Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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O.C.D. Classed as a mental illness
and consists of recurrence intrusive, anxiety producing thoughts known as
obsessions. People who have o.c.d, try to suppress their thoughts by performing
irrational, ritualistic behaviours known as compulsions. Like many other disorders
o.c.d. Was believed to be rare, but is now thought to be as common as asthma.
It often occurs in childhood or adolescence and is three times more common
in boys than in girls. Although in adulthood it is believed to occur equally
between both sexes.
Current research indicates o.c.d. As a neurobioligic disorder. In research
it was found that people with o.c.d. Had physical differences in their brains
compared to those without the disorder. It is thought that neurons in the
brain of sufferers are only sensitive to serotonin, which is the chemical
that transmits the signals in the brain. O.C.D, is thought possibly to be
inherited and is sometimes triggered by puberty in a few cases. There is also
a suggestion that there is a link between streptococcal infections and the
onset of o.c.d. Despite similarities in cases, the disorder is not experienced
in the same way by any two people. Some symptoms which do tend to appear in
lots of cases are the compulsions, to check and recheck things sorting things
and counting, and hand washing.
Examples of (checking) it's not uncommon for someone with o.c.d. To lock doors
and windows before going to bed, but repeatedly going back to check you have
done it correctly 3 or 4 times, or locking a door on leaving the house and
getting a 100yards or so down the road and going back to recheck its locked
properly.
(Sorting) Some people like to sort things perfectly, like towels in a bathroom
being straight or tins in a cupboard being almost uniformed in being straight
and all labels facing forward.
Counting.. A sufferer will count how many steps they take, or how many stairs they climb, A child in school may have problems as they count the words what the teacher is saying, rather than listen to the teachers content. Therefore not knowing what the teacher has said or meant.
Handwashing... People with
OCD have an over exaggerated fear of contamination which leads to excessive
handwashing, everytime they touch something they need to wash their hands.
Although the sufferer realises their thoughts are irrational, they feel unable
to control their compulsions. Rituals are performed to deal with obsessions,
they don't take away the obsession but do play an important role in reducing
the anxiety and discomfort caused. It's also very hard to stop rituals as
this is believed to help prevent the fear of something terrible from happening.
This causes a lifetime of rituals which appear as superstitions.
However only 1 in 5 sufferers actually go for professional help after suffering
for several years, sometimes people get diagnosed as having OCD, after they
have sought professional help for a different problem like depression, which
actually does affect about a third of sufferers anyway.
Antidepressants seem to be the best way to deal with OCD, as they alter the
levels of serotonin that are available to transmit the signals in the brain,
they don't actually stop the obsessions or the compulsions, but it is believed
that they do reduce these in about 75-80% of sufferers.
There is also behavioural therapies which are extreme, and they aim to stop
certain behaviours such as the handwashing, they do this by making the sufferer
touch something dirty and refrain themselves from washing their hands.....
Obsession Compulsive Disorder
in Children..
OCD can make daily life very difficult and stressful for children. OCD symptoms often take up a great deal of a child's time and energy, making it difficult to complete tasks such as homework or household chores. Children may worry that they are crazy because they are aware their thinking is different than that of their friends and family. Self -esteem can be affected because Ocd has led to embarrassment time and time again, or has made the child feel out of control.
Mornings And Evenings Can Be
Especially Difficult For Children With OCD...
In the morning, they often feel they must do their rituals exactly right,
or the rest of the day will not go well. In the meantime, they are feeling
rushed to be on time for school. This leads to feeling stressed and irritable.
In the evenings, they might feel they must finish all of their rituals before
they can go to bed. At the same time, they know they must finish their homework
and then take care of any household chores and responsibilities. Some children
have been known to stay up late in to the night because of their OCD, and
are then exhausted the following day.
I would like to tell you about
my partner mark and how he has coped with OCD through his life..
Mark has put in his own word's how it started and how he feel's having OCD.
