Julie Schultheis, LPC
ANXIETY & OCD SPECIALIST
Walk The Talk, LLC
Facts About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCD is a neurobiological disorder and it equally affects men, women and children of all races, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. OCD is the fourth most common psychiatric disorder, after phobias, substance abuse and major depression, affecting about one in 40 adults and one in 100 school-aged children.
The onset of OCD symptoms most commonly occurs in childhood, during periods of major hormonal changes (puberty) and between the late teens and early 20's. It is more prevalent in males especially during the younger years.
Source: www.ocfoundation.org
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) suffer from irrational,unwanted and intrusive thoughts that cause distress (anxiety,guilt and/or disgust). These OBSESSIONS often compel them to repeatedly perform behaviors and routines or mental
rituals to try and ease their discomfort.
The behavior that is done in an effort to ease
the discomfort caused by an obsesssion is called a COMPULSION.
Compulsions can appear as washing or cleaning, checking, repeating, rituals (things must be done in a certain order), ordering or arranging, superstitious-driven behavior (ex.avoiding cracks),reassurance seeking, apologizing and others. Mental compulsions are unseen and can often cause a person to make unusual pauses in conversations or action.
Some spend hours at a time performing complicated rituals involving washing, counting, or checking to ward off persistent, unwelcome thoughts, feelings, or images. Others have to perform a behavior until it feels "just right".
