nonetheless. However, such treatment cannot be called effective - the symptoms persist and only aggressive pharmacotherapy temporarily reduces anxiety. nine0003

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a syndrome characterized by the presence of obsessive thoughts (obsessions) to which a person reacts with certain actions (compulsions). The causes of the disorder are rarely superficial. The syndrome is also accompanied by the development of obsessive memories and various pathological phobias. May be chronic, episodic or progressive.

Obsession - obsessive thought, persistent desire for something, uncontrollable and accompanied by anxiety and intense anxiety. In an attempt to cope with such thoughts, a person resorts to committing compulsions. nine0003

Compulsion - an irresistible need to perform certain actions (rituals), which can be assessed by the person himself as irrational or meaningless, and the internal need to perform them is forced and is the result of obsessive ideas.

Common examples of OCD manifestations

An exaggerated sense of danger. Fear of the materiality of thoughts:
- "now I will lose control and hurt my loved ones"
- "something terrible is about to happen, I can feel it"
- "I shouldn't think like that, all this will come true because of me"
Pathological fear of pollution. Thirst for Purity
Excessive perfectionism, exaggerated responsibility - "everything must be done perfectly", "everything depends on me, mistakes are unacceptable"

How does this painful algorithm work?

Most people have unwanted or obsessive thoughts quite often, but all sufferers of the disorder greatly exaggerate their importance. Fear of one's own thoughts leads to attempts to neutralize the negative feelings that arise from obsessions, for example by avoiding thought-provoking situations or by engaging in "rituals" of excessive self-cleansing or prayer. nine0003

As we noted earlier, repetitive avoidance behavior can "get stuck", "loop", that is, have a tendency to repeat. The cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder is the interpretation of intrusive thoughts as catastrophic and true.

If you periodically experience over the years:

Constant or fluctuating anxiety
The need to perform certain ritualized actions

And you are also persecuted:

Significant problems in studies and career
Failure to establish a serious relationship
Constant criticism and pressure from relatives
Many senseless activities
Excessive involvement in computer games and the Internet, alcohol
Loneliness and isolation

We strongly recommend that you do not delay seeking help and that you complete a remedial program. Consultations and psychotherapeutic sessions according to the program are held several times a week, until the relief of severe symptoms, then the frequency of meetings with specialists is reduced to 2–3 per month. Count on the fact that in the end we will deal with your problem together.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Neuro-Psi

Every day, the specialists of the NEURO-PSI clinic analyze the world practice in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy. The goal is the impartial selection and implementation of those methods of treatment and psychological assistance, the effectiveness of which has been convincingly proven in independent studies.

We are guided by the principles of evidence-based medicine and use as a basic method of treatment a psychotherapeutic paradigm, the effectiveness of which has been widely recognized by the professional community. nine0003

1. What is the essence of the obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment program

Since obsessive thoughts, rituals and conditions are only symptoms of mental dysfunction, the root cause must be treated in order to achieve a stable result. A comprehensive work is carried out with the client, taking into account the main factors that create well-being.

The main emphasis is on teaching the client how to properly respond to his thoughts, emotions, inner feelings and interpretation of external events. nine0003

All types of psychotherapeutic and drug treatments serve the same goal: to achieve the best result in the shortest possible time. At the same time, by coordinating the efforts of specialists in various fields, the most complete coverage of all types of mental illnesses, disorders and disorders is possible.

2. What treatments are used

Priority:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
- Reality Therapy.
- Choice Theory.
- Rational pharmacotherapy.
Psychopharmacotherapy (if indicated)
Biofeedback Therapy
Rational psychocorrection of stress
- Jacobson progressive muscle relaxation.
- Breathing techniques .
- Stress exposure.
- Self-control training.
Lifestyle modification
- Work with bad habits.
- Diet correction.
- Professional and social adaptation.

3. How is the treatment under the program

Each treatment program at the NEURO-PSI clinic consists of four stages:

diagnostics,
work with disease symptoms,
work with the causes of the disease,
consolidation of the achieved results.

Work efficiency is increased by dividing the treatment process into a predetermined number of sessions, at convenient times and without hospitalization. This means that each program is adapted to the problem that the client has addressed. nine0003

The program method of treatment is predictable, time-limited, productive, and, most importantly, understandable for the client.

