Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety-related mental health condition. Those who have OCD are likely to have a combination of obsessions, compulsions, and unhelpful beliefs.
Symptoms and behaviours
There are many symptoms and behaviours that can indicate someone has OCD. Some of the most-common include repetitive actions or rituals such as excessive hand washing or hair combing, repetitive checking of things such as lights or locks, hoarding or collecting, counting or methodically arranging items, and an urge for everything to be perfect.
What causes OCD?
The precise cause of OCD, like many similar disorders, is unknown. Factors that may contribute include genetics, learned behaviours, differences in brain activity, levels of brain chemicals, traumatic life events, or personality type.
Mental health training courses in Newport
If you feel that your staff or yourself would benefit from additional training on topics such as OCD, there are several organisations such as https://www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/newport who offer mental health training courses Newport and the South Wales area.
Prevalence of OCD
It is estimated that OCD affects around 2% of people in the UK. There is some disagreement about gender prevalence because various studies show that it is more common amongst males in childhood but more widespread amongst females in adolescence and adulthood.
How is OCD diagnosed?
There are various criteria that need to be met for a diagnosis of OCD. Any obsessions need to be intrusive, unwanted, time-consuming, and cause significant distress. Usually a diagnosis will involve a psychological evaluation, a physical examination, and the use of various tools and assessments such as the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.
What treatments are available for OCD?
The main treatments for OCD are CBT, exposure and response prevention, and medication. CBT is a behavioural therapy that helps to mould how you react to thoughts and feelings. ERP is a way of using controlled exposure to learn how to cope with a specific fear or anxiety without reverting to avoidance or compulsion.
Common medications used include SSRI antidepressants such as sertraline, fluoxetine, or citalopram.
