Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ; My Explanation and a Study of My Symptoms And a host of other facts about symptoms, comorbidity with drugs or alcohol, and what you can do to successfully cope and control this Anxiety Disorderby john carcerano
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has many similar symptoms. These symptoms often wax and wane over the lifetime of the sufferer. There is no cure for this debilitating disorder, but it can be managed to a high degree all depending on the severity of the symptoms and the steps taken by the sufferer to modify behavior, thoughts and stress. Most people with OCD are able to hide their illness from others. They suffer in silence. They rarely ever tell anyone that they have this disorder. Because to explain their symptoms to anyone would make them sound neurotic and crazy.The person with OCD experiences a sort of short circuiting of their thought processes. Especially in the area of the brain where thoughts of danger and the avoidance of calamities are generated. This area of the brain is called the basal ganglia.The OCD sufferer becomes plagued with a constant mental bombardment of extreme obsessions and compulsions. These obsessions and compulsions never go away. The obsessions the sufferer experience are of always feeling that a disaster is about to occur even under normally peaceful circumstances. Their mind is constantly bombarded with unwanted thoughts and images.
I too am a sufferer of OCD. The best way I could describe it to you is that it feels as if I have two brains. My regular thinking and functioning full brain, and also a brain that shoves unwanted thoughts into my mind at a rapid fire pace. I am unable to stop this “other brain of mine” from this non-stop bombardment of obsessive thoughts, worries and often times violent, crude and repulsive thinking. I have learned to control the severity and pace of these rapid fire thoughts. There is a war going on in my head at all times. “My other brain” keeps on telling me that certain things are one way, when my full rational brain knows that they are really another way. But there are always these strong compulsions to reduce the anxiety brought on by the danger signals from “my other brain”. The problem is that if I just ignore these obsessions, then there is a build up of anxiety until I recognize and acknowledge them in a certain way, by responding to them with a compulsive movement or mental ritual. If you suffer from OCD then you will understand what I have just described to you all too well.
KNOWN CAUSES OF OCDOCD most likely is triggered by genetic and secondary medical causes. By secondary medical causes i mean as a result of a medical condition that directly involves the brain. A large portion of OCD sufferers report either a serious head injury, brain seizure or major brain operation directly prior to the onset of their first symptoms. Between the ages of 2-7, I was hospitalized 4 or 5 times for epileptic brain seizures brought on by high fevers. My last seizure at age 7 is what I am sure triggered my OCD. A few days after I was released from the hospital after my last seizure, I immediately began to experience the compulsion to perform rituals in response to strong obsessional thoughts that would not subside. I first remember getting yelled at by my step mother because i got up in the middle of the night to check the clock a total of 22 times. She thought I was playing games. My brother began to make fun of me for my bizarre behavior and shortly after that, I began to learn how to hide my OCD symptoms from others so that I would no longer be teased for my strange behaviors and movements. By the age of 8 , I had developed a fear of germs. I would never drink out of anyone Else's glass and I would always use plastic knifes and forks as often as I could. At aged 9, while watching the news with my brother, there was a report about some diseased cattle. I remember my brother joking and playfully taunting me about the gross diseased meat from dead cows. The next day I chose to give up meat for the rest of my life. I only briefly ate meat in my teens because I did not like too many vegetables and meat was my only way to stay alive and healthy. But I often drowned it in ketchup or swallowed it fast as if I was taking a pill. The reason I had to force myself to eat meat in my teen years was because I was hospitalized at aged 11 for malnutrition. When I had turned 22, that's when I knew that I could stay healthy without ever eating meat again. I have not eaten any meat products now for 22 years. I have also gave up eating milk products 12 years ago. The reason I gave up milk was because I found out milk and cheese are made from bacteria cultures. I also carefully read the ingredients of all the can food that I buy to make sure it contains no meat or milk products. I am what you can call borderline anorexic at times. I go through periods where my weight will go down to 116-120 pounds and I'm 5 feet 9 inches tall. I do eat very healthy vegetarian foods now, and during those rare periods when my weight will drop drastically, I make sure that I drink fruit and vegetable juices, and I also take a variety of vitamin supplements. I also used to take on a ton of complicated projects, and get so overwhelmed that I would not succeed in any of them. I've since learned how to resist taking on too much, and now I only take on a few complicated projects and seem to be doing a lot better at them. And least I forget, from the age of 15 to 29 I was heavy drinker. I drank nearly a fifth a day of hard alcohol. So due to anxiety and other pressures, I was a prime candidate for alcoholism. Sounds complicated, huh. I really feel fine now. It's great when you can be honest with yourself and understand it all.
