How to get rid of the obsessive-compulsive disorder?

1 Definition of

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsession experts call obsession or thought, which directly disturbs the person. Obsessive actions performed by a person due to necrosis, in turn, are called "compulsions".

Obsessive states can appear for a short time in any person. How to distinguish the true neurosis of compulsive states from simple anxiety? To do this, you need to identify a problem that worries the patient. If this is possible, and when thinking about a problem a specific thing or event comes to mind, an idea means that the person does not have an obsessive neurosis, but ordinary anxiety. This problem goes out of the head as soon as it is solved.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is divided into three stages of development:

1. With the first form the problem can haunt a person from a week to several years.
2. The second is characterized by a relaxation of symptoms, obsessive conditions return from time to time, but in general the patient is calm.
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3. The third stage is that after weakening the symptoms, the disease progresses again, and more than before.

Often the disease occurs in youth and passes to 40-45 years. Both men and women are at risk. Usually such a disease appears in creative people, but this fact has no scientific justification. At first, the obsessive-compulsive disorder does not cause the patient fears, but in the absence of treatment, many of the sick go crazy.

2 Causes of the disease

The reasons for which obsessive states arise are usually divided into biological and psychological.

More than half of the clinical cases occur in people under the age of twenty. Therefore, the main biological factor is considered to be a genetic predisposition. Often, the disease "starts" because of acute infectious or chronic diseases that people suffer.

Also from the biological point of view, compulsive states can appear in a person due to the reduction of serotonin - one of the main chemical brain neurotransmitters. It is also called the hormone of happiness and good mood.

A prerequisite for the disease can be permanent stress and nervous shock. By themselves, shocks do not cause obsession, however they do weaker psychological defense of the body.

3 Symptoms of the disease

The disease can be identified by the nature that has an alarming idea. The main symptoms:

• an aggressive desire to hit someone( and sometimes - and kill);
• fear of violence, fear of people, of someone hitting or hurting;
• fear of dirt and microbes, the desire to achieve sterile cleanliness around yourself, all disinfected;
• self-doubt, fear that you can not do anything, will not achieve;
• anxiety about the fact that the patient will be abandoned by native people, fear of loneliness;
• feeling guilty, responsible for everything that happens around, all over the world.

Symptoms of the disease are also supplemented by a nervous tic, twitching of the eyes or limbs, fussy movements. Sometimes the patient trembles lips and fingers on his outstretched hand.

Obsessions are persistent, a person stubbornly proves to himself the truthfulness of his worries. On the behavior of the patient you can notice constant anxiety, fear. Conversions that arise in response to a process of obsession also complement the symptoms of the disease. For example, if a person is afraid of germs and dirt, then even sitting at home, he often goes to wash his hands. This action can be repeated 10-20 times a day.

Compulsive neurosis may also occur separately. At the same time, a person does not have a certain idea, but a certain order of actions is still being implemented. Thoughts pushing him onto it remain at a subconscious level. Such processes include, for example, the constant repetition of the same words.

Treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder should begin immediately as soon as a person has noticed the first symptoms.

4 Types of obsessive states

Anxiety can be caused not only by fears and anxiety. There are several groups of obsessions:

1. Fears - when a person is afraid of something, for example, blush in public( erythrophobia).Sometimes the problem is that the patient is afraid to fall asleep at night.
2. Phobias - fear of something. In some ways, phobias are like fears. They differ by a stronger emotional reaction. In history, there have been cases when people suffering from thanatophobia( fear of death) ended their lives by suicide, because they were afraid to die by any other means.
3. Doubts - self-doubt, performed actions. In severe cases, the patient is uncertain about everything around him, that life is not a dream, or even the existence of our planet.
4. Thoughts - disturbing a person can have a variety of thoughts. Sometimes it's thoughts of your fears, and sometimes - just words from a song or phrase. It happens that one word is repeated in the patient's head.
5. Memories. Alarming memories that pop up in the memory of a person are usually negative. In this case, even hallucinations may occur. Sometimes memories are distorted over time, and the patient is sure that everything is much worse than it actually was.
6. Action. Restless actions can be the result of anxious thoughts, and may also appear separately. They range from licking lips to suicide attempts.

Before determining how to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, a specialist should clearly present a clinical picture of the problem from which to get rid. Therefore, any details, even the most minor ones, should be described by the patient in consultation with the doctor.

5 Diagnosis of the

problem. How to get rid of the obsessive-compulsive disorder is known only by a specialist. When referring to a neurologist or psychiatrist, a preliminary diagnosis will be made by examining the signs of the disease. Symptoms should be described by the patient as detailed as possible, only so the diagnosis will be of a true nature. Neurosis is often confused with schizophrenia, while prescribing the wrong treatment.

To confirm the diagnosis, the psychologist evaluates the patient on the Yale-Brown scale, while performing certain tests, the answers to which will help to identify the presence of mental abnormalities. A neurologist can determine the presence of neurosis by studying the motor activity of a person, that is, by trembling outstretched hands or nervous tics.

6 Necessary treatment for

In each clinical case, treatment of a problem requires an individual approach. Obsessive neurosis is treated by taking medications and psychotherapeutic procedures. Using both methods in a complex way, it is possible to achieve greater effectiveness of treatment.

The started or severe forms of the illness are treated by prescribing the patient to hospitalization in a psychological hospital.

7 Drug therapy

Antidepressants taken during the treatment of neurosis, are divided into two groups:

1. Anti-obsessional drugs( reducing the obsession of an alarming idea).
2. Anxiolytics( sedatives).

In addition, the patient may be prescribed drugs that promote the production of serotonin. For example, citalopram or paroxetine.

8 Psychotherapeutic procedures

Psychotherapy consists in a regular visit to the doctor's office. Conversations with a therapist, like medications, are always selected individually, taking into account the clinical features of the disease. Usually such procedures are held once a week. With more severe course of the disease - up to 2-3 times.

When carrying out psychotherapy, the doctor should calm the patient, prove to him that the anxiety of his thoughts is only intended. Such therapy can take several weeks, and can last for many years.

In some cases, cognitive-behavioral therapy is used for treatment aimed at changing the patient's way of thinking, removing fear and anxiety from his subconscious. This method has a fairly high efficiency, the treatment can take 15-20 visits to the psychological office.

The main thing in treatment is a desire to recover. Aware of the problem and trying to calm down, a person subconsciously already struggles with the neurosis of compulsive states. At the time of treatment, you also need to protect yourself from stress and negative factors, try to get more positive emotions.