Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
It is a disorder characterized by the existence of obsessive and compulsive thoughts. It is a fairly prevalent problem that produces a lot of interference in the daily life of the people who suffer from it.
Obsessions.They are defined as recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that also cause anxiety or discomfort. Obsessions usually trigger negative anticipations that in turn trigger protective actions or compulsions, they can be of order or symmetry, forbidden contents, contamination, and storage. It is important to note that obsessions in the form of impulses are usually more bothersome than those in the form of images since the former are usually more intense and difficult to manage, and the latter are usually shorter and can be stopped by distraction.
Compulsions. These are the behaviors that are performed to relieve the anxiety produced by the obsessions.
There are different types of OCD, the most common are:
Pollution. This is a type that may refer to an obsession with cleanliness or personal hygiene. In these cases, sufferers think that they or their environment is contaminated (obsession) and they constantly clean themselves or their environment (compulsion) to eliminate the dirt.
Repetition. They think that if they do not do a certain number of things something bad will happen. For example, they think that if they do not say 3 times some word something bad will happen to a close relative (obsession), therefore, they repeat the word (compulsion) so that something bad does not happen.
Hoarding. They keep many objects such as newspapers, containers, etc. because they are afraid of throwing away something that may be useful or important. For example, a person is afraid of throwing away something important (obsession) and therefore keeps all the newspapers (compulsion). It is important to differentiate this disorder (hoarding disorder) from Diogenes syndrome. In the latter, garbage is accumulated while in hoarding disorder what is accumulated is not necessarily garbage.
Verification. These people have to check all the time that they have done things right because otherwise they think that something bad will happen. For example, they think that if they do not turn off the gas tap there will be an explosion (obsession) so they constantly check that they have turned off the gas tap (compulsion).
Order. They use rules and guidelines to order everything they have because if they don't they think something bad will happen. For example, a person thinks that if the pencils are not ordered from largest to smallest something bad will happen (obsession), therefore, he/she orders them (compulsion).
These are the most common, but there can also be OCD of the following types: religious, magical thinking, perfectionist, hypochondriac, questioning, aggressive, impulse, etc.
People with this disorder usually avoid the stimuli or situations that trigger their obsessions. Consequently, this disorder usually has serious social effects since this avoidance of these stimuli usually involves not leaving the house, not going to certain places, etc. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies it as one of the 20 most disabling diseases. Therefore, the most important consequences would be social isolation, work problems, depression and anxiety. In short, this disorder causes a lot of interference in the daily life of the people who suffer from it.
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