Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health disorder in which people have certain thoughts repeatedly or feel the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent that generates distress or negatively impacts daily functioning. People who suffer from OCD cannot control either the thoughts or activities for longer than a short period of time. While often featured as comical characters in movies and television shows, people with OCD experience a life challenge that is anything but funny. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions can hinder a person’s life both personally and professionally.
Symptoms and signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder are often broken down into three categories: obsessions, compulsions, and other physical symptoms.
Obsessions:
- A constant fear of contamination can cause people to be obsessively concerned about germs in their surroundings. They fear contamination and are often wary of many situations where they feel they may come into contact will germs, bacteria, or illness.
- Obsessive thoughts come to mind unintentionally. They often build up and cause people to grow anxious or depressed. Obsessive thoughts can sometimes turn aggressive when people become worried about losing their self-control.
- Striving for perfection in simple tasks is often a tell-tell sign of OCD. Rearranging drawers, being preoccupied with symmetry and organization, or feeling anxious when they sense that something is not “right” can cause people to become obsessed and not think about anything else.
Compulsions:
- Excessive cleaning is the most commonly known compulsion in OCD. It is associated with the obsessive thought of being afraid of contamination. This exaggerated behavior can lead to people cleaning the same items or area over and over. It can be brought on by someone else misplacing an object or touching something that should not be “dirty.”
- Scrupulous handwashing is the second most common compulsion of OCD. Also associated with the fear of germs, it is a repeated ritual where people clean themselves or their teeth until they {finally} feel satisfied.
- Ordering, rearranging, and organizing items is another tell-tell sign of OCD. People who are easily upset when “order” is distressed or when someone breaks a tidying cycle often face the problem of OCD impairing relationships with loved ones, family members, and friends.
Physical symptoms:
- Physical tics and repetitive movements are not as commonly known as symptoms of OCD, but people who suffer from this mental disorder often find that their obsessions and compulsions affect them physically – many times without them being aware of it.
Ketamine treatments can help minimize obsessive thoughts and offer a calming effect, even after one treatment. With subsequent treatments and ongoing ketamine therapy, long-term relief from OCD can be maintained.
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