Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Research Paper Example

Obsessive Compulsory Disorder (OCD) is a long-lasting condition in which a person has uncontainable recurrent thoughts and behaviors. Thoughts are referred to as obsessions, while behaviors are compulsions, and a person feels the urge to repeat them repeatedly. People suffering from OCD do not like these recurrent thoughts thus find them disturbing. OCD contributed significantly to personal stress and reduced functioning, which affects healthcare costs. Compulsions cause people suffering from OCD to waste much time and often miss essential activities of value to them. Obsessive Compulsory Disorder can affect any person regardless of gender or age.

Symptoms in DSM-5

The main symptoms in DSM-5 for OCD are the presence of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are persistent thoughts that, in most cases, cause people suffering from OCD to experience anxiety and stress. In most cases, the obsessions are unwanted, thus causing a disturbance. Obsessions also refer to the thoughts a person tries to ignore by carrying out another action or thinking of a different experience. Compulsions refer to repetitive behaviors a person has and, in most cases, have the objective to reduce anxiety or preventing an event of fear from occurring.

Prevalence Rates

About one point two percent of the adults in the United States with the prevalence being higher for females accounting for one point eight percent with males being zero point five percent (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). The lifetime prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder among the adults in the American population is two point three percent. Out of the adults suffering from OCD, fifty point six percent experience severe impairment. Thirty-four point eight percent have a moderate impairment, while fourteen point six percent have mild complications.

Biological Theory of OCD

Genetic factors play a significant role in the spread and manifestation of OCD symptoms. In this case, twins are at the highest risk, with monozygotic twins having a high rate between eighty to eighty-seven percent, with dizygotic twins ranging from forty-seven to fifty percent. However, it is yet to be identified the specific genes that contribute to the expression of OCD. Genes impact neurochemical transmission in the brain, thus contributing to disruptive patterns.   The serotonin system also contributes significantly to the expression of OCD symptoms, specifically the serotonin receptor 5-HT. The glutamate systems also have GABA type B receptor one, which acts as a susceptibility factor to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Brain damage resulting from birth trauma and head trauma can significantly contribute to the development and prevalence of OCD. Also, damage caused to the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex influences an individual to suffer from OCD. Damage to the basal ganglia contributes to OCD since it causes an increase in size and inflammation. Seizures, especially in children, can also act as a contributing factor to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. OCD can also develop due to increased activity in the direct pathway (Lack et al., 2015). OCD also contributes to increased blood flow in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. It also leads to increased activity in the superior and middle temporal gyrus, which plays the role of processing biological motions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral therapy refers to a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps individuals with negative influence on behaviors and emotions to learn how to identify and change the destructive and disturbing thought patterns. The therapy emphasizes changing the negative thoughts that contribute to creating or worsening emotional difficulties, depression, or anxiety. Through cognitive behavioral therapy, the individual can identify, challenge and replace the negative thoughts with more objective and realistic thoughts(Cherry, 2020).

Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive therapy deals with identifying and contributes to changing negative thinking patterns, emotional responses, and behaviors. Created by Aaron Beck, MD at the University of Pennsylvania, this therapy states that by changing how we think, we change our emotional and behavioral reactions (Comer, 2010). The therapy works in that the therapist acts as a guide and helps the patient distort the negative thoughts by testing the thoughts’ accuracy and usefulness. The therapists then help the patient to replace the dominant thoughts with a set of rational ideas. Dialectical behavior therapy (DTB) entails treating complex types of syndromes such as personality disorders and suicidal symptoms. It is based on a dialectical philosophy that challenges the patient to face and makes peace with the opposite truths, often natural in many situations. It is a skill that helps the patient to be mindful of applying awareness to life through primary skills learned, such as emotional regulation.

Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) focuses on treating anxiety disorders and enhances the patient’s ability to approach challenging life circumstances. This therapy works by encouraging the patient to open up to the therapist. Finally, the therapist helps the patient find purposeful behavior beyond the session and into the patient’s daily life. Integrative Couples Behavior Therapy (ICBT) deals with couple’s behavior change and conflict resolution by emphasizing the importance of accepting marriage partners’ sensitivities and traits. Through communication skills such as emphatic listening combined with conflict resolution skills as problem definition, the individual learns how to change their partners’ expectations and assumptions.

