How to Deal with OCD

By Alex Groberman, Wed, June 15, 2011

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder which is generally recognized when the sufferer experiences an assortment of obsessions and compulsions that they are powerless to stop.

Generally speaking, four types large subgroups of OCD are recognized as extremely prevalent: obsessions dealing with cleanliness and dirt, obsessions dealing with hoarding, obsessions dealing with orders and arrangement and obsessions dealing with religion and sex.

Typically, obsessions are seen as thoughts or impulses that pop into a person’s mind and persist with the sufferer being unable to get rid of them. Subsequently, these obsessions then lead into compulsions, which are essentially actions that the people dealing with OCD must give in to in order to rid themselves of the original obsessions.

Well-known compulsions include: worrying about germs, cleanliness, order and/or safety.

According to researchers, OCD has been around for at least 100 years, even if it has gotten a bit more attention recently as a result of its entrance into pop culture consciousness. Most recent statistics indicate that OCD impacts anywhere from one to two percent of Americans, or two to three million total adults every year. The same research indicates that typically, the disorder hits at age 19 and no later than 30, although this isn’t set in stone. Further, OCD tends to hit more males than females, for reasons that remain unidentified to this point.

The two main ways of dealing with OCD are psychotherapy and medicine. As per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Anafranil, Luvox, Prozac, Paxil, Pexeva and Zoloft are all approved medicines that could be used to battle the condition.

Like with any other mental condition, sufferers are advised to consult with their physicians or a mental health specialist before opting to take a particular path when it comes to treating their OCD.

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