Lina is 28 years old and is a kindergarten teacher. In the eyes of her colleagues, children and parents, she works carefully and meticulously, caring for the children with great care and attention. However, in a corner where she is not seen, she suffers from an embarrassing pain – she has an overwhelming fear of contamination and bacteria. What particularly worried her was that if she went to a public restroom, she would catch an STD herself even if she came into contact with someone who went to a public restroom. Since most people, including the children she led, generally used public restrooms, she believed that everyone around her was contaminated. These recurring thoughts that haunted Lina’s mind made her daily life extremely difficult because it was nearly impossible for her to avoid exposure to the contamination she feared. To protect herself, Lena kept a bottle of alcohol with her at all times, always scrubbing her hands with it as unobtrusively as possible while she worked. When she returned home, she would immediately take off all her clothes and spend nearly an hour uncontrollably scrubbing herself with soap over and over again until she was exhausted. Fan Qing, Psychiatry Department, Shanghai Mental Health Center
Repeated rubbing with alcohol, excessive changes of clothes, washing over and over again until exhaustion – what was wrong with Lina?
Yes, just as you feared, she has OCD.
What is OCD? There are all kinds of rumors about OCD on the internet, such as the unread sign on the phone must be tapped immediately; the arrangement of things is very careful about the position, always must be placed neatly; must eat rice bowl must be a grain of rice left; old money often must be spent immediately ……
Are these manifestations of OCD and what is OCD like? Let’s open the secret garden of OCD and uncover the mystery of the secret garden.
OCD is a neurological disorder characterized by obsessive-compulsive ideas and compulsive behaviors. Obsessive-compulsive thoughts are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are often intrusive and can cause anxiety. Compulsive behaviors are recurrent actions (e.g., compulsive hand washing, sequencing, checking) or thoughtful compulsions (e.g., praying, counting, meditating, etc.) that we often feel compelled to perform in order to alleviate the anxiety associated with compulsive ideas.
Some epidemiological surveys show that the prevalence of OCD is about 2.5%, so it is safe to say that it is not uncommon in our lives. The age of onset ranges from early adolescence to early adulthood, and the onset is earlier in males (typically occurring at 13-15 years of age) than in females (typically occurring at 20-24 years of age) [1].
The development of OCD is usually gradual, but acute onset has also been reported. A gradual increase or decrease in symptoms is evident. Many patients have had the disorder for years before seeking treatment. Patients with OCD are often associated with general functional impairment, such as disruption of work or breakdown of marital relationships.
Depression, anxiety, fearful avoidance, and excessive worry often occur along with OCD. Some studies have shown that the lifetime prevalence of simple phobias is about 30%, social phobias 20%, and panic disorders 15% in patients with OCD. About 30% of patients with OCD meet most criteria for depression, and about 40% have also been found to suffer from sleep disorders. Studies have identified a relationship between OCD and eating disorders. Approximately 10% of women with OCD have a history of anorexia nervosa, while more than 33% of bulimics have a history of OCD. Multiple tics and motor tics also appear to be associated with OCD. 20% to 30% of patients with OCD report a history of current or past tics. Estimates of co-morbidity between polydactyly and OCD range from 36% to 52% [1].
“Geez, Chief, so this is OCD, finally I have a general understanding of it. So you see, I feel like I always worry about leaving the door unlocked to push it again for confirmation, is this considered OCD? How should I treat it if I have OCD? And, also, is there any way to prevent OCD? ……”
“Don’t worry, today is the first issue of our OCD article, in the following issues, we will explain the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and other related knowledge of OCD, always pay attention to us Oh, your confusion will be answered.”
[1] Michael J. Kosar. (2009). The self-help manual for overcoming OCD. People’s University of China Press.
[Answers].
1. How to make rational use of OCD, the difference between OCD and “meticulousness and rigor”?
The “meticulous and rigorous” is undoubtedly an excellent quality, but we say that everything must have a “degree”, as long as this “meticulous and rigorous” control within a certain range, then it is our Success, but if more than this “degree”, everything demanding, striving for perfection, so as to affect our normal work, life, then we should draw our attention to see if we suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
2. Does OCD have an impact on intelligence, and is there any hope for life, work, and career?
First of all, there is no study that clearly shows that OCD affects intelligence. Secondly, having OCD is not a death sentence. As long as we take the right medication and actively cooperate with the treatment, we can keep our functions in a normal state and continue to work and live our lives. Jessica Orba Jessica Alba, Nandingore, Samuel Johnson all suffered from OCD to varying degrees. Johnson all suffered from varying degrees of OCD, but at the same time, they are also famous in history. If you are not disappointed this second, you will have hope next second.
Important Notice
In addition to the OCD article, there will also be a large number of free on-site lectures by OCD experts.
Zhang Zhanjiao Wang Jianyu
Fan Qing Zhang Haiyin
Shanghai Mental Health Center, Clinical Psychology Department, OCD Specialties
Shanghai Psychological Counseling and Treatment Center
No. 604 Lingling Road, Shanghai 64387250, China
2016.1.26