Obsessive compulsive disorder. Intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature. Treatment for Complicated OCD

What is OCD, how it manifests itself, who is prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder and why, what accompanies OCD. The reasons

Hello! Usually in articles I try to give useful recommendations, but this one will be more educational in nature in order to generally understand what people are facing. We will analyze how the disorder most often manifests itself, who is most prone to it. This will give you some idea of ​​what to pay attention to and where to start moving towards recovery.

What is OCD (obsession and compulsion)

So, what is obsessive compulsive disorder, and in particular, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

Obsession- obsessive idea, periodically arising importunate, unwanted thought. People are disturbed by repetitive thoughts and thought-images. For example, about possible mistakes, omissions, inappropriate behavior, the possibility of infection, loss of control, etc.

Compulsion- this is a compulsive behavior that, as a person seems to be forced to do, in order to prevent something bad, that is, actions aimed at avoiding a perceived danger.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder was not so long ago considered a disease, but now in the international medical classification(ICD-10) OCD refers to neurotic disorders, which is successfully and permanently amenable to disposal by modern psychotherapeutic methods, in particular, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), founded by the famous psychotherapist Aaron Beck (although, in my opinion and experience, this method lacks some important points).

It is very viscous, tenacious and serious condition, which is able to absorb almost all the time, filling it with meaningless actions and repetitive thoughts and images. Against this background, people begin to experience difficulties in communication, in everyday affairs, study and work.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is divided into two forms:

1. obsessions when a person has only obsessive thoughts and images, whether they are contrasting (single) or numerous thoughts replacing each other for various reasons that he is afraid of, trying to get rid of and distract from them.
2. Obsessions-compulsions when there are obsessive thoughts and actions (rituals). If a person cannot control his anxious thoughts and feelings at all, he may try to do something, apply some actions to extinguish anxiety and get rid of annoying thoughts and fears.

Over time, these actions themselves become obsessive and seem to stick to the human psyche, then an overwhelming feeling arises to continue performing rituals, and in the future, even if a person decides not to do them, it simply does not work out.

Compulsive disorder is compulsive behavior.

Most often, rituals are associated with rechecking, washing, cleaning, counting, symmetry, hoarding, and, at times, the need to confess.

Such actions include, for example, counting windows, turning lights off and on, constantly checking the door, stoves, arranging things in a specific order, frequent washing hands (flats) and so on.

There are also many who use mental rituals associated with the pronunciation of certain words, self-persuasion, or building images according to a specific scheme. People do such rituals because it seems to them that if everything is done exactly (as it should be), then terrible thoughts will let them go, and in the first times of application, it really helps them.

As I wrote earlier, the main cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder is the harmful beliefs of people, which are often acquired in childhood, and then everything is fixed by emotional addiction.

Such beliefs and beliefs primarily include:

The thought is material - when unwanted thoughts come to mind, there is a fear that they will come true, for example, "what if I harm someone if I think about it."

The perfectionist belief that everything has to be perfect, you can't make mistakes.

Suspiciousness - belief in amulets and evil eye, a tendency to exaggerate (catastrophize) any more or less possible danger.

Hyper-responsibility (I have to control everything) - when a person believes that he is responsible not only for himself, but also for the appearance of thoughts and images in his head, as well as for the actions of other people.

Beliefs associated with an internal assessment of any phenomena and situations: “good - bad”, “right - wrong” and others.

Manifestations of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

So, let's look at all the most common manifestations of OCD in life.

1.Constant hand washing

Obsessive thoughts and desire to wash hands (bathroom, apartment) often (for a long time), use protective hygiene products everywhere, wear gloves for fear of infection (pollution).

Real example. One woman in her childhood was frightened by an anxious mother out of good intention - to warn her daughter - with worms. As a result, fear stuck in the child's psyche so much that, having matured, the woman learned everything possible about worms: from the stages of reproduction, how and where you can catch it, to the symptoms of infection. She tried to protect herself from slightest possibility get infected. However, knowledge did not help her to pick up the infection and, on the contrary, the fear escalated and grew into a constant and disturbing suspicion.

