Obsessive – compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder where people feel the need to check things repeatedly, perform certain routines repeatedly or even have certain thoughts repeatedly. People are unable to control either the thoughts or activities for more than a short period of time.
Obsession: an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters your mind, causing feelings of anxiety, disgust or unease.
Compulsion: A repetitive behaviour or mental act that you feel you need to carry out to try to temporarily relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought.
Causes of OCD
- Family history, if a family member has it.
- Differences in the brain, a person with OCD have areas of unusually high activities in their brain or low levels of a chemical called serotonin
- Life events, OCD may be more common in people who’ve experienced bullying, abuse or neglect and it sometimes start after an important life event.
- Personality – Neat, meticulous, methodical people with high standards.
Treatments for OCD
- Psychological therapy – usually a special type of cognitive behavioural therapy that helps you face your fears and obsessive thoughts without ‘putting them right’ with compulsions.
- Medication – usually a type of antidepressant medication called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that can help by altering the balance of chemicals in your brain.
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