Is it possible to get rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder on my own? Obsessional neurosis. Compulsive states: movements, thoughts, fears, memories, ideas How to cope with obsessive compulsive disorder syndrome

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Obsessive states are a disease characterized by the sudden appearance of weighed down thoughts or ideas that prompt a person to action and are perceived as unpleasant and alien. Such phenomena have been known for a long time. Initially, obsessions were attributed to the structure of melancholia. In the Middle Ages, people with such manifestations were classified as possessed.

Obsessive states of reason

The main causes of this condition are: overwork, lack of sleep, some mental illnesses, head injuries, infectious diseases, chronic intoxication of the body, asthenia.

Obsessive states, in order to be clear and not cause confusion in understanding what it is, are referred to as obsessions or obsessions, which are understood as involuntary thoughts, doubts, memories, phobias, actions, aspirations, accompanied by an awareness of their pain and a burdened feeling of insurmountability. In a simple way, a person is overwhelmed by thoughts, desires, actions that he is not able to control, therefore, despite his little resistance, painful thoughts weigh even more, climb into consciousness, and rituals are performed in the absence of lack of will.

For psychiatrists, in terms of studying personality, those suffering from this disease are the most beloved patients studied, because they are very difficult to treat, always polite, and with all the seemingly visually favorable contact, they remain in their condition. A very interesting approach to such patients exists among American specialists. They try to explain to patients that obsessive thoughts are just thoughts, and they need to be distinguished from themselves, since they (the sick), as individuals, exist separately from them.

Often obsessive states include inadequate or even absurd, as well as subjectively painful thoughts. The ambivalence (duality) of the patients' judgments throws them from one extreme to another, confusing the attending physician. It cannot be categorically stated that if you have unstable obsessive states, then you are sick. This is also true for healthy people. It is possible that this happened during a period of mental weakening or after overwork. Everyone at least once in their life noticed this repetitiveness of actions and the anxiety associated with it.

obsessive-compulsive disorder

In 1868, this concept was first introduced in medicine by the German psychiatrist R. Kraft-Ebing. For a simple person, not a professional, it is immediately very difficult to understand both the true causes of the disease, diagnosis, and the very course of the disease.

The obsessive-compulsive disorder is based on mental content and is not controlled by the individual at all. Reproduction of obsessive states provokes a violation of his usual activities.

The obsessive-compulsive disorder syndrome manifests itself as constant memories from the past (mostly unpleasant moments), thoughts, drives, doubts, external actions. Often they are accompanied by painful experiences and are characteristic of insecure individuals.

Types of obsessive states - abstract obsessions and figurative obsessions.

Distracted obsessions include obsessive counting, obsessive thoughts, obsessive memories of unnecessary old events, details, and obsessive actions. Figurative are accompanied by emotional experiences, including anxiety, fear, emotional stress.

Obsessive states symptoms

A painful feeling of coercion torments the patient, because he is critical of his condition. Nausea, tics, hand tremors, and urge to urinate may also occur.

Obsessive states and their symptoms: with obsessive fear, a person enters a stupor, he turns pale or reddens, sweats, breathing and heartbeat quicken, autonomic disorders, dizziness, weakness in the legs, pain in the heart occur.

An obsessive account manifests itself in an irresistible desire to believe everything in a row that will catch your eye. Cars, windows in houses, passers-by, passengers at a bus stop, buttons on a neighbor's coat. Such calculations can also affect more complex arithmetic operations: mental addition of numbers, their multiplication; adding the digits that make up the phone number; multiplying the digits of car numbers, counting the total number of letters on a book page.

Obsessive actions are marked by involuntary movements that occur automatically: scribbling on paper, twisting an object in the hands, breaking matches, winding locks of hair around a finger. A person senselessly rearranges objects on the table, bites his nails, constantly pulls his ear. These signs include automatic sniffing, biting lips, snapping fingers, pulling outer clothing, rubbing hands. All these movements are carried out automatically; they just don't notice. However, a person, by an effort of will, is able to delay them, and not to commit them at all. But as soon as he is distracted, he will repeat the involuntary movements again.

Obsessive doubts are accompanied by unpleasant, painful experiences and feelings, which are expressed in the presence of constant doubts about the correctness of the act, action and its completion. For example, the doctor doubts the correctness of the dosage prescribed to the patient in the prescription; the typist has doubts about the literacy of what is written, or doubts that visit a person about the switched off light, gas, closed door. Because of these worries, a person returns home and checks everything.

Intrusive memories are marked by the involuntary emergence of vivid unpleasant memories that one would like to forget. For example, one recalls a painful conversation, fateful events, details of a ridiculous story.

An obsessive state of fear refers to a phobia, which is very painful for a person. This fear is caused by a variety of objects, as well as phenomena. For example, fear of heights or wide areas, as well as narrow streets, fear of doing something criminal, indecent, unlawful. Among the fears may be the fear of being struck by lightning or the fear of drowning, the fear of being hit by a car or crashing on an airplane, the fear of underground passages, the fear of descending the subway escalator, the fear of blushing among people, the fear of pollution, the fear of piercing, sharp and cutting objects.

A special group is represented by nosophobia, which include obsessive fears of the possibility of getting sick (syphilophobia, cardiophobia, carcinophobia), fear of death - thanatophobia. There are also phobophobias, when a person, after an attack of fear, further experiences fear of a new attack of fear.

Obsessive desires or obsessive desires, expressed in the emergence of unpleasant desires for a person (spit at a person, push a passerby, jump out of a car at speed). For phobias, as well as for obsessive drives, such an emotional disorder as fear is characteristic.

The patient perfectly understands the pain, as well as all the absurdity of his desires. Characteristic of such drives is that they do not turn into actions and are very unpleasant and painful for a person.

Contrasting obsessions are also painful for people, which are expressed in obsessive blasphemous thoughts, fears and feelings. All these obsessions offend the moral, moral and ethical essence of a person.