Note that the risk of infection in modern life with frequent examinations, hygiene and good conditions life is small, however, it is this fear as a risk to life, and not other possible threats, even more likely, that has become constant and main for a woman.

This may also include an obsession with cleaning around the house, where fear of germs or a disturbing feeling of “uncleanness” manifests itself.

In general, you can teach a child to be afraid of everything, even God, if you bring him up in religion and often say: "Don't do this and that, otherwise God will punish you." It often happens that children are taught to live in fear, shame and before God (life, people), and not in freedom and love for God and the whole world (universe).

3. Obsessive check of actions (control)

It is also a common manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here, people repeatedly check whether the doors are locked, whether the stove is turned off, etc. Such repeated checks, to convince themselves that everything is in order, arise because of anxiety for the safety of oneself or loved ones.

And often a person is driven by an anxious feeling that I did something wrong, missed it, didn’t finish it and don’t control it, the thought may arise: “what if I did something terrible, but I don’t remember and don’t know how to check it.” Background (chronic) anxiety simply suppresses the will of a person.

4. Obsessive counting

Some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder count everything that catches their eye: how many times they turned off the lights, the number of steps or blue (red) cars passing by, etc. The main reasons for this behavior are superstitions (suspiciousness) associated with fear that if I don’t exactly do or count exactly a specific number of times, then something bad may happen. This also includes - an attempt to distract from some disturbing, annoying thoughts.

People "account", without realizing it, persecute main goal- to extinguish the pressing anxiety, but it seems to them with the mind that by doing the ritual they will protect themselves from any consequences. Most are aware that all this is unlikely to help them in any way, but trying not to do the ritual, the anxiety intensifies, and they again begin to count, wash their hands, turn the lights on and off, etc.

5.Total correctness and organization

The same is a common form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with this obsession are able to bring organization and order to perfection. For example, in the kitchen everything should be symmetrical and on the shelves, otherwise I feel internal, emotional discomfort. The same is true in any business or even eating.

In a state of severe anxiety, a person ceases to take into account the interests of others, like other negative emotions, they exacerbate a person’s egoism, therefore, close people also get it.

6. Obsessive-compulsive dissatisfaction with their appearance

Dysmorphophobia, when a person believes that he has some kind of serious external flaw(ugliness) - also refer to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

People, for example, can look for hours until they like their facial expression or some part of their body, as if their life directly depends on it, and only after liking themselves can they calm down a little.

In another case, it is the avoidance of looking in the mirror for fear of seeing one's "flaws".

7. Conviction of wrongness and feeling of incompleteness.

It happens that some people are crushed by a feeling of incompleteness, when it seems that something is not good enough or something has not been completed, in such a situation they can shift things from place to place many times until, finally, they are satisfied with the result.

And believers (although not only them) very often encounter the “wrongness” and “obscenity” of their thoughts. Something comes to their mind, in their opinion, obscene (blasphemous), and they are absolutely convinced that it is a sin to think (imagine) like that, I should not have such people. And as soon as they start thinking like that, the problem immediately grows. Others may even develop fear associated with words, such as black, devil, blood.

8. Compulsive overeating (briefly)

The most common causes of compulsive overeating are psychological factors associated with society, when a person is ashamed of his figure, experiences negative emotions, and food, often sweet, unconsciously tries to extinguish unpleasant feelings, and this works to a certain extent, but affects the appearance.

Psychological (personal) problems - depression, anxiety, boredom, dissatisfaction with some areas of your life, insecurity, constant nervousness and an inability to control one's emotions often lead to compulsive overeating.

Sincerely, Andrey Russkikh

alarm condition, fear of trouble, repeated washing of hands are just a few signs of a dangerous obsessive-compulsive disorder. The fault line between normal and obsessive states can turn into an abyss if OCD is not diagnosed in time (from Latin obsessive - obsession with an idea, siege, and compulsive - coercion).

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder

The desire to check something all the time, a feeling of anxiety, fear varying degrees expressiveness. You can talk about the presence of a disorder if obsessions (from Latin obsessio - “representations with a negative coloring”) appear at regular intervals, provoking the occurrence of stereotypical actions called compulsions. What is OCD in Psychiatry? Scientific definitions come down to the interpretation that it is a neurosis, a syndrome of obsessive-compulsive disorders caused by neurotic or mental disorders.