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES ("my other brain")My thoughts on my OCD were always a feeling as if I had two brains, and I often wondered about this description of mine until I read the story of a four year old girl who had been hospitalized with a severe brain injury. She had undergone a long brain operation and went home about a week after her initial injury. A couple of days after this little girl came home she immediately noticed that she was constantly obsessed by these thoughts of numbers in her head. These thoughts had so persisted that she went up to her mother and said "mommy mommy, i always have all of these numbers in my head. would you please tell my other brain to stop putting these numbers in my head).Now it is well known about the honesty at which children describe situations, and I was just shocked when I saw that her description of her OCD was exactly as the way I thought it felt. Out of the mouths of babes, a true honest description of OCD.
OCD ALSO CAUSED BY STREP INFECTION
A strep infection has been proven to trigger an auto immune response that directly attacks an area of the brain called the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is the section of the brain that malfunctions and seems to be short circuited in those with OCD. The link from strep throat to OCD was first discovered around 1995 by a Dr. Swedo. Dr. Swedo had observed, and interviewed fifty children with a sudden onset of OCD or tic disorders who had recently (within the past several months) been diagnosed with a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection. Swedo found that the children had classic patterns of OCD and tic symptoms. She tested the presence of antistreptococcal antibodies in their blood and found that symptom exacerbations were twice as likely to occur with the presence of antistreptococcal antibodies.
The triggers and causes for OCD seem to be isolated to 3 or 4 main causes. Again they are most often caused by physical brain damage from injury, epileptic seizures, inherited abnormalities and also an autoimmune response triggered from a strep infection which damages the basal ganglia portion of the brain.
This will be a study in what exactly OCD is, and what is best for the sufferer to do to manage and cut down on the severity of this disorder. I have written this in the best and least scientific terms that I could, so as you can better understand in laymen terms, what you need to do to get control of your OCD symptoms. There seems to be good answers as to what causes the onset of OCD. The problem is that even if you are able to trace the cause of your OCD illness, there is no way to reverse the fact that you already have the disorder. OCD is not what you can really call a preventive disorder. In about 1/3 of all OCD sufferers there are associated disorders. These associated disorders are mostly tics and uncontrollable movements that are often known as Tourettes Syndrome. Anxiety is a constant presence to those who have OCD. Some people may experience depression also. Intensity of thought is another trait of OCD. A trait that I too suffer from at all times where my thinking is stuck in a very serious and analytical mode.
DSM IV CRITERIA FOR OCD DIAGNOSISA. Either obsessions or compulsions:
Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3), and (4):
(1) recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress
(2) the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems
(3) the person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action
(4) the person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind (not imposed from without as in thought insertion)
Compulsions as defined by (1) and (2):
(1) repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
(2) the behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive
B. At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. Note: This does not apply to children.
C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person’s normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships.
D. I another Axis I disorder is present, the content of the obsessions or compulsions is not restricted to it (e.g., preoccupation with food in the presence of an Eating Disorder; hair pulling in the presence of Trichotillomania; concern with appearance in the presence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder; preoccupation with drugs in the presence of a Substance Use Disorder; preoccupation with having a serious illness in the presence of Hypochondriasis; preoccupation with sexual urges or fantasies in the presence of a Paraphilia; or guilty ruminations in the presence of Major Depressive Disorder).
E. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.
Hollywood and Obsessive Compulsive DisorderI have included links on the left of this page that will direct you to several stories about Hollywood celebrities who have disclosed having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. And I am also including this list of others celebrities who have had this disorder. Knowing there are others who have OCD and continue on with successful careers should be a motivation for you to carry on with a near normal life also too, if you are so diagnosed with OCD. You will find that OCD is not as commonly found as other psychological disorders. That because OCD is a much rarer disorder. Here are a list of some famous people who have either disclosed having OCD or have been described with the symptoms:
Howard Hughes,Roseanne Barr,Howie Mandel,Martin Scorsese,Howard Stern,Marc Summers,Michelangelo,Stanley Kubrick,Harrison Ford,Jane Horrocks,PenÃlope Cruz,Billy Bob Thornton,Warren Zevon,John List,Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson,Paul Gascoigne,Nikola Tesla,John Melendez,Kathie Lee Gifford,Ludwig van Beethoven,Cameron Diaz,Albert Einstein,Ian Puleston-Davies,David Beckham,Charlie Sheen,Joey Ramone,and Leonardo DiCaprio
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Diaz has publicly admitted she is deeply germophobic and habitually rubs doorknobs so hard before opening doors to clean them that the original paint fades afterwards. Along with her floors, she says, she washes her hands 'many times' each day and uses her elbows to push open doors.}
MRI STUDIES ON OCDModern preliminary studies of the brain using magnetic resonance imaging have shown that people with obsessive compulsive disorder had significantly less white matter than did normal subjects, suggesting a widely distributed brain abnormality in OCD. Understanding the significance of this finding will be further explored by functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies (Jenike et al, 1996).
