Is Obsessive Behavior taking over your life?

When Mike drives his car over a bump, he has to stop not jut once, but repeatedly to check if he has hit someone. Even when he gets home, he has to watch the news and see if there was any hit-and-run accident. Sometimes, the feeling is so strong that he has to go back to the crime scene and make sure he did not hit someone. John is obsessed by a fear of being contaminated with germs, he has to clean everything he touches with rubbing alcohol, When visitors come to visit, he is afraid that they will bring contamination. Believe it or not, these are normal people but they suffer from a debilitating condition known as obsessive compulsive disorder. While most of us occasionally experience unwanted urges and thoughts, for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) sufferers, these actions and thoughts are completely involuntary and they affect the normal life of such individuals to cause severe discomfort. Some sufferers have even contemplated suicide.

For some, obsessions are largely carried out in their minds. While for these sufferers their symptoms may not be readily observable, these people are usually imprisoned in cycles of guilt and fear where there does not seem to be any escape. These battles of the mind can even leave some literally exhausted and unable to do anything. What are the causes of this baffling disorder? One doctor said that this is as a result of a cerebral short circuit. This causes information to be played over and over again. A neurotransmitter called serotonin seems to be involved. Other things that seem to have a connection with obsessive compulsive disorder are the early life experiences of the sufferers which when combined with genetic predispositions aggravate the problem.

Whatever the cause, one fact is clear; an obsessive compulsive disorder sufferer will not simply stop checking or washing by simply telling them to do that. More is involved than just will power. For some, medication seems to provide a measure of relief. For others, treatment involving exposing the sufferer to the feared situation and preventing the usual expected response seems to work. With persistence, some have felt that such treatment brings some relief and balance in their lives. It has been noted that some with compulsive washing may have early life experiences of growing up feeling worthless and dirty and subsequently developed these washing rituals. Whatever the cause, taking the effort to controlling the uncontrollable can go a long in alleviating the discomfort that obsessive compulsive disorder brings.