Oppositional defiant disorder, which is characterized by fear, obsession, depressive mood, lasts for an extended period of time. This specificity of obsessive-compulsive malaise makes the diagnosis difficult and simple at the same time, but a certain criterion is taken into account. According to the accepted classification according to Snezhnevsky, based on the characteristics of the course, the disorder is characterized by:

• a single attack lasting from a week to several years;
• cases of relapse of a compulsive state, between which periods of complete recovery are recorded;
• continuous dynamics of development with periodic intensification of symptoms.

Contrasting obsessions

Among the obsessive thoughts that occur with compulsive malaise, alien to the true desires of the individual himself arise. The fear of doing something that a person is not able to do by virtue of character or upbringing, for example, blaspheming during a religious service, or a person thinks that he can harm his loved ones - these are signs of contrast obsession. The fear of harm in obsessive-compulsive disorder leads to a studious avoidance of the subject that caused such thoughts.

obsessive actions

At this stage, obsessive disorder may be characterized as a need to perform some action that brings relief. Often mindless and irrational compulsions (compulsions) take one form or another, and such wide variation makes it difficult to make a diagnosis. The emergence of actions is preceded by negative thoughts, impulsive actions.

Some of the most common signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder are:

• frequent hand washing, showering, often using antibacterial agents- it causes fear of pollution;
• behavior when fear of infection forces a person to avoid contact with doorknobs, toilet bowls, sinks, money as potentially dangerous peddlers of dirt;
• repeated (compulsive) checking of switches, sockets, door locks, when the disease of doubt crosses the line between thoughts and the need to act.

Obsessive-phobic disorders

Fear, albeit unfounded, provokes the appearance of obsessive thoughts, actions that reach the point of absurdity. Anxiety, in which obsessive-phobic disorder reaches such proportions, is treatable, and rational therapy the four-step technique of Jeffrey Schwartz or the study of a traumatic event, experience (aversive therapy) is considered. Among the phobias associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder, the most well-known is claustrophobia (fear of closed space).

obsessive rituals

When negative thoughts or feelings arise, but the patient's compulsive ailment is far from a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, you have to look for a way to neutralize the obsessive syndrome. The psyche forms some obsessive rituals, which are expressed by meaningless actions or the need to perform repetitive compulsive actions similar to superstition. Such rituals the person himself may consider illogical, but an anxiety disorder forces him to repeat everything all over again.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Symptoms

Obsessive thoughts or actions that are perceived as wrong or painful can be harmful physical health. Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder can be solitary, have an uneven severity, but if you ignore the syndrome, the condition will worsen. Obsessive-compulsive neurosis may be accompanied by apathy, depression, so you need to know the signs by which you can diagnose OCD (OCD):

• occurrence unreasonable fear get infected, fear of pollution or trouble;
• repeated obsessive actions;
• compulsive actions (defensive actions);
• excessive desire to maintain order and symmetry, obsession with cleanliness, pedantry;
• "stuck" on thoughts.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children

It is less common than in adults, and when diagnosed, compulsive disorder is more often detected in adolescents, and only a small percentage are children of 7 years of age. Gender does not affect the appearance or development of the syndrome, while obsessive-compulsive disorder in children does not differ from the main manifestations of neurosis in adults. If parents manage to notice signs of OCD, then it is necessary to contact a psychotherapist to select a treatment plan using medications and behavioral, group therapy.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Causes

A comprehensive study of the syndrome, many studies have not been able to give a clear answer to the question about the nature of obsessive-compulsive disorders. A person’s well-being can be influenced by psychological factors (stress, problems, fatigue) or physiological (chemical imbalance in nerve cells).

If we dwell on the factors in more detail, then causes of OCD look like this:

1. stressful situation or traumatic event;
2. autoimmune reaction streptococcal infection);
3. genetics (Tourette syndrome);
4. violation of brain biochemistry (decrease in the activity of glutamate, serotonin).