For example, a teenager who loves her mother may imagine her physical uncleanliness, as well as possible depraved behavior, but he is convinced that this cannot be. In a mother, the sight of sharp objects can cause obsessive ideas about their penetration into an only child. Obsessive, contrasting desires and desires are never realized.

Obsessive states in children are noted in the form of fears, fear of infection and pollution. Small children are afraid of enclosed spaces, piercing objects. Adolescents are inherently afraid of death or illness. There are fears associated with appearance, behavior (fear of speaking in stuttering persons). These states manifest themselves in the form of repetitive movements, burdened thoughts, tics. This is expressed in sucking a finger or a strand of hair, winding hair around a finger, strange hand movements, etc. The causes of the disease are mental trauma, as well as situations (life) that adults underestimated. These states and provoked experiences have a negative impact on the psyche of children.

Obsessive conditions treatment

Treatment should be started if a person cannot cope with his condition on his own and the quality of life suffers significantly. All therapy is carried out under the supervision of doctors.

How to get rid of obsessive states?

Effective methods of treating obsessive-compulsive disorders are behavioral and drug psychotherapy. Very rarely, if severe forms of the disease occur, then they resort to a psychosurgical operation.

Behavioral psychotherapy for obsessions involves a combination of obsessional provocations as well as ritual avoidance. The patient is specifically provoked to do what he is afraid of, while reducing the time allotted for rituals. Not all patients agree to behavioral therapy because of severe anxiety. Those who underwent a course of such therapy noticed that the severity of obsessions, as well as the time of the ritual, decreased. If you adhere only to drug treatment, then often after it comes a relapse.

Drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders includes antidepressants (Clomipramine, Fluoxetine), Paroxetine, Sertraline are also effective. Sometimes there is a good effect from other drugs (Trazodone, Lithium, Tryptophan, Fenfluramine, Buspirone, Tryptophan).

With complications, as well as the ineffectiveness of monotherapy, two drugs are indicated simultaneously (Buspirone and Fluoxetine, or Lithium and Clomipramine). If only drug treatment is carried out, then its cancellation causes a relapse of this condition almost always.

Drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders, provided there are no side effects, should be carried out until the effect of therapy occurs. Only after that the drug is canceled.

Doctor of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and cannot replace professional advice and qualified medical assistance. At the slightest suspicion of the presence of obsessive-compulsive disorders, be sure to consult a doctor!

One of the most common psychological disorders today is neurosis. This disease can disturb constantly or be episodic, but in any case, neurosis greatly complicates a person's life. If you do not seek qualified medical help in a timely manner, this disorder can lead to the development of more complex mental illnesses.

Neuroses are reversible psychogenic disorders that arise due to internal or external conflicts, emotional or mental stress, as well as under the influence of situations that can cause mental trauma in a person. A special place among neurotic disorders is occupied by obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many experts also refer to it as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but some doctors separate the two pathologies.

Why is this happening? The fact is that in domestic medicine for a long time, obsessive-compulsive disorder and OCD were indeed considered different diagnoses. But the international classification of diseases ICD-10 used today does not contain such a disease as obsessive-compulsive disorder, this list of diseases only mentions obsessive-compulsive disorder. That is why recently these two formulations have been used as a definition of the same mental pathology.

A person in this state suffers from intrusive, disturbing, or frightening thoughts that arise involuntarily. The main difference between this disease and schizophrenia is that the patient is aware of his problems. He tries to get rid of the feeling of anxiety with the help of obsessive and tedious actions. Only a qualified psychotherapist who has experience working with patients who suffer from this form of mental disorder can cure obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Reasons for development

Among the reasons for the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder, stressful situations and overwork are usually called, but obsessive-compulsive disorder does not occur in all people who find themselves in a difficult life situation. What actually provokes the development of obsessive states is still not exactly established, but there are several hypotheses regarding the occurrence of OCD:

1. Hereditary and genetic factors. Researchers have identified a pattern between the tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder and unfavorable heredity. Approximately one in five patients with OBK has relatives with mental disorders. The risk of developing this pathology increases in persons whose parents abused alcoholic beverages, had a tuberculous form of meningitis, and also suffered from migraine attacks or epilepsy. In addition, obsessive-compulsive disorders can occur due to genetic mutations.
2. Quite a large number of people (approximately 75%) who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder have other mental illnesses. The most likely concomitants of OCD include bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, phobias and obsessive fears, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and eating disorders.
3. Anatomical features can also provoke obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological causes also include a malfunction in some parts of the brain and the autonomic nervous system. Scientists drew attention to the fact that in most cases, with obsessive-compulsive disorder, there is a pathological inertia of excitation of the nervous system, accompanied by lability of inhibition of ongoing processes. OCD can occur against the background of a variety of disorders in the functioning of the neurotransmitter system. Disorders of the neurotic level arise due to a malfunction in the production and metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. There is also a version about the relationship between the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder and streptococcal infection. People who have had this infection have antibodies in the body that destroy not only harmful bacteria, but also the body's own tissues (PANDAS syndrome). As a result of these processes, tissues of the basal ganglia can be damaged, which can lead to the development of OCD.
4. The constitutional-typological factors include special character traits (anancaste). Most patients are prone to constant doubts, very circumspect and cautious. Such people are very worried about the details of what is happening, they are prone to perfectionism. Anancasters are conscientious and very diligent people who strive to scrupulously fulfill their obligations, but the desire for excellence very often prevents them from completing the work they have begun on time. The desire to achieve high results in work does not allow you to establish full-fledged friendships, and also very much interferes with your personal life. In addition, people with such a temperament are very stubborn, they almost never compromise.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders should begin with the identification of the causes of the development of the disorder. Only after that, a treatment regimen will be drawn up and, if necessary, medication will be prescribed.