Of course, the treatment takes place in a comfortable mode without interruption from work, study or family. Specialists of various profiles will work with you (team method). This is necessary to minimize the risk of diagnostic errors that could lead to the adoption of a suboptimal treatment plan.

Improvements in well-being and mood (healing) occur in stages: after the decrease in emotional problems, bodily symptoms decrease. Working with the causes (etiology) of obsessive-compulsive disorder helps to avoid relapses in the future. nine0003

4. What are the results and prognosis?

Upon completion of the program, you get rid of obsessive thoughts and rituals, fear of pollution, unmotivated fears, panic attacks and multiple vegetative symptoms (sudden jumps in blood pressure, heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea).

According to statistics, the effectiveness of the methods used approaches 100% if all recommendations of specialists are followed.

Skills you acquire during the program:

self-control and self-regulation
constructive analysis of the state of the body
understanding one's own mental and emotional sphere
ability to control one's attention
ability to act consciously in stressful situations

Significantly improves the emotional and physical condition, gains self-confidence, in the future. Emotional stress is removed, sleep and appetite are restored. The efficiency is greatly increased. nine0003

5. Where to start taking the course

In order for you to know the treatment plan, we recommend signing up for a diagnostic (first) consultation.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment

Great Thought is an obsessive compulsive disorder treatment program. We will relieve you of obsessive thoughts, movements and rituals. Let's get back to life!

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Frightening images and drives
Compulsive acts (rituals)
Intrusive check of one's own actions
Fear of trouble, pollution or contamination
Inexplicable desire to count something
Excessive organization and pedantry
Perfectionism in relationships, work and even leisure
"Stuck", "looping" on one's thoughts

You feel that over time your mood becomes worse: apathy, depression, obsessions increase, and rituals begin to fill all your free time or harm your physical health. nine0003

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Common examples of OCD manifestations

An exaggerated sense of danger. Fear of the materiality of thoughts:
- "now I will lose control and hurt my loved ones"
- "something terrible is about to happen, I can feel it"
- "I shouldn't think like that, all this will come true because of me"
Pathological fear of pollution. Thirst for Purity
Excessive perfectionism, exaggerated responsibility - "everything must be done perfectly", "everything depends on me, mistakes are unacceptable"

How does this painful algorithm work?

If you periodically experience over the years:

Constant or fluctuating anxiety
The need to perform certain ritualized actions
Persistent decline in quality of life due to the need to avoid certain thoughts and actions, places and events

And you are also persecuted:

Significant problems in studies and career
Failure to establish a serious relationship
Constant criticism and pressure from relatives
Many senseless activities
Excessive involvement in computer games and the Internet, alcohol
Loneliness and isolation

We strongly recommend that you do not delay seeking help and that you complete a remedial program. Consultations and psychotherapeutic sessions according to the program are held several times a week, until the relief of severe symptoms, then the frequency of meetings with specialists is reduced to 2–3 per month. Count on the fact that in the end we will deal with your problem together. nine0003

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Neuro-Psi

Every day, specialists of the Neuro-Psi clinic analyze the world practice in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy. The goal is the impartial selection and implementation of those methods of treatment and psychological assistance, the effectiveness of which has been convincingly proven in independent studies.

1. What is the essence of the obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment program

The main emphasis is on teaching the client how to properly respond to his thoughts, emotions, inner feelings and interpretation of external events. nine0003

2. What treatments are used

Priority:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
- Reality Therapy.
- Choice Theory.
- Rational pharmacotherapy.
Psychopharmacotherapy (if indicated)
Biofeedback Therapy
Rational psychocorrection of stress
- Jacobson progressive muscle relaxation.
- Breathing techniques .
- Stress exposure.
- Self-control training.
Lifestyle modification
- Work with bad habits.
- Diet correction.
- Professional and social adaptation.

3. How is the treatment under the program

Each treatment program at the NEURO-PSI clinic consists of four stages:

diagnostics,
work with disease symptoms,
work with the causes of the disease,
consolidation of the achieved results.

The program method of treatment is predictable, time-limited, productive, and, most importantly, understandable for the client.

4. What are the results and prognosis?

According to statistics, the effectiveness of the methods used approaches 100% if all recommendations of specialists are followed.

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