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Treatment

An almost complete recovery is not excluded, but long-term therapy will be required to get rid of obsessive-compulsive neurosis. How to treat OCD? Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder is carried out in a complex with sequential or parallel application of techniques. Compulsive personality disorder in severe OCD requires drug treatment or biological therapy, and for mild - use the following methods. It:

• Psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy helps to cope with some aspects of compulsive disorder: correcting behavior during stress (exposure and warning method), training in relaxation techniques. Psychoeducational therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder should be aimed at deciphering actions, thoughts, identifying the causes, for which family therapy is sometimes prescribed.
• Lifestyle correction. Mandatory revision of the diet, especially if there is a compulsive eating disorder, getting rid of bad habits, social or professional adaptation.
• Physiotherapy at home. Hardening at any time of the year, swimming in sea water, warm baths with average duration and subsequent rubdown.

Medical treatment for OCD

Required item for complex therapy requiring a careful approach from a specialist. Medical success OCD treatment associated with the right choice drugs, duration of administration and dosage in case of exacerbation of symptoms. Pharmacotherapy provides for the possibility of prescribing drugs of one group or another, and the most common example that can be used by a psychotherapist to recover a patient is:

• antidepressants (paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine);
• atypical antipsychotics (risperidone);
• normotimics (Normotim, Lithium carbonate);
• tranquilizers (diazepam, clonazepam).

Video: obsessive-compulsive disorder

Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not easy. With this disease, intrusive thoughts arise, causing severe anxiety. To get rid of anxiety, a person suffering from OCD is often forced to certain rituals.

In the classification of mental illness, OCD is classified as anxiety disorders, and anxiety is familiar to almost everyone. But this does not mean that any healthy person understands what an OCD sufferer has to experience. Headaches are also familiar to everyone, but this does not mean that we all know what migraine sufferers feel.

Symptoms of OCD can interfere with a person's ability to work, live, and relate to others.

“The brain is designed in such a way that it always warns us of the dangers that threaten survival. But in OCD patients, this brain system does not work properly. As a result, they are often overwhelmed by a tsunami of unpleasant experiences and unable to focus on anything else,” explains psychologist Stephen Philipson, clinical director of the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in New York.

OCD is not associated with any one particular fear. Some obsessions are well known - for example, patients may constantly wash their hands or check to see if the stove is turned on. But OCD can also manifest as hoarding, hypochondria, or the fear of harming someone. A fairly common type of OCD, in which patients are tormented by a paralyzing fear about their sexual orientation.

As with any other mental illness, only professional doctor can make a diagnosis. But there are still a few symptoms that experts say can indicate the presence of OCD.

1. They bargain with themselves.

OCD sufferers often believe that if they check the stove again or search the Internet for symptoms of the illness they claim to be suffering from, they will finally be able to calm down. But OCD is often deceptive.

“Biochemical associations arise in the brain with the object of fear. The repetition of obsessive rituals further convinces the brain that the danger is indeed real, and thus completes the vicious circle.

2. They feel an obsessive need to perform certain rituals.

Would you agree to stop doing the usual rituals (for example, not checking 20 times a day if Entrance door) if you were paid $10 or $100 or some other significant amount for you? If your anxiety is so easily bribed, then most likely you are just more afraid of robbers than usual, but you do not have OCD.

For a person suffering from this disorder, the performance of rituals seems to be a matter of life and death, and survival can hardly be valued in money.

3. It is very difficult to convince them that their fears are unfounded.

OCD sufferers are familiar with the verbal construction “Yes, but...” (“Yes, the last three tests showed that I do not have this or that disease, but how do I know that the samples were not mixed up in the laboratory?”).

Since it is rarely possible to be absolutely sure of something, no amount of belief helps the patient overcome these thoughts, and he continues to be tormented by anxiety.

4. They usually remember when the symptoms started.

“Not everyone with OCD can tell exactly when the disorder first appeared, but most do remember,” Philipson says. At first it just appears causeless anxiety, which then takes shape in a more specific fear - for example, that you, while preparing dinner, will suddenly stab someone with a knife. For most people, these experiences pass without consequences. But OCD sufferers seem to be falling into an abyss.

“At such moments, panic makes an alliance with a certain idea. And it’s not easy to end it, like any unhappy marriage,” Philipson says.

5. They are consumed by anxiety.

Almost all the fears that torment OCD sufferers have some basis. Fires do happen, and hands are really full of bacteria. It's all about the intensity of the fear.

