Articles on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Kathleen cannot leave the house without repeatedly checking that she
has locked the front door properly. She rattles the door over and over
again to assure herself that the door is locked. She will start to leave
the premises only to return up the front steps again to reassure herself
that the door is, in fact, locked. She may repeat this more than once…
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:
Causes and Treatment
Approximately 1 in 50 people suffer from this debilitating disorder
to some degree, with the majority of sufferers being female. We all
have doubts from time to time about whether we turned the iron off or
not, and we may even take steps to check if we actually did switch the
iron off. But why do some of us go on to develop this disorder and not
others… (Read more)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Origins
In its most extreme form, it is not uncommon for a person with OCD to
also experience generalized anxiety disorder, recurrent panic attacks,
debilitating avoidance of places and situations, as well as major depression.
These are additional to the time-consuming and often distressing rituals
which form the basic of this disorder... (Read
more)
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder: Symptoms and Behaviors
As noted in What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? this condition in
its most severe form is one of the most distressing conditions of all
mental illnesses. OCD varies in severity, but in it most serious form,
the suffer will usually also suffer from generalized anxiety disorder
(an all-pervasive, yet unspecific fear), panic attacks, avoidance of
certain places and situations, together with major depression… (Read
more)
Living
with a Person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Sharing a household with a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) is not easy. It is not uncommon for family members to
believe that the sufferer is just "picky" and stubborn and
therefore unnecessary arguments and stress results, not only for the
co-habiter but for the sufferer as well... (Read
more)
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder: Difficulties for the Family
While being a sufferer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can
be extraordinarily difficult, it can also be extremely frustrating for
family members who share the same household as the sufferer. Take the
case of Maggie whose mother suffers from OCD. Maggie is in her late
fifties and her mother is 87. Although she has long left the family
home, the shadow of her mother's OCD hangs over her like a shroud...
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