By:Tate Carlson,Gabreala Gurule,

1. By:Tate Carlson,Gabreala Gurule, OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

2. Definition: • * Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). It's also possible to have only obsessions or only compulsions and still have OCD.

3. Symptoms: • *Fear of contamination or dirt • *Having things orderly and symmetrical • *Aggressive or horrific thoughts about harming yourself or others • *Unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects • *Examples of obsession signs and symptoms include: • *Fear of being contaminated by shaking hands or by touching objects others have touched • *Doubts that you've locked the door or turned off the stove • *Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way • *Images of hurting yourself or someone else • *Thoughts about shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately • *Avoidance of situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands • *Distress about unpleasant sexual images repeating in your mind • Having everything neat and in its place at all times.

4. Symptoms extended: • *Having everything neat and in its place at all times. Having pictures hanging aligned and straight. • *Having canned food items all facing the same way, usually forward. • *Having clothes on the rail all hanging perfectly and facing the same way. • *Having everything spotless, with no marks or smudges on windows and surfaces. • *Having books lined up perfectly in a row on a bookshelf.

5. Types of OCD: • Washers: are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions. • Checkers: repeatedly check things (oven turned off, door locked, etc.) that they associate with harm or danger. • Doubters and sinners: are afraid that if everything isn’t perfect or done just right something terrible will happen or they will be punished. • Counters and arrangers: are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements. • Hoarders: fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away. They compulsively hoard things that they don’t need or use.

6. Causes of OCD: *Anxiety Disorder *Unwanted repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations, or behaviors. *Produces uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry * Emotional or financial distress

7. Impact on life: • ocd burns up many hours in a person's day, which interferes with family life and social activities • ocd also has an adverse effect on success at school and work. • Isolation – Isolation represents one of the effects of OCD on relationships. The person with OCD is under an immense amount of pressure to complete their rituals. • Depression and low self-esteem – the longer you suffer with the effects of OCD without help, the more you'll feel powerless and out of control. • Anger – it's common for the person suffering from OCD and his or her family members and loved ones to experience some form of anger due to the disorder. • Resentment – family members often have resentment toward the OCD sufferer because they feel they must isolate themselves from friends to avoid embarrassment because of their child's or spouse's compulsive behavior.

8. Treatments/cures: • Exposure and response prevention: involves repeated exposure to the source of your obsession. Then you are asked to refrain from the compulsive behavior you’d usually perform to reduce your anxiety. For example, if you are a compulsive hand washer, you might be asked to touch the door handle in a public restroom and then be prevented from washing. As you sit with the anxiety, the urge to wash your hands will gradually begin to go away on its own. In this way, you learn that you don’t need the ritual to get rid of your anxiety—that you have some control over your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. • Cognitive therapy: focuses on the catastrophic thoughts and exaggerated sense of responsibility you feel. A big part of cognitive therapy for OCD is teaching you healthy and effective ways of responding to obsessive thoughts, without resorting to compulsive behavior.

9. Work cited: "Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)." Treatment at Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. "The Different Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." OCD-UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.