If you are able to live a normal life despite the constant uncertainty associated with these risk factors, you most likely do not have OCD (or a very mild case). Problems begin when anxiety completely consumes you, preventing you from functioning normally.

If the patient is afraid of pollution, the first exercise for him will be to touch the doorknob and not wash his hands afterwards.

Fortunately, OCD can be adjusted. Important role Medications play a role in therapy, including some types of antidepressants, but psychotherapy – especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – is equally effective.

Within CBT, there is an effective treatment for OCD called reaction-avoidance exposure. In the course of treatment, the patient, under the supervision of a therapist, is specially placed in situations that cause all greater fear, while he needs to resist the desire to perform the usual ritual.

For example, if the patient is afraid of pollution and constantly washes his hands, the first exercise for him will be to touch the doorknob and not wash his hands after that. In the following exercises, the perceived danger is amplified - for example, you will need to touch the handrail on the bus, then the tap in public toilet and so on. As a result, fear gradually begins to subside.

It is impossible to make a diagnosis of OCD based on one or two facts. It is important to understand whether a person suffers from mental disorders or just scared or upset. Unpleasant thoughts, excitement, anxiety are also inherent in absolutely healthy people.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

Psychiatrists classify OCD as an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Healthy man able to brush aside doubts and disturbing thoughts. The one who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder does not have such an opportunity. Disturbing ideas torment him, forcing him to think them over and over again. Such thoughts in OCD are impossible to control or get rid of them, which causes a lot of stress. To cope with anxiety, a person has to perform certain rituals.

Thus, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive compulsive) includes two phases: obsessions - disturbing, obsessive thoughts; and compulsions - special actions that help to drive them away for a while.

AT mild form The diagnosis of OCD almost does not cause inconvenience to a person, does not interfere with working capacity. But over time, the number of compulsions and obsessions increases, and the disease becomes chronic form. And for a person diagnosed with OCD, the abundance of disturbing thoughts and the rituals that follow will make it difficult to maintain a social and personal life.

What obsessive thoughts do people diagnosed with OCD most often suffer from?

Examples of possible compulsions:

• Fear of infections. Constant desire wash your hands or wipe with a disinfectant. Wearing gloves. Wipe surfaces that come into contact. Taking a shower many times a day.
• Painful passion for symmetry and order. The requirement that everything should be in its place, in order. Correction of even slightly asymmetric structures. Strong emotional stress in violation of order, symmetry.
• Fear of harm. A person diagnosed with OCD tries not to be alone or alone with a person whom, according to the obsession, he can harm. Hides potentially dangerous items: kitchen knives, soldering irons, hammers, axes.
• Control possible dangers . Carrying protective equipment (bricks, gas cartridges) with you - out of fear of being robbed. Or checking several times gas valves, sockets where electrical appliances are connected.
• Trying to foresee everything. Constant rechecking of pockets, briefcase, bag - are all the things that you might need in place.
• superstition. A person diagnosed with OCD can cast a spell, put on a happy outfit important meetings, look in the mirror if you forgot something at home. In a single version, objects and words of luck can increase self-esteem. But if they don't work, the OCD sufferer increases the number of compulsions to pathological levels.
• Mental violations of religious doctrines. After thinking something that seems blasphemous to him, a person diagnosed with OCD spends his nights in prayer or gives the church everything to the last penny.
• Erotic thoughts which seem unacceptable. Fearing to do something indecent or rude, the patient refuses intimacy to a loved one.

It would seem that illiterate people should be so superstitious or suspicious. However, as Wikipedia assures, patients diagnosed with OCD in the majority have high level intellect. The wiki also states: individual disease in psychiatry, OCD was singled out in 1905, but the ancient Greeks and Romans suffered from the disease as early as the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Did you know that little children are also diagnosed with OCD? They, too, may suffer from compulsive disorders. In their case, the fear of getting lost, the fear of being abandoned by their parents, of forgetting something important for school are more common.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

The compulsive syndrome is somewhat reminiscent of a religious ritual. This response to an obsessive thought can be physical (checking gas valves or decontaminating hands) or mental (casting spells). Also possible with a diagnosis of OCD avoidance behavior - attempts to get away from an alarming situation.

