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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Although many people suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder
it is not always recognized behavior. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
usually involves having both obsessions and compulsions, though
a person with OCD may sometimes have only one or the other. Here
are some common obsessions and compulsions:
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Common Obsessions:
- Contamination
- Safety
- Doubting one's memory or perception
- Scrupulosity (need to do the right thing, fear of committing
a transgression, often religious)
- Need for order or symmetry
- Unwanted, intrusive sexual/aggressive thoughts
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Common Compulsions:
- Cleaning/washing
- Checking
- Counting/repeating actions
- Arranging objects
- Touching/tapping objects
- Hoarding
- Confessing/seeking reassurance
- List making
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Not all obsessive-compulsive behaviors represent an illness. Normal
worries (e.g. health, child, job) or some rituals (e.g. bedtime
songs, religious practices) are a normal part of life. Only when
signs persist, make no sense, cause much distress, a treatments
for obsessive compulsive disorder is needed.
Medications for obsessive compulsive disorder
Both treatment methods psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic
are effective, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. During
the last 20 years, two effective treatments for OCD have been developed:
cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) and medication with a serotonin
reuptake inhibitor (SRI).
What medications are used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Available SSRIs include:
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