Symptoms of the disorder

A doctor can diagnose an obsessive-compulsive disorder in a patient and prescribe appropriate treatment only if the main symptoms of the disorder have been observed for a long time (at least two weeks). OCD looks like this:

• having intrusive thoughts. They can be regular or occur periodically, remaining in the head for a long time. At the same time, all images and attractions are very stereotyped. A person understands that they are absurd and ridiculous, but, nevertheless, perceives them as his own. The OCD patient also realizes that he cannot control this flow of thoughts, as well as control his own thinking. In the course of the thought process, a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder periodically has at least one thought that he tries to resist. Someone's names and surnames, names of cities, planets, etc. can persistently come to mind. Some poem, quote or song can be repeatedly scrolled in the brain. Some patients constantly talk about topics that have nothing to do with reality. Most often, patients are disturbed by thoughts of panic fear of infectious diseases and pollution, of painful loss or predetermination of the future. Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder may experience a pathological desire for cleanliness, a need for a special order or symmetry;
• another major symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder is the desire to do something to reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts. Such behavior is called compulsive, and the patient's regular and repeated actions are called compulsions. The patient's need to perform specific actions is a conditional "obligation". Compulsions rarely give moral pleasure to a sick person; such “ritual” actions can only make you feel better for a short time. Among such obsessive actions, one can note the desire to count specific items, to commit immoral or illegal acts, to repeatedly check the results of one's work, etc. A compulsion is the habit of squinting your eyes, sniffing, licking your lips, winking, licking your lips, or twisting long strands of hair around your finger;
• doubts that constantly overcome the patient may also indicate the presence of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A person in this state is not confident in himself and his own abilities, he doubts whether he has performed the necessary action (turned off the water, turned off the iron, gas, etc.). Sometimes doubts reach the height of absurdity. For example, the patient can repeatedly check whether the dishes are washed, and at the same time wash them every time;
• Another symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder is the presence of groundless and illogical fears in the patient. For example, a person may be terribly afraid of speaking in public, he is afraid of the thought that he will definitely forget his speech. The patient may be afraid to visit public places, it seems to him that he will be ridiculed there. Concerns may relate to relationships with the opposite sex, the inability to sleep, the fulfillment of work obligations, and the like.

The most striking example of obsessive compulsive disorder is the fear of getting dirty and contracting a fatal disease after contact with microbes. In order to prevent this "terrible" infection, the patient does his best to avoid public places, he never eats in cafes or restaurants, does not touch the handles on the doors or handrails on the stairs. The dwelling of such a person is practically sterile, since he carefully cleans it using specialized tools. The same applies to personal hygiene, OCD forces a person to wash their hands for hours and treat the skin with a special antibacterial agent.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is not a dangerous disorder, but it complicates the life of the individual so much that he himself begins to think about the question of how obsessive-compulsive disorder can be cured.

Features of the treatment of OCD

The success of recovery from obsessive-compulsive disorder depends on several factors, but the chances of a normal life will be higher if the pathology treatment is started as early as possible. Therefore, you should not ignore the first symptoms of the disease: if you notice that you are overcome by obsessive thoughts, then it is better to immediately contact a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders requires an integrated approach to solving the problem. Therapy is conducted in three areas: the impact of psychotherapy, drug treatment and hypnotherapy.

The most effective method of psychotherapeutic influence in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder is cognitive-behavioral therapy. Its essence boils down to ensuring that the patient, with the assistance of a psychotherapist, independently discovers his destructive thoughts, realizes their absurdity and develops a new positive thinking pattern.

In psychotherapy sessions, the doctor tries to explain to the patient the difference between his adequate fears and thoughts that were inspired by neurosis. As a result, the patient not only gets rid of obsessive thoughts and actions, but also gains skills to prevent the recurrence of the disease. The cognitive thinking formed in the course of treatment makes it possible for a person in the future to independently cope with some mental problems and prevent their progression.

Another effective way to cure obsessive-compulsive disorder is the method of exposure and prevention of reactions. During the session, the patient is deliberately placed in conditions that cause psychological discomfort and a stream of obsessive thoughts. Beforehand, the therapist gives his client instructions on exactly how to resist his need to perform compulsions. According to statistics, the use of this method allows you to achieve faster results, and remission in this case will be more stable.

Quite often, in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, various techniques of hypnotic influence are used. After the patient enters a hypnotic trance, the psychotherapist is able to identify the circumstances that caused the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In just a few sessions of hypnosis, it is possible to achieve fairly high results. The patient's condition improves significantly, and the effect of suggestion persists for a long time or for a lifetime.

In addition, other methods of psychotherapy can be used:

• group. Communication with people who have similar problems makes it possible for a sick person to realize that his situation is not unique. The positive experience of getting rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder is an additional incentive for treatment;
• rational behavioral therapy allows you to change the way people think and behave. The basis of this therapy is the A-B-C model, which is also called the therapeutic change model or the ABC personality theory. A are the patient's own thoughts and feelings related to current events, B are beliefs, but not religious or political (therapists consider this a personal matter of the client) and views, and C is a consequence, the result of the influence of A and B. Each of these points are closely interconnected, in order to change the result (C), you need to make changes in your own thoughts (A) and realize the irrationality of beliefs (B) that led to irrational consequences;
• psychoanalysis. This method was very popular in the past, but recently it is losing ground. First of all, this is due to the need for a large number of therapeutic sessions. In some cases, the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder may last several years. Modern progressive techniques allow you to achieve sustainable results in a shorter time.

The use of drugs in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder is rarely recommended. The decision is made after a comprehensive assessment of the patient's condition and the existing risks from drug therapy.

If there is a need to take medications, then the doctor may prescribe to the patient a remedy from the group of tricyclic antidepressants, antidepressants of the SSRI class, specific serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants, benzodiazepine tranquilizers or mood stabilizers.