Characteristic signs of OCD that should be considered when making a diagnosis:

• The patient is aware that obsessions he generates. He does not suffer from otherworldly voices.
• A person tries to fight back obsessive thoughts, but to no avail.
• Obsessions frighten the patient, cause feelings of guilt and shame. AT serious cases a person diagnosed with OCD refuses social activity, may lose his job and family.
• The state of "obsession" often recurs.

Such a disorder is more likely to affect people who want to control everything, or those who could not survive childhood. psychological trauma. Less often, the provoking factor of OCD is physical influences, head injuries.

Some psychiatrists divide this neurosis into two subtypes:

With the diagnosis of "OFR", patients recognize the presence of thoughts of an obsessive nature. But they are sure that the rituals are not performed. This is not always true. Possible hidden compulsive behavior. Patients themselves may not be aware of the ritual: some kind of convulsive movement - shaking the head, leg, snapping fingers.

What causes OCD?

In the world, three out of 100 adults and two out of 500 children are diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The diagnosis of OCD requires mandatory therapy. Scientists can only talk about risk factors for the syndrome. But it is impossible to immediately identify the diagnosis of OCD and eliminate the cause, thereby alleviating the patient's condition.

What physiological factors can trigger compulsive disorder?

• Heredity - the disease can be transmitted through the generation. If one of the grandparents had a diagnosis of OCD, the risk of getting sick increases.
• neurological diseases. The most common cause is a metabolic disorder, causing problems in the work of neurons.
• Consequences of infectious and autoimmune diseases, head injuries.

According to psychiatric research, a decrease in the level of serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine in brain tissues can also lead to the diagnosis of OCD.

Behavioral psychology assumes that any repeated action is easier to reproduce later. This law explains the reason for the progression of an OCD diagnosis and the likelihood of further manifestation of obsessive behavior.

Most susceptible to the development of neurosis are people who are in a state of stress and depression - when moving, new beginnings, loss of loved ones, overwork. Two-thirds of patients diagnosed with OCD experience some form of stress.

Other causes of the psychological nature of the disorder are more often related to childhood trauma. This upbringing was unnecessarily tough - religious, paramilitary. Or family relationships caused serious psychological trauma, which responded in adulthood with a diagnosis of OCD.

People who are impressionable and prone to exaggeration are more at risk of developing OCD.

An example would be a young mother who, amid fatigue and stress, begins to be afraid of harming her baby. This results in the diagnosis of OCD: pathological cleanliness, endless checks of devices, various prayers and spells.

Why do more people have this diagnosis and why does the disease progress?

With compulsive disorders, anxiety always occurs first.. It is replaced by an obsessive thought, then the anxiety is fixed. A person remembers an action that temporarily reduces the activity of a neurosis. But the next obsessional state will require more than one repetition of the ritual. The results will be deplorable: loss of time, existence in a regime of severe stress, loss of social qualities of a person up to refusal to interact with other people.

What causes an exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

• Incorrect self-esteem and magical realism. A person suffering from OCD exaggerates their own capabilities and influence on the surrounding reality. He is sure that he can prevent any negative situation with the help of spells, prayers, magical rituals. Temporarily they give the illusion of comfort, but then they require more and more repetitions.
• perfectionism. Some types of OCD require perfect compliance with certain rules. Man represents the ideal state of life, which must be achieved at any cost. And minor errors or asymmetries will lead to pathological consequences. Often this type of compulsive disorder goes hand in hand with anorexia nervosa.
• Attempts to take everything under control and reassessment of danger. A person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder feels compelled to anticipate any danger. Even the one that in reality can not be. And compulsions in this case become a kind of insurance. Sick thinks: 25 checks closed door will ensure that thieves will not enter the house. But repeated repetitions only increase the feeling of anxiety and uncertainty.

Avoiding the situation or ritual will only make OCD worse. After all, trying not to get into dangerous situation lead to constant thinking about how best to do it and to a feeling of own abnormality. Relatives are also capable of worsening the situation, forbidding rituals, mocking the sick, calling them crazy.

