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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

ic stress disorder. OCD is "an illness [and] . . . a psychiatric disorder," which are not necessarily the same, since psychiatric definitions are in a constant state of revision (Steketee & White, 1990, p. 17). A patient may have either obsessions or compulsions in order to be diagnosed with OCD, but either the thoughts or the compulsive manifestations of the thoughts must be "significantly distressing or time-consuming or . . . cause significant interference with social or occupational functioning" to be considered OCD (Steketee & White, 1990, p. 19).

Though OCD can include an abnormal desire to evade certain situations or substances, it remains separate from avoidance behaviors; millionaire Howard Hughes, one of the prime examples of an OCD sufferer, also worked very hard during his later years at avoiding contact with people, germs, and other substances that he was convinced might be harmful. Such avoidance can be related to OCD but is not necessarily part of the disorder.

OCD actually has two distinct components, and both need not be present for an accurate diagnosis. The first part is the existence of obsessions, which are repetitive and persistent thoughts first experienced by the patient as intrusive or senseless. A poor person who worries continually about money is not experiencing an obsession; a rich person who does so is indeed obsessing, especially if he or she is annoyed by these fears, realizes they are baseless, and yet cannot stop them. If, on the other hand, the rich person becomes convinced that he or she is in fact poor or about to become so, these thoughts are then classified as delusions, not obsessions.

The second part of OCD is the compulsive action, the purposeful, intentional response to the obsessive thought. These compulsions become rituals designed to lessen magically the stress of the obsession. Anything which brings even temporary relief can become a compulsive act; hand washing is the m...

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:21, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1708302.html