Atypical antipsychotics are usually not included in the treatment program for obsessive compulsive disorder, because errors in the dosage of the drug can lead to the opposite results: the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder may become more pronounced.

In complex therapy in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder necessarily include:

• elimination of the psychotraumatic situation that caused the development of neurosis. It will also be necessary to prevent its re-development;
• it is necessary to develop a special educational strategy for children with a predisposition to the occurrence of compulsions and obsessions;
• carrying out preventive work with the patient's family. In order for the treatment to be successful, and its result to be long-term, it will be necessary to normalize the situation in the family;
• autogenic training. Meditation is very useful, during such classes it is possible to clear the mind of disturbing thoughts that cause anxiety. You can practice various techniques of muscle and respiratory relaxation;
• refusal to drink alcohol and get rid of other addictions;
• revision of the daily routine. To normalize the mental state, it is very important to have enough time for sleep and good rest. You need to normalize your diet. The daily diet should contain healthy foods that provide the body with a sufficient amount of useful trace elements and energy;
• Light therapy is an adjunct treatment for OCD. During the procedure, light rays stimulate the immunobiological activity of the body, which has a positive effect on most functional systems and allows you to get rid of some types of depression.

In addition, treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and reflexology can be beneficial. If the patient has concomitant somatic diseases, then it is also necessary to make efforts to treat them.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is such a pathology that it is quite difficult to get rid of on your own. The patient, although he is aware of the absurdity of his thoughts and actions, is still unable to change irrational thinking without special skills. Only an experienced psychotherapist can help get rid of this unpleasant mental disorder that greatly complicates life.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts, manias and phobias, as well as repetitive actions aimed at suppressing anxiety and fear. The clinical picture of the disease can be very diverse. People who have such neuroses are prone to constant checking and accumulation, preoccupation with cleanliness, and may repeat meaningless rituals before performing any habitual action. Often, neurotic states are manifested by sexual preoccupation, a tendency to violence.

Most of these symptoms are repulsive to others, in addition, they take time, and sometimes finances. To outsiders, the actions of people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder seem irrational and even paranoid. Patients themselves are also aware of their pathological condition and often seek help on their own to get rid of the disease.

History reference

The term "neurosis" became widespread in the nineteenth century. Dominic Esquirol called obsessive-compulsive disorder “the disease of doubt.” He defined this disease as an intermediate condition between violations of the will and intellect. In subsequent years, other scientists have identified the similarity of obsessive-compulsive disorder with delirium.

A neurotic state can occur both in adults and in children. Many adult patients claim that the first signs of a mental disorder appeared in their childhood or adolescence. Interestingly, obsessive-compulsive personality change, characteristic of a neurotic-like state, most often occurs in people with high intelligence and outstanding mental abilities. Common features of patients include meticulous attention to detail and planning, avoidance of any even minor risks, increased responsibility and indecision when necessary to make a certain choice.

Causes

Obsessive compulsive disorder develops due to a large number of biological and psychological factors. As the main cause of the development of the disease, it is customary to consider dysfunction of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays an important role in regulating the level of anxiety.

Other causes of neurosis can be certain genetic disorders. Studies have shown that neurosis is characteristic of those people in whose families there have already been cases of similar diseases. The strongest relationship with heredity is observed in children suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. This association is usually absent in people who first encounter the disease in adulthood.

In addition, the causes of obsessive-compulsive disorders may lie in an unfavorable environmental situation, the age of the patient, and certain diseases. It was found that in adolescents, neurosis often develops against the background of syndromes caused by streptococcal infections or immunological reactions of the body to other pathogenic microorganisms.

An exacerbation of the disease can occur due to a general decrease in immunity and exhaustion of the body, as well as chronic lack of sleep, stress, mental or physical overwork.

Clinical signs

Obsessive-compulsive disorder causes a variety of obsessive states in patients. These can be unreasonable fears and phobias, repetitive actions that interfere with a person's normal life. Symptoms of neurosis-like states are always pronounced. Conventionally, the clinical manifestations of the disease can be divided into several groups: obsessions, compulsions, phobias and comorbidity.

Obsessions are called obsessive thoughts, associations or actions that involuntarily invade a person's consciousness. For people suffering from neurotic disorders, one has to constantly perform certain actions and rituals that can somewhat alleviate inner anxiety. For others, such actions often seem meaningless and even paranoid.

Obsessions can be very clear and bright, or somewhat blurry. With vague obsessions, a person lives in a constant belief that his life can never become normal while maintaining the existing imbalance, he is haunted by a feeling of tension and some kind of confusion. With pronounced obsessions, obsessive thoughts become more specific. Neurosis can be manifested by anxiety for loved ones, a sense of their approaching death, etc. Some people strive for savings, treating inanimate material objects as living beings, while realizing the inadequacy of their actions.

Sexual obsession may also be characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Thoughts and anxieties of a sexual nature also occur from time to time in healthy people, but in neurotic-like states they are given special significance. With all this, a sick person, as a rule, is aware that his thoughts and actions are at odds with reality, but, nevertheless, continue to act as if their concepts are not irrational.

Compulsions

Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by the fact that a person constantly feels the need to perform certain compulsive rituals that help relieve feelings of fear and anxiety. In fact, performing certain actions instills confidence in a sick person that this will help to avoid some terrible event.

Neurotic states can be manifested by biting nails, counting steps or some things, frequent washing of hands, repeated checks, arranging things in a strictly defined order, etc. Sick people are always aware of the irrationality of their actions, as well as the fact that their implementation will bring only short-term relief. In such circumstances, it becomes very difficult for a person to lead a normal life, work and communicate with other people.

In some cases, obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs without any overt compulsions. Instead of performing real actions, a person experiences them mentally and tries to avoid circumstances that could cause obsessive thoughts.