However, to mental illness the diagnosis of OCD does not apply - this ailment does not change personality traits. But it can ruin the life of the patient thoroughly.

Treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder:

Obsession at home is treated if the disease has not gone too far and the diagnosis is made on time. Analyze your condition - can you cope with the problem on your own.

1. Accept the diagnosis of OCD as part of your psyche.
2. Make a list of the signs of OCD that you see in yourself.
3. Read all relevant psychological literature on the diagnosis and treatment of OCD, and make a plan to get rid of the disease.
4. Seek help from family and friends. People are biased in diagnosing, so your “worrying” list of OCD symptoms needs someone to double-check.
5. Accept the unreality of your fears. This should always be remembered when you are drawn to perform a ritual. One of simple ways get rid of anxiety - imagine what will happen if fear is realized. Will you stay alive? So what are the rituals for?
6. Support yourself with praise and even nice prizes and gifts. Rewards will reinforce the thought: you stronger than worries able to overcome them.

Additionally, to get rid of the diagnosis of OCD, you can use breathing exercises and folk medicine. Sedative decoctions and tinctures based on motherwort, mint, peony, lemon balm, valerian will help. For OCD, you can use aroma oils such as: lavender, orange, bergamot, rose, ylang-ylang.

If you cannot cope with the OCD diagnosis on your own, you need to consult a doctor and this is necessary so as not to aggravate your situation.

Which doctor should be consulted?

For help to a psychotherapist, psychotherapy without additional reception medicines leads to a cure of OCD in 70 cases out of 100. When the disorder is corrected without medicines the effect will be more lasting, and side effects- none.

How to treat OCD without drugs? The following techniques will help:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
• hypnotic effect.
• EMDR therapy.
• Strategic short-term psychotherapy.

Each of these OCD treatments aims to get out of the wheel of anxiety, obsessions, and avoidance. Attention can be focused on reducing the discomfort of obsessive moments, on counteracting negative thoughts or on changing the response to the urge to repeat the ritual. Group therapy is useful - it will make it clear that you are not only person diagnosed with OCD in the universe and not crazy at all.

Physiotherapy - massage, swimming, relaxing baths - will help reduce anxiety.

Medications for the diagnosis of OCD are prescribed if psychotherapeutic methods do not help. These include serotonin reuptake antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics. At physiological reasons diseases are prescribed special drugs that contribute to their cure. Combine psychotherapy with medication in case of a diagnosis of OCD in cases where it is necessary to quickly remove acute condition.

In order to prevent obsessive-compulsive disorder syndrome, we recommend:

1. You can include regular medical examinations.
2. Taking vitamins.
3. Maximum Avoidance stressful situations and overwork.
4. Relaxing practices - yoga, qigong, meditation.

An accurate diagnosis of OCD can only be made by specialists in the field of psychiatry.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- this is a dysfunction of mental activity, manifested by involuntary thoughts of an obsessive nature that interfere with normal life, as well as various fears. These thoughts give rise to anxiety, which can only be relieved by performing obsessive and tiresome activities called compulsions.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be progressive, episodic, or chronic. Obsessional thoughts are ideas or gravitations that are born again and again in a stereotyped form in a person's head. The essence of these thoughts is almost always painful, since they are either perceived as meaningless ideas or carry obscene or aggressive content.

Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The root causes of the disorder in question can rarely be found on the surface. obsessive compulsive OCD disorder characterized by compulsions (ritual acts) and obsessions (obsessive thoughts). The most common involuntary intrusive thoughts are:

— fear of contamination (for example, by viruses, microbes, liquids, chemicals or excrement);

Signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children:

Wet, chapped hands (if the child suffers from compulsive handwashing)

- prolonged stay in the bathroom;

- slow homework due to fear of making a mistake;

- Lots of fixes and improvements school work;

- strange or repetitive behavior, such as constantly checking doors to see if they are closed or taps;

- tedious constant questions that require reassurance, for example, "Mom, touch, I have a fever."