OCD AND ADDICTION
Alcohol and drugs mixed with any psychological disorder is not safe and will aggravate symptoms. OCD is an anxiety disorder and any substances that cause anxiety can only trigger and make the disorder worse. Even alcohol will help increase the anxiety and severity of OCD symptoms. Most people think that alcohol is a sedative. When the effects of alcohol begin to ware off, the drinker really suffers from irritability and anxiousness. And this will only make OCD symptoms worse.
HOW I CUT DOWN ON MY OCD SYMPTOMS AND ANXIETY
I was able to eliminate about 70- 80% of my OCD symptoms and anxiety by taking 30-50 Mg's of the SSRI drug Luvox. Now I must admit that I have not taken any luvox for several years, so I am off my medication. But I found that by avoiding stress and also through behavior therapy I have been able to control my symptoms and reduce my anxiety. And of course alcohol and drugs are completely out of the picture for me. Substances will bring on added stress and anxiety thus intensifying OCD symptoms.
OCD CRITERIA AS SEEN ON THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WEBSITEObsessive-Compulsive Disorder
“I couldn’t do anything without rituals. They invaded every aspect of my life. Counting really bogged me down. I would wash my hair three times as opposed to once because three was a good luck number and one wasn’t. It took me longer to read because I’d count the lines in a paragraph. When I set my alarm at night, I had to set it to a number that wouldn’t add up to a ’bad’ number.”
“I knew the rituals didn’t make sense, and I was deeply ashamed of them, but I couldn’t seem to overcome them until I had therapy.”
“Getting dressed in the morning was tough, because I had a routine, and if I didn’t follow the routine, I’d get anxious and would have to get dressed again. I always worried that if I didn’t do something, my parents were going to die. I’d have these terrible thoughts of harming my parents. That was completely irrational, but the thoughts triggered more anxiety and more senseless behavior. Because of the time I spent on rituals, I was unable to do a lot of things that were important to me.”
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have persistent, upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and use rituals (compulsions) to control the anxiety these thoughts produce. Most of the time, the rituals end up controlling them.
For example, if people are obsessed with germs or dirt, they may develop a compulsion to wash their hands over and over again. If they develop an obsession with intruders, they may lock and relock their doors many times before going to bed. Being afraid of social embarrassment may prompt people with OCD to comb their hair compulsively in front of a mirror-sometimes they get “caught” in the mirror and can’t move away from it. Performing such rituals is not pleasurable. At best, it produces temporary relief from the anxiety created by obsessive thoughts.
Other common rituals are a need to repeatedly check things, touch things (especially in a particular sequence), or count things. Some common obsessions include having frequent thoughts of violence and harming loved ones, persistently thinking about performing sexual acts the person dislikes, or having thoughts that are prohibited by religious beliefs. People with OCD may also be preoccupied with order and symmetry, have difficulty throwing things out (so they accumulate), or hoard unneeded items.
Healthy people also have rituals, such as checking to see if the stove is off several times before leaving the house. The difference is that people with OCD perform their rituals even though doing so interferes with daily life and they find the repetition distressing. Although most adults with OCD recognize that what they are doing is senseless, some adults and most children may not realize that their behavior is out of the ordinary.
OCD affects about 2.2 million American adults,1 and the problem can be accompanied by eating disorders,6 other anxiety disorders, or depression.2,4 It strikes men and women in roughly equal numbers and usually appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.2 One-third of adults with OCD develop symptoms as children, and research indicates that OCD might run in families.3
The course of the disease is quite varied. Symptoms may come and go, ease over time, or get worse. But OCD will never go away. If OCD becomes severe, it can keep a person from working or carrying out normal responsibilities at home. People with OCD may try to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their obsessions, or they may use alcohol or drugs to calm themselves.4,5
OCD usually responds well to treatment with certain medications and/or exposure-based psychotherapy, in which people face situations that cause fear or anxiety and become less sensitive (desensitized) to them. NIMH is supporting research into new treatment approaches for people whose OCD does not respond well to the usual therapies. These approaches include combination and augmentation (add-on) treatments, as well as modern techniques such as deep brain stimulation. (NIMH)