HealthCare >> Mental Health >> Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• The Boy could not stop washing his hands.......
• The woman could not stop checking the lock.....
• The man could no stop himself from praying to God again & again......

Sandeep, an 18-yr. old boy has to wash his hands 20-25 times in a day. Every time he touches any thing in the house like the table or the door he had to go & wash his hands. He always takes 20-25 minutes washing his hands because if he touches the tap while closing he will have to wash his hands again and so the vicious cycle continues. He takes one hour to take bath because touching the bucket means washing the hands again. It has continued for the last 3 years and 10 hours out of the 24 hours go in completing each of these steps of washing.

Sandeep is suffering from an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD.

How common is OCD?
Out of every 10 patients coming to the psychiatrist, one patient is suffering from this illness.

But why can't these people simply stop it?
That is the PROBLEM. They are not mad people. They realize that it is Irrational /Inappropriate but it is a recurrent thought / impulse which is not in the control of the person (patient) and is called Obsessive thought. They try to stop or ignore it but cannot do it.

The thought is followed by some rituals /acts which are called Compulsion. A combination of obsessive thoughts followed by compulsive actions is known as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Oh yes!, I know somebody my office. We always feel the he's obsessed with cleanliness. His table, his dresses are always spotless. Is he suffering from an Obsessive Compulsive disorder?

Obsessive Compulsive disorder is a disease, an illness. Your friend in the office is a habitually clean person (its his habit) or may be a perfectionist. He's not suffering from a disease .In OCD the person is intensely distressed by the recurrent thought, which does not allow him to do his routine activities.

What are the other presentations of this disease?
Other presentations are:

• Pathological doubt which leads to repeated thoughts of hurting someone followed by rituals of crying or counting etc.
• Reflected sexual thoughts and imaginations followed buy rituals of praying etc.
• Excessive praying on religious concern out of keeping with the person's background.
• Excessive concern about symmetry & precision.
• Hoarding & collecting.
• Rituals that few things have to be done in a specific order

Does this disorder come in childhood, or at any age?
The OCD usually presents at the age of 20-30 yr. If it presents in older age (in 4th decade) it usually comes after a stressful situation in life. The person has some problem in life e.g. death of some dear one, problem in marriage etc. In such cases DEPRESSION may be the main illness, which presents in the manner.

What is the cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
It's a multi factorial illness, that is to say that a variety of factors and their combination is responsible.

• Important contribution is of certain brain chemicals. Their decreased presence is considered to be a factor. One such chemical is Serotonin.
• Inheritance is another importance contributing factor. Sometimes some close relative in family suffers from this illness.
• Personality of the person might be very perfectionist.
• Upbringing from childhood can have an important role.

Is OCD treatable?
Yes, Very much.

How?

• The most important thing is to believe that it is an illness like any other illness (like Pneumonia or Typhoid).
• The person is sick & he /she's not doing it deliberately to harass others.
• It requires active intervention by a specialist doctor (a psychiatrist).
• There are medicines available, which are very effective.
• There are other methods like Psychotherapy and Behaviour therapy.