How to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder in children? Many parents want to know. First of all, it is necessary to determine exactly whether their child suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder or simply practices some of their rituals. It is possible to distinguish quite normal rituals for childhood which parents often mistake for violations. These include:

- in children under the age of three, certain "traditions" of going to bed are often observed, to school period it usually either goes away or becomes mild;

- invented games with certain rules, collecting (starting from the age of five);

- excessive passion for some performer, subculture, which is a way of socialization, building relationships with peers who have similar hobbies.

Before getting rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder, parents need to differentiate it from the normal manifestations inherent in age period in which their baby is located. The main difference between the described syndrome and normal rituals is the understanding by adolescents and children of the abnormality of obsessive thoughts and ritual actions. Children are aware that their actions are deviant, so they try to resist them. This understanding pushes them to hide obsessive thoughts and ritual actions from the environment. Therefore, if a baby performs a certain ritual without hiding before going to bed, then this does not indicate the presence of an ailment. You need to understand that such behavior is only inherent in his age period.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Previously, the syndrome under consideration was considered a condition that is resistant (unresponsive) to treatment, since traditional psychotherapeutic methods based on the principles of , rarely brought an effect. Also, the results of the use of various drugs were not encouraging. However, in the 1980s, this situation changed dramatically due to the introduction of new methods of behavioral therapy and pharmacopoeial medicine, the effectiveness of which was proven through large-scale studies.

Scientists of that time, trying to find the answer to the question "how to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder" empirically proved that the most effective method behavioral therapy The violation in question is a method of preventing reaction and exposure.

The patient is instructed on how to resist the performance of compulsive actions, after which he is placed in a situation that provokes discomfort caused by obsessions.

The main thing in the treatment of the disease in question is the timely recognition of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the correct diagnosis.

At present, the main medications Treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (clomipramine), anxiolytics (Clonazepam, Buspirone), mood stabilizers (Lithium preparations), and antipsychotics (Rimozide).

How to get rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder? Most therapists agree that treatment this disease should begin with the appointment of antidepressants, namely drugs of the group selective inhibitors reuptake of serotonin in an adequate dose. Drugs in this pharmacotherapeutic group are better tolerated by patients and are considered safer than clomipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant that causes blocking of serotonin reuptake), previously widely used in the treatment of the disorder in question.

It is also practiced to prescribe anxiolytics in combination with other drugs. It is not recommended to use them as a monotherapy drug. The appointment of normotimic drugs, namely Lithium preparations, is shown, since Lithium promotes the release of serotonin.

A number of researchers have proven the effectiveness of prescribing atypical antipsychotics(olanzapine) in combination with serotonergic antidepressants.

In addition to the use of drugs in the treatment of obsessions and compulsions, the modern approach involves the use of psychotherapeutic methods. An excellent psychotherapeutic effect is given by the four-step technique, which provides the opportunity to simplify or modify ritual procedures. This method It is based on the patient's awareness of the problem and the gradual overcoming of the symptoms.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder home treatment is not recommended, but there are a number of treatment and preventive measures that can reduce the severity of manifestations.

So, obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment at home involves:

- reducing the consumption of alcohol and drinks containing caffeine;

- getting rid of bad habits;

- regular meals, because the feeling of hunger, lack nutrients, a decrease in sugar levels can provoke stressful condition, which will cause the onset of symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder;

- regular exercise, as the systematic release of endorphins improves metabolism, increases stress resistance and improves overall human health;

- massage;

— establishing optimal mode sleep and wakefulness;

- taking warm baths, during which a cool compress should be placed on the head of the suffering individual, this procedure should be carried out several times a week for twenty minutes, each procedure should be lowered in water temperature;

- to relieve anxiety, in order to relax and calm the sick individual, ingestion herbal decoctions and infusions with sedative effect(the herb of valerian officinalis, lemon balm, motherwort is used);

- the systematic use of St. John's wort, which allows you to increase mental concentration, improve clarity of consciousness, which affects the power of compulsion to perform ritual actions;

— daily holding breathing exercises, which allows you to restore a normal emotional background, contributing to a "sober" assessment of the current situation.

After the therapy, social rehabilitation is required. Only in case of successful adaptation after treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder clinical symptoms will not come back. The complex of rehabilitation measures includes training in fruitful interaction with the social and immediate environment. For complete cure from obsessive-compulsive disorder, the support of loved ones plays a special role.