Understanding OCD: Symptoms, Causes, and Effective Treatment at Veda

What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a misunderstood disorder. To understand OCD, let’s break it down into Obsession and Compulsion.

Obsession refers to intrusive and recurrent thoughts. Thoughts, urges, and images are repeated and reoccurring. Thoughts are unwanted and don’t stop coming so easily. These thoughts cause anxiety and disturbances in the mood. Obsessive thoughts, urges, or images can be so overpowering that people find it challenging to ignore and suppress them. As thoughts are intrusive, they cause anxiety as well as distress.

Obsessive thoughts sound “What if I didn’t lock the door properly? Someone might break in and harm my family. I need to check again, or else something bad will happen.”

Obsessions could have the following themes:

• Contamination: Intrusive thoughts about getting dirty and germs.
• Taboo: Intrusive thoughts about religion, like chanting beads to avoid something bad from happening. It also includes sexually intrusive thoughts.
• Checking or arranging things: These are thoughts of leaving the gas stove on or fear of not locking the house properly.
• Hoarding: Collecting goods to avoid harm.

Compulsions are acts to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts. The act of checking the lock multiple times could be a result of obsessive thoughts. So, checking locks or washing hands many times are compulsions. Compulsions reduce the anxiety of something bad that will happen.

What causes OCD, and who is at risk?

There was no definite cause found for OCD. Several theories define the causes of OCD.

1. Biological factors: Brain imaging techniques have shown differing blood flow patterns in the cortical and basal ganglia region among people with OCD.
2. Genetic factors: A 2001 study indicated that a person with OCD is 4 times more likely to have another family member with OCD than a person who does not have the disorder.
3. Chemical balance: Serotonin plays an important role in regulating anxiety, memory, and sleep. Imbalance in serotonin can be associated with OCD.
4. Past infection: A study in 1998 found out that children with Streptococcal infection developed OCD. Although it doesn’t signify that streptococcal infection caused OCD, it triggered OCD when predisposing factors were present.
5. Past experiences and learning: OCD symptoms are a result of a person developing learned negative thoughts and behaviour patterns towards previously neutral situations, which can result from life experiences.

How does OCD affect individuals?

OCD has a limiting effect on the life of an individual as several hours are spent on compulsive activities.

1. People with OCD experience heightened anxiety. Obsessions cause high levels of anxiety and emotional distress.
2. People are usually scared of sharing their struggles because of fear of judgment from society and stigma.
3. This causes mental fatigue and takes a toll on mental health. Compulsions are mentally and physically exhausting.
4. In the long term, OCD can lead to depression and directly affect work and interpersonal relationships.

OCD Treatment:

• Pharmacotherapy: Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective in dealing with OCD. You can find OCD treatment in India at Veda, a mental rehabilitation centre in Delhi. Veda provides the best psychiatric consultation and in-patient treatment.

• Psychotherapy:
  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): It is effective for the treatment of OCD. Veda, a mental rehabilitation centre in India, provides you with the best psychologist in the field and helps you to reduce your anxiety.
  • Mindfulness-based therapy: Mindfulness helps to increase distress tolerance.

• Family Therapy: Providing psychoeducation and support strategies to deal with OCD. The family is affected by the illness along with the person suffering from OCD. Family therapy also means involving family members and working on the triggers and dysfunctionality.
  
  
• Yoga: Yoga helps to regulate emotions. Yoga instructor at Veda, OCD treatment in India provides yoga and meditation.  

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly referred to as OCD, has two components in it – Obsession and Compulsion. Obsessions refer to thoughts, urges, ideas and images that are experienced recurrently. These are intrusive and overpowering, mostly difficult to control. Compulsions, on the other hand, are repetitive behaviours carried out to curb the anxiety or distress caused by the obsessions experienced. Various factors such as biological factors, genetic factors, chemical imbalances and past experiences or learnings may increase the risk of having OCD. The comorbid symptoms associated with OCD are heightened anxiety, feelings of distress, mental fatigue, and exhaustion, further affecting important areas of functioning of an individual significantly. Pharmacotherapy combined with psychotherapy provides the most effective treatment for OCD and related disorders. Yoga and mindfulness, along with other alternative approaches of therapy can be helpful in promoting relaxation and help in terms of the management of the symptoms.

Veda Rehabilitation and Wellness is a chain of luxury rehabilitation centres across India that caters to a wide range of clients and helps support clients with addiction as well as mental health disorders and concerns.