OCD and Other Disorders

OCD contributes significantly to the manifestation of other disorders that affect patients greatly. It also contributes significantly to impulse control disorders such as trichotillomania, pathological gambling, and skin picking. Somatoform disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder and hypochondriasis develop as a result of OCD. It also leads to tic disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome and other drug-induced and non-psychiatric disorders (Fornaro et al., 2009). Most of the patients suffering from OCD often manifest these disorders. Other common disorders resulting from OCD include autism, bulimia, epilepsy, sexual compulsions, and basal ganglia disorder.

One of the considerations to have when selecting the right treatment for patients diagnosed with other disorders and OCD is that some disorders can be overlooked in the treatment process. Another consideration is that individual symptoms might overlap among expressed disorders; therefore, a primary treatment strategy can be applied. Another consideration while attending to a patient who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an interaction of medication. A combination of a prescription drug to treat OCD and other prevalent disorders can have adverse effects on a patient due to drug interaction. Therefore one has to consider the most appropriate model to address various patients’ conditions to eliminate the likelihood of adverse effects.

Effectiveness of Interventions

Interventions staged for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are useful, although they might take an extended period. In behavioral treatment, patients are exposed to the source of their obsessions repetitively for them to develop ways to resist compulsions. The therapy is effective for patients with mild symptoms and those who have a preference for not taking medications. This kind of treatment might require three to five months of weekly sessions for effectiveness. In the case whereby a patient attends thirteen to twenty weekly sessions without observable positive changes, it is necessary to consider a change in the treatment model.

Treatment using medications is preferable for patients with severe symptoms. About forty to sixty percent of patients suffering from OCD experience a reduction of symptoms but no complications. However, treatment using drugs has some side effects on patients, including gastrointestinal distress, restlessness, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction (Havard Medical School, 2009). Therefore care provider has to select the type of medication that reduces the risks according to the individual patient’s condition. For a patient who takes prescribed medicine for a period of ten to twelve weeks without any observed positive change, it is advisable to consider a new model of treatment.  Maintenance therapy is necessary for patients who experience a relapse after an indefinite withdrawal from prescribed drugs. Maintenance treatment can either be applied by lowering the dosage or a combination of drugs together with exposure and response prevention therapy.

Conclusion

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a long-lasting condition in which a person experiences uncontrollable recurrent thoughts and behaviors. Recurrent thoughts are obsessions, while behaviors are compulsions. Women are at a higher risk of suffering from the disorder than men. OCD can develop as a result of genetic factors and injuries in the brain. OCD has a connection to other disorders, which makes the condition more complicated. The primary strategy for treating OCD is behavioral therapy, but prescription drugs also play a significant role. The condition also contributes to the development of other disorders, which can affect the mode of treatment used on a patient.

References

Cherry, K. (2020). How Cognitive Behavior Therapy Works. Verywell Mind. Retrieved 21 February 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cognitive-behavior-therapy-2795747.

Comer, R. J. (2010). Abnormal psychology. Macmillan.

Fornaro, M., Gabrielli, F., Albano, C., Fornaro, S., Rizzato, S., Mattei, C., … & Fornaro, P. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and related disorders: a comprehensive survey. Annals of General Psychiatry, 8(1), 1-13.

Harvard Medical School. (2009). Treating obsessive-compulsive disorder – Harvard Health. Harvard Health. Retrieved 21 February 2021, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/treating-obsessive-compulsive-disorder.shtml.

Lack, C. W., Huskey, A., Weed, D. B., Highfill, M. J., & Craig, L. (2015). The etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive.

National Institute of Mental Health (2017). NIMH » Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved 21 February 2021, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd.shtml#:~:text=Prevalence%20of%20Obsessive%2DCompulsive%20Disorder%20Among%20Adults,-Based%20on%20diagnostic&text=An%20estimated%201.2%25%20of%20U.S.,than%20for%20males%20(0.5%25).