According to WHO (World Health Organization), one out of four people in the world has mental disorder issues at one or another point in life. The concerns of mental illness are growing day by day, and due to pandemic, the cases are increasing even more. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is also a type of mental illness.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many people are getting affected severely. Mental illness among people is growing with pace. Therefore, it is high time to take mental illness as a severe issue of concern, instead of ignoring it by considering it taboo. Here you are going to know about ‘Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,’ which is also a form of mental illness.
Brief Introduction To Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder is basically a disorder in which people have repeated, unwanted thoughts, sensations, or ideas (obsessions), which make them feel to do specific actions repetitively (compulsions).
Furthermore, some people can have both compulsions as well as obsessions. It is not limited just to negative thoughts or biting nails repeatedly. Instead, it’s also about having obsessing thoughts of colours or numbers. It can be washing hands again and again after touching something that seems dirty to the individual. Even if the person does not intend to do such actions, they are helpless to stop doing it.
Types Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Unacceptable Taboo Thoughts & Mental Rituals
The “unacceptable thoughts” or “taboo,” symptom dimension defines the individuals with uninvited obsessions that are often of a violent, religious, or sexual nature. Such individuals are often considered as ‘pure obsessional’ because of their lack of overt rituals.
Furthermore, this category defines the individuals who go through disturbing thoughts that severely violate their values and morals. For instance, it includes feelings of sexually molesting children and instincts to do violent things, such as pushing walkers into oncoming traffic, or blasphemous thoughts about religious figures. Such feelings can be self-harming as well; Riverview psychiatric centre is one solution that must be practised.
The people getting such thoughts typically have no history of violence, and they do not act on their impulses or urges. But, because OCD patients often feel their ideas are unsafe and overly critical, they dedicate a lot of their mental effort to suppress them.
Furthermore, the people experiencing such intrusive thoughts attempt to control it with the help of neutralizing (e.g., mentally terminating evil thoughts by substituting them with good ideas) and mental ritualization (e.g., quarrelling with oneself over the morality of one’s character).
The sufferers of this category of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder also make excuses to avoid childcare duties or religious ceremonies that might activate unwanted thoughts.
Doubt About Accidental Harm & Checking
The people who fall under this category of OCD mostly experience impulses, intrusive images, and fears, which relates to the chances of unintentionally harming oneself, or someone else, due to negligence.
Some of the common harming fears include the anxiety of hitting a pedestrian while driving or forgetting to turn off the stove before going to bed, leading to the death of a loved one in a house fire.
The fear comes with an excessive feeling of dread, doubt, uncertainty, and a sharp sense of responsibility. Therefore to neutralize the sense of dreadfulness and risk usually starts to develop repetitive checking behaviour. Such behaviours have often been stated as “checkers.”
Contamination & Washing
The people falling under this category often feel concerned over the threat of disease or illness. Their mind continually keeps on indicating being physically infected or even feelings of being mentally polluted. The fear of contamination includes germs, dirt, and viruses, but it also contains household chemicals, blood, sticky substances or residues, people who appear impure, and various types of animals and insects.
The people facing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder try to avoid going to certain places, which they fear to be associated with contaminants. Such individuals also fear to throw “contaminated” objects away, frequently changing of clothes, etc.
The interaction with a feared contaminant mostly results in feelings of disgust, fear, and general discomfort. Furthermore, in some cases, it can result in feelings of responsibility for transmitting contamination to others.
Just Right OCD: Symmetry, Arranging, & Counting
One of the typical symptoms that OCD affected people have is the ‘Perfectionism.’ Such people are pre-occupied with the feeling of exactness and symmetry. Furthermore, people tend to involve in compulsive behaviours, which include repetitive organizing, arranging, or lining up of objects until they fall into place according to them.
For example, the person affected with this Disorder may start re-arranging the things in front of them, which they feel are not symmetrically aligned. A feeling of incompleteness is one of the primary symptoms.
Moreover, the people facing this OCD may get in rituals, such as mental counting and arranging, and touching and tapping behaviours.
