Managing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Research indicates that about 1 in 100 people in Canada will have an episode of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in their lifetime - most of which will begin to occur in the teenage years (Note 1). 

OCD has the following major symptoms:

• Obsessions are recurring thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted and, for most people, cause anxiety or distress. The individual tries to ignore them, suppress them, or neutralize them with a different thought or action.
• Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that one feels compelled to do in response to an obsession or based on strict rules. They are meant to counter anxiety or distress or to prevent a feared event or situation, but they are not realistically connected to these outcomes, or they are excessive.
  • Note 2

Perhaps you have experienced some of these thoughts and feelings - unwanted and obsessive. 

Perhaps you are close to someone who has these types of feelings and you are wanting to support them.

People often experience OCD as growing or shrinking. Growing means obsessions and compulsions seem to get bigger or bigger and more consuming and by extension often increasingly disruptive to managing other things in life. 

Shrinking means the obsessions compulsions are slowly subsiding and becoming less powerful forces in life.

There are many strategies to help shrink OCD symptoms. Some strategies employ cognitive behavioural therapy while other strategies draw from other modalities in psychotherapy. 

Reach out today if you would like support with OCD.

Notes

1. https://cpa.ca/psychology-works-fact-sheet-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

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