Phobias

A variety of fears and phobias, which are very difficult to get rid of, are also a characteristic sign of neuroses. The most common phobias associated with this disorder include:

• simple phobias. Unmotivated fears, because of which a person constantly strives to avoid certain situations. Such phobias include fear of fire or water, fear of infections, etc.;
• social phobia. Fear of being in an awkward position with a large crowd of people;
• Claustrophobia. Fear of being in a confined space;
• Agoraphobia. Fear of open space, etc.

In addition to the above symptoms, neurotic conditions may have other manifestations. Most often, patients have a depressive or anxiety disorder, bulimia nervosa, anorexia, Tourette's syndrome. There are also studies proving that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are more prone to alcoholism and drug addiction, while the use of alcohol or drugs becomes a compulsive action. According to other scientific studies, people who have neurosis are more likely than others to suffer from sleep disorders and depression.

Features of the disease in children

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children, as a rule, has a reversible mental character. The perception of the world of the child with this disease is not distorted, and parents can completely ignore the pathology, taking it for age features. In children, neuroses are manifested by obsessive movements and fears. These can be nervous tics, thumb sucking, hand clapping, sniffing, etc. Fears are often added to such manifestations. The child may be afraid of the dark, closed spaces, dirt, etc. All this negatively affects the psyche and emotional state of children.

Fears change their character as children grow. In adolescence, fear of death, public speaking at school, and the like may develop. The child may behave immorally, experiencing obsessive desires that cannot be realized. Only a psychotherapist can help get rid of them with the help of effective methods of therapy.

The most common causes of neurosis in children are psychological trauma, unfavorable family conditions, excessive parental care or, conversely, its absence, and sudden changes in lifestyle. The risk group also includes children who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, infections, as well as those with chronic diseases of the body that deplete the nervous system.

Treatment Methods

Getting rid of neuroses and obsessive-compulsive disorders is possible only with a comprehensive and individual approach to treatment. When compiling a therapeutic program, the doctor must take into account not only the clinical course of the disease, but also the characteristics of the patient's personality.

First of all, it will be necessary to protect a person from factors that call for obsessive thoughts. If this is not possible, then special psychotherapeutic techniques, such as hypnosis, will help get rid of them. Be sure to carry out psychotherapeutic measures aimed at persuading the patient. With phobias, the patient is trained.

Drug therapy can also help get rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depending on the stage of the disease, the doctor may prescribe tonic and sedatives. If neurosis at the initial stage is accompanied by phobias and anxiety, mild tranquilizers are prescribed, the doses of which are selected individually. At the same time, the patient is shown to observe a certain regimen of the day and rest, as well as a diet rich in vitamins.

Severe neuroses with neurotic depression are usually treated in stationary conditions. Psychotherapy and drug therapy, including the use of neuroleptics and antidepressants, helps to get rid of the disease. With signs of recovery, the patient must be gradually involved in the collective life, switching his attention from obsessive thoughts.

Neurosis in young patients can be treated with the help of gaming techniques, fairy tale therapy, which, if necessary, are supplemented with drug therapy. It is also necessary to observe the correct regimen of the day and nutrition, take measures to strengthen the child's immune system.

Obsessive-compulsive syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychoneurotic disorder, manifested by obsessive thoughts and actions of the patient. The concept of "obsession" is translated from Latin as a siege or blockade, and "compulsion" is coercion. Healthy people have no problem brushing off unpleasant or frightening thoughts, images, or impulses. Individuals with OCD cannot do this. They constantly ponder such thoughts and get rid of them only after performing certain actions. Gradually, obsessive thoughts begin to conflict with the subconscious of the patient. They become a source of depression and anxiety, and rituals and repetitive movements cease to have the expected effect.

In the very name of the pathology lies the answer to the question: what is OCD? Obsession is a medical term for obsessive ideas, disturbing or frightening thoughts, while compulsion is a compulsive act or ritual. It is possible to develop local disorders - only obsessive with a predominance of emotional experiences, or only compulsive, manifested by restless actions. The disease is a reversible neurotic process: after psychotherapeutic and drug treatment, its symptoms completely disappear.

Obsessive compulsive disorder occurs in representatives of all socioeconomic levels. Men under the age of 65 are predominantly affected. At an older age, the disease is diagnosed in women. The first signs of pathology appear in patients by the age of ten. There are various phobias and obsessive states that do not require immediate treatment and are adequately perceived by a person. In thirty-year-old patients, a pronounced clinic of the syndrome develops. At the same time, they cease to perceive their fears. They need qualified medical care in a hospital setting.

People with OCD are plagued by thoughts of countless bacteria and wash their hands a hundred times a day. They are not sure if the iron is turned off, and they return home from the street several times to check it. Patients are sure that they can harm loved ones. To prevent this from happening, they hide dangerous items and avoid casual communication. Patients will double-check several times whether they forgot to put all the necessary things in their pocket or bag. Most of them carefully monitor the order in the room. If things are out of place, emotional tension arises. Such processes lead to a decrease in working capacity and poor perception of new information. The personal life of such patients usually does not add up: they either do not create a family, or their families quickly disintegrate.

Painful obsessive thoughts and actions of the same type lead to depression, reduce the quality of life of patients and require special treatment.

Etiology and pathogenesis

The causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder are currently not fully understood. There are several hypotheses regarding the origin of this disease.

Provoking factors include biological, psychological and social.

Biological factors in the development of the syndrome:

• acute infectious diseases - meningitis, encephalitis,
• autoimmune diseases - group A hemolytic streptococcus causes inflammation of the basal ganglia,
• genetic predisposition,
• alcohol and drug addiction,
• neurological diseases,
• metabolic disorders of neurotransmitters - serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine.

