Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

For my fellow Gleeks, you know all about Miss. Emma Pillsbury's strict sanitary issues about everything. And if you saw the latest "Born This Way" episode, you saw her diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. For those of you who have never seen Glee or met someone with OCD, you may not know how serious it really is. I'm going to assume that most people do not know how serious it is because of personal experience. Almost everyday I hear someone throw out a, "You're OCD!" and a laugh every time they see someone straighten their papers or clean off a table. This really bothers me because obsessive-compulsive disorder is no laughing matter. OCD is a severe mental illness in which on is plagued with repeated, disturbing thoughts (obsessions), that cause one to repeat the same rituals (compulsions) again and again in an attempt to stop these thoughts. now matter how forcefully these rituals are preformed, they only offer temporary relief. Some examples of these rituals are: constantly washing hands or cleaning, repeatedly locking a door or window, and counting number of lines in a paragraph or chews in a bite. Some people are so obsessed with not throwing anything away that they end up becoming severe hoarders. Other common obsessions that people don't think of when there hear OCD are: frequent thoughts of harming loved ones, thoughts that go against religious beliefs, or preforming sexual acts that the person dislikes.
With any anxiety disorder, the anxiety is in control almost all the time. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is no exception; it's possibly the worst. The obsessions and compulsions end up controlling one's life. In my research, I found a quote that demonstrated this really well: "Getting dressed in the morning was tough, because I had a routine, and if I didn't follow the routine, I'd get anxious and would have to get dressed again. I always worried that if I didn't do something, my parents were going to die. I'd have these terrible thoughts of harming my parents. That was completely irrational, but the thoughts triggered more anxiety and more senseless behavior. Because of the time I spent on rituals, I was unable to to a lot of things that were important to me" ("Anxiety Disorders").
These symptoms do not go away over time, if anything, they get worse. The only was to gain controls is through psychotherapy and/or medication. The type of psychotherapy used to treat OCD is called exposure-based psychotherapy. In this type of therapy, one with OCD encounters the very things  that cause obsessions, but in a safe environment, and they are encouraged not to preform the rituals they are complused to do. The most commons medications prescribed for all anxiety disorders, including OCD, are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which alter the amount of serotonin in the brain. Antidepressants are also common in treating anxiety disorders like OCD.
If you fear that you or a loved one have OCD, do not be ashamed and do not be afraid to get help. You are not alone, and everyone deserves to have a life free of constant, overwhelming stress and fear. There is always hope for a better tomorrow.

Works Cited:

“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” Medline Plus. 13 Jan. 2011. 24 Feb. 2011.

            <http://www.nlh.nih.dov/medlineplus/obsessivecompulsivedisorder.html>.

“Anxiety Disorders.” Medline Plus. 2 Nov. 2010. 24 Feb. 2011.

            <http://www/nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml>