"I was uncomfortable from the numbers 8 and 2". What is OCD and who is at risk

Health / by admin / December 19, 2019

Julia Hill

Psychologist, A member of Professional Psychotherapeutic League, blogger.

Remember how important it was in my childhood, to my mother before going to sleep she tucked a blanket, kissed him on the forehead and always said, "Good night, sweetheart, "It is the" sweetheart "- from this my heart became calm and quiet, so that even the hairy monsters podkrovatnye dobreli. It was such a ritual.

Children often use rituals for complacency. Counted the steps on the way to school, get wells, biting his nails and so on. The more unhealthy family relationships than higher standards are set behavior, the uhischronnee become self methods.

Adults, too, think that they can influence reality with the appropriate action. This is the essence superstitions: Spit over his shoulder, knock on wood, read the plot of the cross. In any religion, by the way, a lot of rituals. That is why many visit temples inspires peace and tranquility.

Usually taken separately obsessive thoughts do not cause concern - in any case, the majority of people. But in some cases, the picture is in the symptoms of neurotic disorders - obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or obsessional neurosis.

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How to catch the line, after which the rituals and intrusive thoughts have become a problem that needs treatment?

What are the symptoms of OCD

main symptoms OCD - is the obsessions and compulsions. The man works a certain cognitive-behavioral scheme:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: cognitive behavioral scheme

Obsessions - obsessive thoughts and desires that flood the mind and cause huge alarm. For a person with OCD thought equivalent action. He feels that it is material and if you do not do anything, there will be something terrible, irreparable.

When a person experiences anxiety in principle he held a fall in business activity: implementation of the action gives the feeling that you control the situation, anxiety is reduced. But in the case of R & D activities carried out - compulsions - are excessive and sometimes fanciful character. For others they look like is unclear. For example, a person lays out the clothes strictly by color, walks in the door just to the left leg, and if wrong, returns and is again, twice repeating the last words spoken.

Michael

29 years

The first signs of frustration I had for a long time. I just did not realize that it is a disease, I thought at all so. I was uncomfortable from the numbers 8 and 2. And from my house to the subway I went only 298th bus, so I walked on foot for about 30 minutes in any weather.

Then I began to appear the idea that if I will not be kind to my mother, God will punish me - she gets sick and dies. I imagined the funeral, some people will come to the parting. These thoughts robbed me a lot of time and effort. I could not study well and generally focus on something - there was a fog in my head. For a while, I had saved the mantra "Pah-pah-pah! Just not with me! ".

Important: obsessive thoughts in OCD differ from obsessions with schizophrenia because they are perceived by man as his own, not imposed by other people or circumstances.

Fears that cause anxiety in patients suffering from OCD are different, but there are also those that are the most common. For example, fear of infection or fear of harm to others. It also happens that someone is more inclined to "make up one's mind" and who, on the contrary, to "act."

Can OCD be inherited

Most often, the occurrence of the disease is associated with stress. But he still is the trigger - the true causes of OCD are hiding in genetics, physiology and education conditions of a single person, when formed of anxiety-phobic personality structure. It is characterized by mistrust, anxiety, persistent doubts about the correctness of their actions. Often these people are shy, long experience of failure, in all aware of the danger.

So get a tendency to obsessive thinking and doing quite possibly inherited. Family in general plays an important role in the emergence of neurotic disorders, and OCD is not an exception.

Inna

34 years

Obsessions began in my childhood. In general, I was nervous and sensitive child. Grandmother, whom I was visiting in the summer, told me about a village sorcerers who "put the spell" on a neighbor's boy, and in the same month, he drowned in the river. Since then, when I passed women with dark hair, the fingers crossed in the pocket: so I thought I protect myself from the evil eye. Now, when I hear the news about murders, terrorist attacks, accidents, I can not stop thinking that my family happens terrible. To get rid of panic, I have to present these ideas in their hands and blow off them.

Parents pass the child hidden message: the world is dangerous, check everything several times. They are doing so in good faith, but as a result of man grows and faced with the fact that he must comply with the requirements of the world to which he did not have confidence. It appears the continuing uncertainty in the behavior and thinking, as a result - confusion and anxiety.

Pseudo-religious belief in paranormal phenomena, taken in the family, too, are responding to the development of OCD. Various media support this belief: popular show about psychics, sorcerers, otherworldly forces. If a person is initially sensitive to the disease, he is supported by his convictions that his thoughts, he can cause someone harm. To avoid this, it performed the rituals. Here you have a ready OCD.

Nikita

18 years

I saved money for several months and finally bought a new smartphone. Very afraid to break it, and from that day I became haunt the idea that I'll throw him out the window of his apartment and watch as it flies and is broken down into the ground. I could not help but think about it. Helped seven times loudly clap your hands - that seven is the number of phone models. Then obsession receded for a while. The school had to go to the toilet to do this ritual or suffer - still did not want to look like a fool with all the class.

How do you know it's time to see a doctor

Refer to a specialist if:

You often visit unpleasant, disturbing thoughts, from which it is impossible to get rid willpower.
Pondering such thoughts takes a lot of time and seriously interferes with your health, communication and recreation. Ordinary life fades into the background.
Often thought you seem ridiculous or dangerous about them embarrassed to tell friends.
You have to produce a strange repetitive actions, so that at least for a time to feel relief from painful experiences.

This is not OCD, if:

You half-humming the same song. This phenomenon is called "ear worm". Often it triggered the principle of free association: we are looking for a lost thing, and in the brain floats "Search" Zemfira.
believe in the signs or to observe religious rules. The simplest rituals which are associated with a belief in anything supernatural, the incomprehensible, to help get rid of anxiety and nervous tension. This is especially true for highly sensitive people. Spat three times over his shoulder - and it is possible to cross the road after the black cat, and your soul in peace.
Lays out everything on the shelves, as like order in everything. If you do not spend doing this day long, then you have just raised akkuratistom. Or perfectionist.
An event much hurt and upset you, and you think about it for several days. For a person normally experience a stressful situation for some time. Gradually decreases the severity of sensations and life back on track.

How to treat OCD

treatment of neurotic disordersTo which the ROC has been a psychiatrist. Self will not help here. OCD - it is a complex disorder. In severe cases, a person can become invalid when he is so absorbed in obsessive thoughts and rituals that he can not live a normal life, work and communicate. Almost all the time spent on thinking and committing actions that help to get rid of painful experiences.

medication

Very often, for the treatment of OCD and antianxiety drugs are used antidepressants. They are effective and are displayed in cases where the disease significantly affects quality of life. When OCD brain stable biochemical reactions occur at sites of fear and preparations just contribute to their destruction.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

This method is used under medical supervision. For the patient, creating situations that normally cause him fear. The main condition - to hold back and not do the usual ritual. For example, if your obsessions associated with fear of germs and infections, the first thing that you have to learn to do, - to touch door handles and handrails, and do not wash your hands afterwards.

Training of social competence

Here you will learn to what failed to teach parents: trust yourself and the world around them. The training takes place in groups. On it are analyzed concrete life Problems members help define the standard of personal standards, form new social skills and behavioral patterns.

Family systemic therapy

Family therapists working in a systems approach, believe that the obsessions are protective and guard for a family function. they use including the method of paradoxical prescriptions for the treatment of OCD. In contrast, cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is important to avoid compliance with the ritual, "semeyschiki" prescribed to patients carry it to all the rules and under the supervision of the whole family. The child began to wash his hands three times? Let washes 10! In this case, the pope said, and my mother makes sure to lather long, up to the elbows and lush foam, otherwise not considered. As a rule, after two weeks of the execution ritual symptoms go away.