Psychological or social factors of pathology:

1. special religious beliefs
2. stressful relationships at home and at work
3. excessive parental control of all spheres of a child's life,
4. severe stress, psycho-emotional outburst, shock,
5. long-term use of psychostimulants,
6. experienced fear due to the loss of a loved one,
7. avoidance behavior and misinterpretation of one's thoughts,
8. psychological trauma or depression after childbirth.

Panic and fear can be imposed by society. When the news is about an attack by robbers on the street, it causes anxiety, which is helped to cope with special actions - constant looking back on the street. These compulsions help patients only at the initial stage of mental disorders. In the absence of psychotherapeutic treatment, the syndrome suppresses the human psyche and turns into paranoia.

Pathogenetic links of the syndrome:

• the emergence of thoughts that frighten and torment the sick,
• concentration on this thought against desire,
• mental stress and increasing anxiety,
• performance of stereotyped actions that bring only short-term relief,
• return of intrusive thoughts.

These are the stages of one cyclic process leading to the development of neurosis. Patients become addicted to ritual activities that have a narcotic effect on them. The more patients think about the current situation, the more they are convinced of their inferiority. This leads to an increase in anxiety and a deterioration in the general condition.

Obsessive Compulsive Syndrome can be inherited through generations. This disease is considered moderately hereditary. However, the gene causing this condition has not been identified. In some cases, not the neurosis itself is inherited, but a genetic predisposition to it. Clinical signs of pathology arise under the influence of negative conditions. Proper upbringing and a favorable atmosphere in the family will help to avoid the development of the disease.

Symptoms

Clinical signs of pathology in adults:

1. Thoughts of sexual perversion, death, violence, intrusive memories, fear of hurting someone, getting sick or infected, worry about material loss, blasphemy and sacrilege, obsession with cleanliness, pedantry. In relation to moral and ethical principles, unbearable and irresistible attractions are contradictory and unacceptable. Patients are aware of this, often resist and are very worried. Gradually, a feeling of fear develops.
2. Anxiety following obsessive, repetitive thoughts. Such thoughts cause panic and horror in the patient. He is aware of the groundlessness of his ideas, but is not able to control superstition or fear.
3. Stereotypical actions - counting steps on the stairs, washing hands frequently, "correct" arrangement of books, double-checking turned off electrical appliances or closed taps, symmetrical order of objects on the table, repetition of words, counting. These actions are a ritual supposedly relieving obsessive thoughts. For some patients, reading prayers, clicking joints, biting lips helps to get rid of tension. Compulsions are a complex and intricate system, in the event of the destruction of which, the patient conducts it again. The ritual is performed slowly. The patient, as it were, is delaying time, fearing that this system will not help, and internal fears will intensify.
4. Panic attacks and nervousness in the crowd are associated with the risk of contact with the "dirty" clothes of people around, the presence of "strange" smells and sounds, "oblique" looks, the possibility of losing one's things. Patients avoid crowded places.
5. Obsessive-compulsive syndrome is accompanied by apathy, depression, tics, dermatitis or alopecia of unknown origin, excessive preoccupation with one's appearance. If left untreated, patients develop alcoholism, isolation, rapid fatigue, thoughts of suicide appear, mood swings, quality of life decreases, conflict increases, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, irritability, concentration decreases, and abuse of sleeping pills and sedatives occurs.

In children, the signs of pathology are less pronounced and occur somewhat less frequently. Sick children are afraid to get lost in the crowd and constantly hold adults by the hand, tightly clasping their fingers. They often ask their parents if they are loved because they are afraid to end up in an orphanage. Having once lost a notebook at school, they experience severe stress, forcing them to count the school supplies in their briefcase several times a day. The dismissive attitude of classmates leads to the formation of complexes in the child and skipping classes. Affected children are usually gloomy, unsociable, suffer from frequent nightmares and complain of poor appetite. A child psychologist will help to stop the further development of the syndrome and save the child from it.

OCD in pregnant women has its own characteristics. It develops in the last trimester of pregnancy or 2-3 months after childbirth. The obsessive thoughts of the mother are the fear of harming her baby: it seems to her that she is dropping the baby; she is visited by thoughts of sexual attraction to him; she has difficulty making decisions about vaccinations and feeding choices. To get rid of intrusive and frightening thoughts, a woman hides objects with which she can harm a child; constantly washes bottles and washes diapers; guards the sleep of the baby, fearing that he will stop breathing; examines him for certain symptoms of the disease. Relatives of women with similar symptoms should encourage her to see a doctor for treatment.

Video: analysis of the manifestations of OCD on the example of Sheldon Cooper

Diagnostic measures

Diagnosis and treatment of the syndrome are carried out by specialists in the field of psychiatry. Specific signs of pathology are obsessions - obsessive thoughts with stable, regular and annoying repetitions. They cause anxiety, anxiety, fear and suffering in the patient, are practically not suppressed or ignored by other thoughts, are psychologically incompatible and irrational.

For physicians, compulsions are important, which cause overwork and suffering in patients. Patients understand that compulsions are unrelated and excessive. For specialists, it is important that the manifestations of the syndrome last more than an hour a day, complicate the life of patients in society, interfere with work and study, and disrupt their physical and social activity.

Many people with the syndrome often do not understand or accept their problem. Psychiatrists advise patients to undergo a full diagnosis, and then begin treatment. This is especially true when obsessive thoughts interfere with life. After a psychodiagnostic conversation and differentiation of pathology from similar mental disorders, specialists prescribe a course of treatment.

Treatment

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive syndrome should begin immediately after the onset of the first symptoms. Carry out complex therapy, consisting in psychiatric and medical effects.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapeutic sessions for obsessive-compulsive syndrome are considered more effective than drug treatment. Psychotherapy cures neurosis gradually.

