Approximately 2.
2 million adults or 1% of adults have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in the United States.
Although the first signs of OCD begin in childhood, it usually isn't diagnosed until 19 years of age.
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder.
People with OCD have repetitive thoughts and behaviors they can't control.
Whereas obsessions are thoughts, ideas, or images that continuously run through a person's head, compulsions are behaviors caused by the obsessions.
When obsessive thoughts make people fearful or anxious, they use behaviors or compulsions to relieve the anxiety.
Some examples of compulsive behaviors may be excessive grooming, checking doors to make sure they are locked, checking appliances to make sure they are turned off, and rearranging items in a certain way.
Some scientist think OCD may be caused by a lack of serotonin in the brain.
However, recent research has discovered there are actually differences in the brain of people who have OCD compared to those who dont.
When researchers at Cambridge University took brain scan of 31 people with OCD and compared them to people without OCD, they found those with OCD has less grey matter in the parts of the brain that control behavior.
The differences were significantly noticeable in regions of the brain that control our ability to suppress thoughts and actions.
These patterns of brain structure tend to run in families.
Hopefully, this knowledge will help how OCD is treated in future.
OCD can be treated with behavioral therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
In cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist tries to help a person think and react differently to the things that cause them anxiety.
Sometimes, they will use exposure and response prevention.
In this type of counseling technique, the patient is expose to situations that cause anxiety and taught how to deal with the anxiety without performing the repetive behaviors.
Medications frequently used to treat OCD are serotonin reuptake inhbitors (SSRIs).
Some examples of these type of medications are Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac.
In addition to SSRI, antipsychotic medcations can be used too.
Example of these are: Risperdal, Zyprexa, and Seroquel.
2 million adults or 1% of adults have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in the United States.
Although the first signs of OCD begin in childhood, it usually isn't diagnosed until 19 years of age.
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder.
People with OCD have repetitive thoughts and behaviors they can't control.
Whereas obsessions are thoughts, ideas, or images that continuously run through a person's head, compulsions are behaviors caused by the obsessions.
When obsessive thoughts make people fearful or anxious, they use behaviors or compulsions to relieve the anxiety.
Some examples of compulsive behaviors may be excessive grooming, checking doors to make sure they are locked, checking appliances to make sure they are turned off, and rearranging items in a certain way.
Some scientist think OCD may be caused by a lack of serotonin in the brain.
However, recent research has discovered there are actually differences in the brain of people who have OCD compared to those who dont.
When researchers at Cambridge University took brain scan of 31 people with OCD and compared them to people without OCD, they found those with OCD has less grey matter in the parts of the brain that control behavior.
The differences were significantly noticeable in regions of the brain that control our ability to suppress thoughts and actions.
These patterns of brain structure tend to run in families.
Hopefully, this knowledge will help how OCD is treated in future.
OCD can be treated with behavioral therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
In cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist tries to help a person think and react differently to the things that cause them anxiety.
Sometimes, they will use exposure and response prevention.
In this type of counseling technique, the patient is expose to situations that cause anxiety and taught how to deal with the anxiety without performing the repetive behaviors.
Medications frequently used to treat OCD are serotonin reuptake inhbitors (SSRIs).
Some examples of these type of medications are Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac.
In addition to SSRI, antipsychotic medcations can be used too.
Example of these are: Risperdal, Zyprexa, and Seroquel.
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