Is It Normal Worry, Or Could It Be OCD?

When you hear the term 'OCD', what do you think of? For some, it's taken as a joke because the media tends to make fun of it. If you've ever seen the cable series Monk, you've seen how Tony Shalhoub's character is a total clean freak who carries anti-bacterial wipes with him everywhere he goes. Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets carries his own silverware with him anytime he goes out to eat and has several jars of M&Ms separated by color. They go to extremes that are easy to make fun of. For people with the disorder, however, it is no laughing matter. The compulsive behaviors and obsessions we laugh at in the movies can be very disturbing when we have them in real life. We all have worries, but how can we tell if they are actually due to OCD?

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive and uncontrollable thoughts, as well as behaviors that come from these thoughts. For instance, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub's character) carries around anti-bacterial wipes and hand sanitizer because he is deathly afraid of the germs most of us come across without thinking. This is an example of an obsession. A person with OCD may have 'rituals' they feel led to perform, such as checking the locks on their doors a particular number of times a day or constant hand washing. These are examples of compulsions.

A more complete definition of 'obsessions' is uncontrollable thoughts that are extremely distressing and may interfere with daily activities. They usually come out of the clear blue sky-for example, looking at your husband and thinking of the Holocaust, thinking you have a deadly disease or imagining yourself harming one of your pets. As you can imagine, these thoughts can be very unsettling and difficult to get rid of. They are things you would never do or think of normally but, due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, are not 'filtered out' they way they normally would be.

Compulsions, on the other hand, are behaviors that are done repeatedly in response to anxiety. What's interesting is that the behavior doesn't always have anything to do with the anxiety itself. For instance, it's not very likely that having your M&Ms color-coded is going to stop your husband from getting into a car wreck. Even if the person knows this, however, it doesn't stop the compulsion. They literally cannot control themselves, which can cause major problems in things such as work and relationships.

The good news is that OCD is very treatable. Since the disorder is considered a 'spectrum', the symptoms and behaviors vary in severity from person to person. The anxiety experienced can be traced back to an imbalance of serotonin levels in the brain. Because of this, medicines called Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil have been very effective in helping people with OCD control their thoughts and behaviors. Not everyone is helped by these drugs, however, so some opt for more traditional forms of treatment like psychotherapy or relaxation techniques.

OCD and OCD tendencies can be very disturbing to a person who deals with them. However, with proper diagnosis and treatment, people with OCD can live very productive lives. Only a licensed doctor or therapist can diagnose and treat OCD, so be sure to get checked out if you think you might have it. You deserve to live a healthy and happy life.