Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a health condition that causes you to have a pattern of undesirable fears and thoughts (obsessions) that lead you to do recurrent routines (compulsions). These compulsions and obsessions usually interfere with your daily events and reason you distress. Fortunately, with effective OCD treatment, you can easily manage this condition. Here, we will look at the common signs of OCD and treatments for OCD in New York.
What Causes OCD?
OCD is most commonly detected by the age of 19. However, it is possible to go several years without a proper diagnosis and not learn about the disorder until later in life. The main causes of OCD include:
- Early exposure to trauma.
- Brain function abnormalities.
- Family history of OCD.
- History of sexual or physical abuse.
At the Thriving Center of Psychology, we advise all our patients to seek medical treatment despite how infrequent or minor their OCD symptoms are. After all, ignoring your OCD symptoms can affect your overall health.
Symptoms of OCD
The symptoms of OCD can be compulsions or obsessions. However, it is also possible for some people to have only compulsion or obsession symptoms.
Obsession Symptoms
OCD obsessions are generally persistent, recurrent, and undesirable thoughts, images, or urges that are intrusive and cause anxiety or distress. These thoughts tend to intrude when you do or think of other things. The following are some of the main OCD obsessions signs and symptoms:
- Intrusive images of driving your vehicle into a crowd of people.
- Thoughts about acting inappropriately in public or shouting obscenities.
- Doubts that you have turned off the stove or locked the door.
- Intensive pressure when substances are facing a certain direction or aren’t orderly.
- Fear of being contaminated by touching things other people have touched.
- Unpleasant sexual images.
- Avoiding shaking hands or any other situation that can trigger fascinations.
Compulsion Symptoms
OCD compulsions are simply repetitive mental acts or performances that you feel an irresistible urge to perform. These recurrent behaviors are meant to prevent something bad from happening or lower your anxiety-related obsessions. However, performing such compulsions only offers temporary release from anxiety. Some of the common OCD compulsion signs and symptoms include:
- Arranging all your canned goods to face a similar direction.
- Silently repeating a word, phrase, or prayer.
- Counting in certain patterns.
- Washing your hands until your skin becomes raw.
- Frequently checking doors to make sure they are locked.
- Constantly checking your stove to see if it’s off.
Symptoms Vary in Severity
OCD symptoms incline to vary in harshness throughout someone’s life. The types of compulsion and obsessions gradually worsen when you are exposed to immense stress. Furthermore, OCD is often considered a lifetime disorder and can have mild to severe symptoms.
Treatment Options for OCD
At the Thriving Center of Psychology, our OCD treatment plans include:
- Group therapy.
- Talk therapy (psychotherapy).
- Neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback or electroencephalographic).
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
- Online video Teletherapy.
Conclusion
In the US alone, 1 out of 40 adults and 1 out of 100 children suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) symptoms, including counting in certain patterns and excessive cleaning. If you experience any of the above-mentioned OCD symptoms, feel free to contact us at the Thriving Center of Psychology in New York. You can also schedule your OCD evaluation online
