9 Alarming Signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that imprisons a person in a constant loop of irregular behaviors and distressful thoughts. People with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) are affected by disturbing thoughts, which are uncontrollable. Hence, to shrug off these thoughts, they are bound to follow certain practices and compulsions, which differentiates them from other people. These rituals cause anxiety and discomfort for the individual at that moment and the people around him/her.

These rituals intervene in the regular activities of a person, and in extreme cases, it disturbs the sleep as well. Further, we have discussed 9 signs and compulsions of OCD;

1. Fear of Dirt

The thought of germs crawling up on the skin is very scary for an individual with OCD. The person avoids playing sports and touching dirt because the fear is too much to handle. It gets hard to cope up with other people and perform normal daily outdoor activities.

2. Fear of making a mistake

For some people, it is easy to make a mistake and then move on. But, for a person experiencing OCD, it is hard to overcome the embarrassment. To avoid the fear of making a mistake, the person demonstrates different unnatural body gestures. These gestures help to continue the task in hand.

3. Repetition

It is the most common sign of obsessive compulsive disorder, to repeatedly do a task for an unnatural number of times. For example, touching a doorknob, handshake or washing hands, the individual does all of these things for many times till he/she feels satisfied. It is important for them to do it to calm themselves down.

4. Arrangements

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder are forced to arrange the things in a certain way. Any object placed out of order can trigger their anxiety. So, for them to process in a normal fashion, they have to rearrange the things in a particular way. The placement can vary for every individual by their mental state.

5. Perfection

In OCD, the person becomes obsessed with doing things to perfection. That level of perfection is not easily achievable by anyone. Yet, the individual with the disorder is stubborn and keeps on repeating a task to the level that it becomes irritating for people in the surroundings.

6. Stubborn

Stubbornness is an underlying sign of the disorder. It is because people with OCD cannot accept a different opinion because it is hard for them to adapt in that way. Stubborn attitude is a reaction to the fear of change. Change is unacceptable for the person because it gets hard for him to adjust to something new.

7. Sinful and evil thoughts

The individual going through this disorder is the victim of uncontrollable disturbing thoughts. Whenever these bad and evil thoughts occur in mind, the person performs the rehearsed ritual to shrug off that notion. If the person does not remove that thought from the mind, the anxiety takes over. Hence, anxiety destroys the composure of the individual.

8. Stuck on thoughts

The person with the obsessive compulsive disorder has a lack of control over their mind, and being stuck with one image is very disturbing. These haunting thoughts stick to the mind and provoke those unnatural body gestures. These gestures help in avoiding the thoughts for some time, in which the person feels composed.

9. Lack of trust

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder have a difficult time maintaining relationships owing to lack of trust and constant need of reassurance of love from the partner. It is very tricky because the obsession with anything or any person is not healthy. Such people lose their partners quickly and lack of a support in their life makes them lonely and self-destructive.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is triggered by both biological and environmental factors. However, the treatment for OCD is present in its early stage. In the later stage, the individual should go to the doctor for controlling the reactions that lead to the disorder. Moreover, controlling those unsettling thoughts is very helpful for the person, because it will help in leading a normal life.

Source:

www.yuobserver.org

www.nytimes.com/section/well

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