Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Many of us have recurrent thoughts or worries, some people perform repetitive routines that might seem unreasonable; however, because these ideas, thoughts, and habits do not last long and on the whole do not cause distress and dysfunction, they are not classified as obsessions. On the other hand, for individuals with obsessive- compulsive disorder, these worries and concerns resulting in compulsions, can go as far as taking over a person’s life. These persistent obsessions can impair a person’s ability to function, limit their behavior, and result in them feeling miserable (Holmes, 2001). Moreover, according to the World Health Organization, “OCD is one of the most incapacitating of the anxiety disorders” (Doron et.al. 2007)

Individuals, who are diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, have either obsessions, compulsions or both. In persons who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety is caused by the recurrent ideas, thoughts, or impulses, in other words called obsessions. Some common obsessions are of doubt, thoughts of death or violence, fear of becoming ill or of contamination. In contrast, compulsions are repetitive behaviors that the individual performs due to the belief that if they do not do that ritual, something terrible will result (Stein, 2002). It is important to note, that people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, are often aware of the irrationality of their behavior; however, they feel compelled to carry out the compulsion in order to temporarily alleviate the extreme anxiety