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WHAT IS OCD?


Mindy Lawrence


When Lady Macbeth washes her hands over and over again in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, she is exhibiting a sign of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. She repeats an excessive act to lessen her stress

According to the article “Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among People With OCD” on the website VeryWellMind, This is a list of some of the physical actions suffers exhibit:
  • Repeatedly checking to make sure that doors and windows are locked or that appliances are turned off; some individuals with OCD have to check their neighborhood to make sure they have not hit someone with their car or assaulted someone

  • Excessive cleaning of the house, clothes, and/or body

  • Counting objects, letters, words, or actions

  • Doing routine activities repeatedly, like standing up or going up and downstairs

  • Requesting or demanding reassurance from family members or health care providers, such as "My hands should be clean now, right?"

  • Repeating phrases or sequences of words either out loud or mentally

  • Rearranging objects to ensure a specific order and/or symmetry

  • Doing things in multiples; for instance, turning the light on and off five times because five is a "good" number.

Obsessions can include:
  • Fear of losing control of oneself

  • Fear of germs

  • Fear of losing or forgetting something important

  • Worrying about how straight or even things are

There are treatments for OCD. Some people benefit from behavior therapy or from medications like Zoloft.

LINKS


Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, National Institute of Mental Health,

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd


Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Mayo Clinic

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432


What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?Psychiatry

https://psychiatry.org/patients-families/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/what-is-obsessive-compulsive-disorder


Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among People With OCD, VeryWellMind

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-common-obsessive-behaviors-2510679


When it’s Not Just OCD, Everyday Health, Nancie George

https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/when-its-not-just-ocd/


Managing Stress When you Have OCD, VeryWellMind, Owen Kelly, PhD

https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-ocd-and-stress-2510559




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