The following methods help to get rid of this ailment:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - resistance to the syndrome, in which compulsions are minimized or completely eliminated. Patients in the course of treatment become aware of their disorder, which helps them to get rid of it forever.
• “Stopping thoughts” is a psychotherapeutic technique that consists in stopping memories of the most vivid situations, manifested by an obsessive state. Patients are asked a series of questions. To answer them, patients must view the situation from all angles, as in slow motion. This technique makes it easier to face fears and control them.
• The method of exposure and warning - the patient is created conditions that provoke discomfort and cause obsessions. Before this, the patient is counseled on how to resist compulsive rituals. This form of therapy achieves sustained clinical improvement.

The effect of psychotherapy lasts much longer than that of drug treatment. Patients are shown the correction of behavior under stress, training in various relaxing techniques, a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition, the fight against smoking and alcoholism, hardening, water procedures, breathing exercises.

Currently, group, rational, psycho-educational, aversive, family and some other types of psychotherapy are used to treat the disease. Non-drug therapy is preferable to drug therapy, since the syndrome is perfectly amenable to correction without drugs. Psychotherapy has no side effects on the body and has a more stable therapeutic effect.

Medical treatment

Treatment of a mild form of the syndrome is carried out on an outpatient basis. Patients undergo a course of psychotherapy. Doctors find out the causes of pathology and try to establish a trusting relationship with patients. Complicated forms are treated with the use of medications and psychological corrective sessions.

Patients are prescribed the following groups of drugs:

1. antidepressants - Amitriptyline, Doxepin, Amizol,
2. neuroleptics - "Aminazin", "Sonapaks",
3. normothymic drugs - "Cyclodol", "Depakin Chrono",
4. tranquilizers - "Phenozepam", "Clonazepam".

It is impossible to cope with the syndrome on your own without the help of a specialist. Any attempts to control your mind and defeat the disease lead to a deterioration in the condition. In this case, the psyche of the patient is destroyed even more.

Compulsive-obsessional syndrome does not apply to mental illness, since it does not lead to a change and personality disorder. It is a neurotic disorder that is reversible with proper treatment. Mild forms of the syndrome respond well to therapy, and after 6-12 months its main symptoms disappear. The residual effects of the pathology are expressed in a mild form and do not interfere with the normal life of patients. Severe cases of the disease are treated for an average of 5 years. Approximately 70% of patients report an improvement in their condition and are clinically cured. Since the disease is chronic, relapses and exacerbations occur after discontinuation of drugs or under the influence of new stresses. Cases of a complete cure are very rare, but possible.

Preventive actions

Prevention of the syndrome consists in the prevention of stress, conflict situations, the creation of a favorable environment in the family, the exclusion of mental injuries at work. It is necessary to properly educate a child, not to give rise to feelings of fear in him, not to instill in him thoughts about his inferiority.

Secondary psychoprophylaxis is aimed at preventing relapses. It consists in regular medical examination of patients, conversations with them, suggestions, timely treatment of the syndrome. With a preventive purpose, phototherapy is carried out, since light contributes to the production of serotonin; restorative treatment; vitamin therapy. Experts recommend that patients get enough sleep, diet, give up bad habits, and timely treatment of concomitant somatic diseases.

Forecast

Obsessive-compulsive syndrome is characterized by a chronic process. Complete recovery of the pathology is quite rare. Usually there are relapses. In the process of treatment, the symptoms gradually go away, and social adaptation begins.

Without treatment, the symptoms of the syndrome progress, disrupt the patient's ability to work and the ability to be in society. Some patients commit suicide. But in most cases, OCD has a benign course.

OCD is essentially a neurosis that does not lead to temporary disability. If necessary, patients are transferred to lighter work. Advanced cases of the syndrome are considered by VTEC specialists, who determine the III group of disability. Patients are issued a certificate for light work, excluding night shifts, business trips, irregular working hours, direct exposure to harmful factors on the body.

Adequate treatment guarantees patients stabilization of symptoms and relief of vivid manifestations of the syndrome. Timely diagnosis of the disease and treatment increase the chances of patients for success.

Video: about obsessive-compulsive disorders

Obsessive compulsive disorder is not yet considered a clinical disorder in psychiatry, but it will lead to the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder if left untreated. The lack of proper treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder is based on the absence of a clear list of symptoms by which it could be determined. The reasons for the development of this disorder are numerous.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder in which a person experiences two main emotions - anxiety and fear. Moreover, they can be absolutely groundless and do not correspond to the real realities of life.

Neurosis is thoughts or memories of a negative nature that arise in a person’s head and cause certain feelings in him. Often, thoughts of an obsessive nature (obsessions) provoke a person to perform actions of a repetitive nature (compulsions). Thus, in obsessive-compulsive disorder, a person often commits illogical and absurd acts that outwardly seem to be such, but, in the opinion of the person himself, are quite logical and justified.

Actions (compulsions) in obsessive-compulsive disorder are repetitive and repeated. That is, a person performs actions many times, which, according to his opinion, should solve his problem, which is caused by anxious and panic thoughts.

There are no statistics on who has obsessive-compulsive disorder most often. However, psychologists say that it most often occurs between the ages of 10 and 35, when a person is most active, socially oriented and purposeful. It occurs more frequently in men and women than in children.

People most often treat obsessive-compulsive disorder at a more mature age, because at a young age they may not pay attention to it at all or treat their “oddities” with disdain, believing that they will pass by themselves. An obsessive-compulsive disorder does not yet become a reason for the compulsory or voluntary treatment of a person in a psychiatric institution. However, this condition becomes the initial stage for the formation of a serious disorder, which can make a person a non-social person.

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a pathology in which a person is weighed down with thoughts and ideas of an obsessive, restless, frightening nature, which in turn can induce him to perform actions of a certain nature many times or periodically.

To understand what obsessive compulsive disorder is, you need to give examples:

1. A person constantly forgets whether he turned off the kettle or iron.
2. The person believes that public appliances are dirty, so you need to bring your own items.
3. A person believes that all people look at him and condemn him.

