Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Essay

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Closer Look
Eugene N. Graham Jr.
Nova Southeastern University
Abnormal Psychology
Professor Lori Eickleberry

Abstract
This paper is a compilation of ideas and a collaboration of articles that give an in depth look at obsessive compulsive disorder. It gives a closer look into the illness and how it has become known to society. It will cover the prevalence of this disorder as well as its causes. This paper will also give a description of the disorder and common forms of treatment.

Many of us occasionally have to go back and double-check that an iron is unplugged or the car door is locked. But for those that suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors become so excessive that they interfere with their daily lives. No matter what they do, they just can’t seem to shake them. Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, OCD causes the brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge. For example, you may check the stove twenty times to make sure it’s really turned off, wash your hands until they’re scrubbed raw, or drive around for hours to make sure that the bump you heard while driving wasn’t a person you ran over.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a possibly immobilizing form that can persevere all through a person's life. Obsessive-compulsive disorder causes people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions). The person who suffers from OCD turns out to be spellbound in a prototype of recurring feelings and behaviors that are pointless and upsetting but tremendously hard to conquer (Heyman, I., D.2006). OCD happens in a range from gentle to stern, but if harsh and left untreated, can wipe out a person's ability to be a productive employee, scholar or even a productive citizen.
An obsession is defined as a thought, impulse, or image that either recurs or persists and causes severe anxiety. These thoughts are irresistible to the OCD sufferer despite the person's realizing that these thoughts are irrational. Examples of obsessions include worries about germs/cleanliness or about safety or order. A compulsion is a ritual/behavior that the individual with OCD engages in repeatedly, either because of their obsessions or according to a rigid set of rules. The before mentioned obsessions may result in compulsions like excessive hand washing, skin picking, and lock checking, or repeatedly arranging items.
In the early years mental health professionals considered OCD to be an unusual disease considering the small number of their patience that faced its troubles. The disorder remained under the radar for the reason that many of those that were troubled with OCD failed to seek treatment. This guided to undervalue of the figure of populace with this illness. However, an examination carried out in the 1980’s by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) which is the Federal agency that supports investigations nationwide on the brain as well as mental illnesses and mental health provided monumental information regarding the commonness of OCD (Heyman, I., D.2006).
The examination established that OCD has an effect on more than 2 percent of the population. This means that OCD is more ordinary than harsher illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or panic disorder. OCD doesn’t discriminate. It affects children and adults from both genders, all races and ethnicities. It occurs in every socioeconomic level and all over the U.S. and the world. In clinical samples, however, OCD is found more often among Caucasian than minorities (Chabane, N., R. 2004). This may be due to the underrepresentation of minorities in clinical studies.
OCD was thought to be rare in children and adolescents. Studies conducted over the past several years, however, have shown that the lifetime prevalence of OCD in young people, worldwide,
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