Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

OCD is a chronic disorder in 70% of cases. When considering lowered quality of life and loss of income, OCD is one of the top ten debilitating illnesses worldwide.

Causes:

• Family history. People with a family member with OCD may be more at risk of having OCD
• Differences in the brain. Some people with OCD may have lower levels of a chemical, called serotonin or areas of increased brain activity.
• Life events. Certain life experience, such as bulling or abuse may mean that some people are more at risk of experiencing OCD. OCD may also develop after certain life events, such as childbirth or bereavement.

Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) affects people differently, but usually causes a particular pattern of thoughts and behaviour.

OCD has three main elements:

• Obsessions – where unwanted, intrusive and often distressing thoughts, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind.
• Emotions – the obsessions causes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress.
• Compulsions – repetitive behaviour or mental acts that the person with OCD feels driven to perform as a result of the anxiety and distress, caused by the obsession.

The compulsive behaviour temporarily relieves the anxiety, but the obsession and anxiety soon return, causing the cycle to begin again.

It is possible to just have obsessive thoughts or just have the compulsions, but most people with OCD experience both.

Types of OCD:

Contamination:

Persistent worries about germs or sickness

Thoughts about feeling dirty or unclean physically or mentally

Persistent fears about exposure to toxic substances, viruses or blood.

Compulsions to wash or clean contaminated items.

Symmetry.

An extreme need for items to be aligned in a certain way.

A need for symmetry in action (if you scratch your left knee, you also must scratch your right knee).

Counting rituals, such as counting a specific number of times.

Believing that something bad will happen if you don’t arrange things in the right way.

Forbidden thoughts.

Frequent intrusive thoughts of violent or sexual nature.

Persistent questioning of sexual orientations or desires

Frequent worry that you will harm yourself or others.

Obsessions about religious ideas.

Hoarding.

Persistent worry that throwing something away could bring harm to you or someone else.

A need to collect a certain number of items to protect yourself or someone else from harm.

A compulsion to buy multiples of the same item, A compulsion to check or review your possessions.

Behavioural ticks.

• Shrugging.
• Throat clearing
• Blinking.
• Twitching.

Adults and children both It is more common when when OCD starts in childhood. can have tic-related OCD.

Homeopathic treatment allows not only improve the symptoms, but address the cause or predisposition to the illness.