An elementary example of obsessive-compulsive disorder is fear for the future. We can say that in a neurosis a person is afraid of the future of those circumstances that he has now.

Where do worries and fears about the future come from? Why do people turn to psychics and fortune tellers with a desire to know their future? Why does the future scare a person? There is really no clear answer to such questions here, since people are afraid of their future for various reasons.

1. Fear of the future arises in a person's head. We can say that the picture of the future is clouded only by the imagination of man. It is so stormy and full of negative pictures that the future is filled with various unpleasant events. This may be the influence of movies, many of which film the events of the future, showing catastrophes, tragic developments of the situation. And a person, impressionable and suspicious, takes everything at his own expense, thinking that the same thing will happen to him.
2. makes you fear the future. A person simply wants to predict what will happen to him in order to prepare, or rather, run away from everything unpleasant. A person’s uncertainty is provoked by the fact that he is not sure that he can cope with any problems in his life. Man is always ready to experience joy. But some people are afraid of the problems. And those people who are afraid of difficulties and problems are afraid of the future, which can still hold a lot of trouble.
3. The habit of fearing the future. Sometimes a person is brought up by his parents in such a way that the future seems scary to him. Parents could say: “We do not know what will happen in the future. There may be war, there may be devastation. All this frightens a child who simply does not want the future to come. And this habit a person reproduces already in adulthood unconsciously.
4. The future is the unknown. The unknown is scary if a person is not ready for it. After all, the unknown is always fraught with something new that a person has not encountered before.
5. The future is the absence of control. If you are afraid of the dark or the fog just because you cannot control the situation and are afraid to face something bad for yourself, then the future also causes fear for you. Simply put, those people who love to control everything and everywhere are afraid of the future. But the future may not be subject to man, because there are always those circumstances that are not subject to him. And then it more than once "hit him in the head", because of which he realizes that he is powerless. Since it is impossible to control, then you need to be afraid of it.

Where do worries and fears about the future come from? The question is multifaceted, answering which you need to communicate directly with a person in order to understand the reasons for his fear. But the main reasons have been listed here.

There are three forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

1. Single - which lasts for weeks or months without stopping, while remaining at the same level of intensity or disappearing over the years.
2. Remitting - the signs of the disease either subside, then become aggravated again.
3. Progressive - fears are constantly aggravated, intensified, excitement grows, and new experiences join.

Already after 40 years, the symptoms gradually smooth out, become permanent and familiar to a person.

Causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Although obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs less frequently than hysterical neurosis or neurasthenia, it has its own reasons for development:

1. Physiological:

• Lack of serotonin.
• Heredity, when children suffer from the same diseases as their parents.
• Organic changes in the brain.

1. Psychological:

• Psychotraumatic situations.
• Prolonged, with which a person cannot emotionally cope.
• The mental warehouse of a person who is more focused on his memories, thoughts, ideas.
• Bipolar disorder.
• Addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Studies have also been conducted that have shown that obsessive-compulsive disorder does not depend on the material wealth of a person, but it often occurs in people with a good higher education.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive states are diagnosed in a person if he was subject to obsessions and compulsions for more than two weeks, which forced him to change the mode of his life, provoked a prolonged stressful state, worsened the quality of life and affected his working capacity.

The main symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder is thoughts and actions of an obsessive and stereotypical nature. To those around them, they seem ridiculous. For the person himself, they have a certain meaning. Moreover, he cannot get rid of them, and they also cause him an anxious or fearful state.

There are such signs of neurosis:

1. Fears and doubts - a person begins to doubt the actions taken, begins to redo everything, recheck.
2. Obsessive thoughts - memories, ideas, melodies, etc.
3. Phobia - a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder begins to be very afraid of something specific. There are many phobias here:

• Carcinophobia is the fear of getting cancer.
• Mysophobia is the fear of getting dirty, which is why a person is constantly washing and washing something.
• Hypsophobia and acrophobia - the fear of climbing to a height and being on it.
• - fear of large crowds of people and open spaces.
• Erythrophobia and social phobia - the fear of people, being in public, blushing in front of everyone.
• - Fear of the new and the unknown.
• - Fear of enclosed spaces.

1. Fear-desires - arise when a person is already in a frightening situation. For example, being in the water, he is afraid of drowning, being at a height, he is afraid to take a step forward.
2. Obsessive counting - when a person begins to count everything.
3. Obsessive movements - when thoughts make you perform actions many times and constantly:

• Dermatillomania - peeling off any irregularities from the skin.
• Onychophagia - nail biting.
• Trichotillomania is hair pulling.

1. Inadequate perfectionism - when a person begins to achieve the ideal and perfection in everything in order to minimize the circumstances that cause him to panic.

A person is driven by his fears that arise in his head. However, he cannot ignore them. They control him.

Obsessive compulsive disorder in children

Children can also develop obsessive-compulsive disorder. In young children, they manifest as twitching of the shoulders, drawing on paper without conscious participation, the desire to clean everything, stamping or clapping. In adolescence, this can manifest itself in the fear of speaking in front of an audience, dying, getting sick.

Unfortunately, parents rarely take this condition seriously, which will definitely not go away on its own. Therefore, you need to seek qualified help.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Depending on the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder, specific treatment is carried out. In a mild form, this condition can be eliminated with the help of hypnosis or learning new actions in a state of obsessive actions. If a person has a moderate or severe form of neurosis, then antidepressants and other medications are prescribed. Possibility of inpatient treatment.

You can resort to breathing exercises that should calm the person. Traditional medicine is also practiced here, which offers the preparation of decoctions and teas of a calming nature.

Only a doctor deals with the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is almost impossible to get rid of it on your own.

Outcome

Many people suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, most believe that everything will pass by itself. That is why in the future, relatives, and not the patients themselves, turn to specialists for help.