OCD is a serious mental issue, faced by 1-2 % of the world’s population. OCD is characterized by obsessive or repetitive thoughts and behaviors and people with the disorder have trouble stopping that thought process. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined by both obsessions and compulsions.
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsession
Intrusive obsessions thoughts are often accompanied by significant anxiety. Obsessive thoughts are often intrusive and require energy to stop them. Most obsessive thoughts are experienced as “what if” ideas. Examples of obsessive thoughts are:
- Fear of harming yourself or your loved ones.
- A strong urge to do everything perfectly.
- A strong fear of poor hygiene or the possibility of infection from harmful diseases.
Compulsion
Compulsions are anxiety-driven behaviors that are also very difficult to stop, even with significant mental effort. Common compulsive behaviors include such activities as washing hands many times, cleaning yourself or your environment repetitively, checking that a chore was accomplished, and counting. Compulsive behavior is a mental problem. One example of compulsive behavior is repetitively reviewing a conversation and making sure that you didn’t say something offensive. Other examples of compulsion are:
- Repeatedly checking on some task to ensure it was done correctly
- Counting while doing any task, i.e- washing hands
- Constant praying for a specific period of time.
How is OCD diagnosed?
Your doctor, therapist, or counselor will ask if you are having any of the following symptoms and review the history of your mental health. They may also do a quick physical examination. It’s very important to talk to someone you trust or your doctor if you think you may be experiencing OCD. Various people don’t understand the seriousness of this problem or they are embarrassed to talk to a doctor. OCD won’t heal itself and you should not hesitate to get treatment from a specialist in OCD treatment.
Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Exposure And Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
ERP is a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which shows highly positive results for the treatment of OCD. It involves normal exposure to situations that are anxiety-provoking while weakening the compulsive behavior response. Controlled exposure to anxiety-causing situations eventually leads to decreases in the quantity and impact of the OCD response.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT therapy encourages patients to learn new skills replacing negative thoughts that commonly occur during OCD with more positive and healthy thoughts.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
The nature of this therapy is to help you focus only on the present moment. The practice of mindfulness decreases symptoms of OCD through acceptance of a non-judgmental mindset, which has been shown to reduce OCD behavior.
Why Choose Full Spectrum as your OCD Therapist in Haverford, PA
OCD is a serious mental illness that the professional therapist at Full Spectrum has years of experience treating. We are committed to helping those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by using proven, effective techniques. Choose us for your OCD Therapist in Haverford, PA