OCD IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES 1

OCD in all Shapes and Sizes

Cindy Sernas

Psychology 1010

Salt Lake Community College

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OCD in all Shapes and Sizes

According to the national institute of mental health, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

(OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable,

reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to

repeat over and over. People with OCD may have symptoms of obsessions, compulsions, or both.

These symptoms can interfere with all aspects of life, such as work, school, and personal

relationships. This is just a summary of this mental health disorder and how it can be seen and

how it effects someones life. But OCD does not have a direct cause or a certain age it effects

people. It could be a combination of causes and it is also seen in all ages. It can be mild or even

severe thus OCD is seen in all shapes and sizes.

There are various developmental factors which may include emotional, physical, and

sexual abuse or neglect, social isolation, teasing, or bullying. It is seen as a brain disorder,

research suggests that OCD involves problems in communication between the front part of the

brain and the deeper structures of the brain. These brain structures use a neurotransmitter called

serotonin. This idea arose out of the observation that clomipramine, which inhibits both

serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake, relieved symptoms, whereas noradrenergic reuptake

inhibitors did not.

It can be inherited, research also shows that OCD does run in families, and that genes likely play

a role in the development of the disorder. Genes appear to be only partly responsible for causing
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the disorder, though. OCD is also seen as comorbid disorder associated with depression, social

phobia, alcohol misuse, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and other related

obsessive-compulsive disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder. There are also stressors that

can cause OCD such as pregnancy and the postnatal period. Examples of postnatal obsessions

are worries about harming or abusing the baby or not being careful enough. Common avoidance

behavior and compulsions include hiding knives, repeatedly seeking reassurance, or checking

that the baby is still breathing while asleep.

OCD usually begins before age 25 years and often in childhood or adolescence. Although

OCD can occur at any age, there are generally two age ranges when OCD tends to first appears.

Between the ages 8 and 12 and between the late teen years and early adulthood. There are also at

least 1 in 200 or 500,000 kids and teens that have OCD. This is about the same number of

kids who have diabetes. In adults, it is estimated that 1 in 100 adults have OCD in the United

States alone.

With children, there is a rare representation of OCD (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric

disorders associated with streptococcal infection, or PANDAS). It is characterized by a rapid

onset and fluctuating symptoms of OCD or a broader set of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and it

may be mediated by autoimmune antibodies in the basal ganglia after a streptococcal infection.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms can be rarely present in adults because of certain neurological

conditions such as a brain tumor, Sydenhams chorea, Huntingtons chorea, or frontotemporal

dementia or as a complication of brain injury to the frontal lobe or basal skull.

As mentioned before OCD can be severe when it is combined with another mental

disorder. An example is Tourettes, Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric

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disorder that is characterized by both motor and phonic tics. In TS, tics typically begin at age 5

or 6 years and reach their peak severity between 10 and 12 years of age. It has been studied to

conclude that Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in children with TS became more severe

at a later age and were more likely to persist than tic symptoms.

In most cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the symptoms are seen gradually. A child begins

to experience fears that are disturbing and distracting. They try to hide it as long as they can by

managing them with rituals like counting and touching things repeatedly. Eventually, the

obsessions and compulsions take over more and more. With acute-onset OCD the symptoms are

typically: severe separation anxiety, handwriting suddenly becomes unrecognizable, drawings

look like scribbles, has trouble eating, emotionally erratic and panic attacks.

Traditionally it has been thought that there are four main categories of Obsessive-Compulsive

Disorder, as well as numerous sub-types of the illness within each category. However, typically

a persons OCD will fall into one of the following four areas: checking, contamination / mental

contamination, hoarding, ruminations / intrusive thoughts. And it is diagnosed when obsessions

and compulsions consume excessive amounts of time, cause significant distress and anguish and

interfere with daily functions; or interfere with social activities/ family life/relationships. It can

also include a dramatic sense of responsibility and magical thinking, an intolerance of

uncertainty, and a belief in the controllability of intrusive thoughts.

There is no direct cause of obsessive compulsive disorder but what has been found is that

it is either a combination of many causes or one specific cause. It can be inherited or caused by

developmental factors which may include emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect, social

isolation, teasing, or bullying. It is also seen in all ages but seen in children more often as well as
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the representation of PANDAS. There are also four areas in OCD where the symptoms can be

seen which is checking, contamination, hoarding and intrusive thoughts. How severe this mental

disorder is, is all depending on how it is treated and how other factors come in to play (for

example if a child also experiences Tourettes). I would like to learn more about the treatments

they offer people with OCD and if there can be a possible cure. Learning about this information I

really got to learn about the symptoms of OCD and how common it is in children. This is

something that I will keep in mind if I ever decide to have children of my own. I have more

knowledge in regards of how it can affect people in their daily and how it can make it difficult.

Having knowledge in any type of mental disorder can be helpful when trying to get to know the

person.
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Reference List

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. (n.d.). SpringerReference.

doi:10.1007/springerreference_180349

OCD. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-

compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml?

utm_content=buffer69236&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_c

ampaign=buffer

Weg, A. H. (2011). When a Child Has OCD. OCD Treatment Through Storytelling, 130-141.

doi:10.1093/med:psych/9780195383560.003.0006

The Different Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from

https://www.ocduk.org/types-ocd