"I'm crazy, going out of my
mind. Or am I. This feeling keeps on coming and going, I'm a 12yr old boy
so confused by what's going on with my thoughts. I know my thinking is different
from other boy's and from my family. The hardest thing is hiding my obsessive
thought and the visible rituals from everyone. But that's okay, it's the one
thing I am good at. I remember only a year or two ago school was a great place
to be, in Juniors I was clever ahead of all the others, I was the bright one,
the best reader and loved to mix with other kids. But now things are different
I've now become weird, strange even. I can't concentrate anymore work is too
hard I can't read a book anymore I keep reading the same word or line at least
four times before moving on, by the time I've got to the next page, I've forgotten
what I've just read. Despite reading it over and over. People are different
as well they seem more clever than me now."
"The teachers are giving their instructions, it's too hard I don't concentrate
on the meaning of the sentence. I'm to busy counting how many words they just
said. At 13yrs. Things change again I count more and more things, I have more
strange thoughts. I rush everywhere so important to be on time, but it's too
hard there's so many little rituals to get through each morning first. I'm
becoming stressed because of it, the pressure it's too much to handle and
the pressure causes more rituals to arrive. This irritates me so much I begin
to have even more nasty thoughts".
"But things are worse at School, I don't work in all my lessons only the one ( yes the one) I like Mr. Domicans class, Spanish, and Italian. Lovely languages them. I enjoy them and I'm good at them. Mr. D, encourages me, tells me my work is good and I speak the languages really well. He was classed as the softest Teacher in school yet he was the only one I done my work for, in fact he was the only Teacher I would do homework for. I'd told the other Teachers I'm here for 6-7 hours a day and won't do my work whilst in here you don't seriously expect me to do work at home do you!"...
"at 15, Well what can I say,
time to skip school, go out and have a laugh, a friend at School, his Dad
was a painter and decorator, so we would sometimes skip School and help him
with his work. I enjoyed it and I got paid for it. Money for booze great.
I also met some older lads aged 17-19yrs, who I started to knock around with.
Great lads, one of which was a real Scallywag, he could get anything booze,
cigs the lot. I became a little salesman for him, selling to selected customers.
a wide range of cigs and booze. Some customers would used to joke: Hey Mark
you've got the biggest bag in school, yet you're the only one who turns up
at lessons with no books or pens. It was going great till some little creep
went to the teacher and grassed me up. But my salesman skills got me out of
a mess, this Teacher was a drinker and a smoker, a little bribe and I continued
with my little enterprise"...
"At 16 I realise a little ritual I do, how come I haven't noticed it
before?. I've left school but I know I done this on the way to school. It's
not stepping on the cracks in the pavement, if I do someone will get hurt.
The intruding thoughts and the little rituals become more and more. I struggled
with an obsession known as handwashing for years now, but I've just got my
first job as a trainee on a Y.T.S, (youth training scheme), working in a garage
amongst filthy oil and dirty tyres. Its horrible but it's helping me to come
to terms that just because I've got dirty I'm not full of germs".
"By the time I was 18 years of age I was able to control most of my thoughts and obsessions by facing them head on, I still get them trying to get in, but I find I can combat them well. Being obsessive also makes me very much a perfectionist, which I have been able to use throughout my working life, as a Quality Control Inspector."
BOOKS ON O.C.D
Book to left OCD
in children and adolescents. This book deals with the evaluation of OCD and
looks into basic cognitive behavioural therapies. Offers good ideas on different
techniques.... Second
book Tourette's syndrome This book is from the New England Journal of Medicine,with
contributions from researchers associated with the Yale Child Study Centre....
Middle book Passing for normal This book is an autobiography
of a woman who is a sufferer of OCD, and how she deals with the day to day
of living with the condition... also cover a little about tourettes syndrome....
Polly's magic games A
book for children who suffer with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This book
is about a sufferer of OCD...
Book end right Tormenting thoughts and rituals. This
book is about some case studies looking into the minds of OCD sufferers and
the thoughts and rituals which are associated with the condition...