About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

We often think it's silly for a person to suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder, thinking that obsessions or compulsions are things that can easily be controlled. For many us, this is, perhaps, true. But for people who are clinically diagnosed with OCD, control is not part of their vocabulary. In fact, they don’t enjoy the rituals they repeatedly perform – but they really have not much of a choice.

For instance, if we have a friend who likes to arrange his notebooks in a particular manner inside his bag, we usually find that funny, and rather foolish, not realizing that this person might have a serious obsessive compulsive disorder problem. Or, we may already know that our friend has OCD but don't really think much of it because, again, it's silly.

If you share this view, then you are very wrong. Obsessive compulsive disorder may seem like a minor problem, but it is actually very serious. Sure, it does not kill people, not deliberately, at least, but its effects can be so grand that people who have it might eventually turn insane, or worse, be compelled to do heinous activities (we never know).

Some of us who have obsessive compulsive disorder do not seek treatment because, well, it seems really minor and some people don't think much of it. Another thing, OCD sufferers often refuse to get help because they are ashamed to admit that they have it.

In the field of psychology, OCD is an affliction, and many people don't want to admit that a seemingly small problem as repeatedly arranging a particular thing over and over is a mental ailment. We really can't blame them, can we? Who wants to admit that he or she has a psychological problem?

It is high time, though, that obsessive compulsive disorder be addressed like a serious problem. If left unaddressed, OCD can cost us our relationships, our jobs, and even the quality of our lives.

What treatments are available for OCD? Two things. First, you may opt to take the directly medical route and go for drugs that are designed to increase serotonin levels in our brains and help us fight obsessions and compulsions. The risk here, however, is that we might be forever dependent on drugs. Critics of this method say that the medications are there to give a placebo effect only.

The second kind of OCD treatment concerns behavior modification. Called cognitive behavior therapy, those who undergo this method find themselves better cured because not only do are they able to get rid of certain OCD habits, they are also able to detect some at the onset. Behavior therapy deals with how people respond to certain stimuli. Thus, its effect is deeper and more long term.

How a person wants his OCD problem to be treated is a matter of personal choice. However, it is recommended that behavior therapy be preferred because it deals with a person's response actions as a whole. Moreover, the fact that there are several methods of treatment that are available, people have no excuse to hide their obsessions and compulsions any longer.