OCD-Kiersten - home

<h1>Welcome to my Wiki page!</h1>
 
 
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<h3> OCD FAQ</h3>
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Q: What does OCD stand for? 
A: OCD is short for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 
 
Q: What is OCD? 
A: OCD is a disorder with which the afflicted person has persistent upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and use rituals (compulsions) to control the anxiety of these thoughts. 
 
Q: When does OCD usually appear? 
A: Males tend to experience obsessions and compulsions at an earlier age than females. OCD seems to affect males somewhere between the ages of six and fifteen. It is more common for females to be first diagnosed with OCD in late adolescence or early adulthood. 
 
Q: Who does OCD effect? 
A: OCD strikes all genders, races, and ethnicity in fairly equal numbers. 
 
Q: How many people does OCD affect? 
A: It has been proven that OCD has effected about 2-3% of the world's population sometime in their life. OCD is an anxiety disorder that is the fourth most common mental illness in the U.S. and it effects five million Americans, or one in five people. 
 
Q: What is the difference between a person afflicted with OCD and not afflicted? 
A: The difference is, people with OCD preform their rituals even when doing so interferes with daily life and they find the repetition distressing. They know their compulsions are unrealistic, as people with OCD usually feel trapped and unable to change. 
 
Q: What are the five most common groups for people with OCD based on their rituals? 
A: The five most common groups are, Washers, who are afraid of contamination and usually have cleaning or hand washing compulsions. Checkers, who repeatedly check things that they associate with harm or danger. Doubters and Sinners, who are afraid that if everything isn't perfect or done just right, something terrible will happen or they will be punished. Counters and Arrangers, are obsessed with order and symmetry. They might have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements. Lastly, Hoarders, who fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away. They compulsively hoard things they don't need or use. 
 
Q: Are there genetic factors associated with OCD? 
A: Yes, there are some genetic factors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Research shows that people who have OCD frequently have close relatives who have a similar problem. 
 
Q: How is OCD treated? 
A: Some of the most common methods of treatment for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are behavior therapy, prescription medication, or a combination of both. Current medications used for the treatment of OCD include Anafranil (clomipramine), Luvox (fluvoxamine), Paxil (paroxetine), and Prozac (fluoxetine). These medications can help diminish obsessive thinking and the subsequent compulsive behaviors. 
 
Q: What cause OCD? 
A: * Reported in an article called &quot;Causes of OCD&quot; Website- Anxiety Care* One cause of OCD that is gaining ground concerns the probability that there is a level of brain dysfunction in many OCD sufferers.This does not mean that people with this problem have damaged brains or that their reasoning functions are inferior to those who do not have OCD.The chemical messenger, Seretonin seems to be heavily involved. Seretonin is a chemical called a neurotransmitter that allows nerve cells to communicate with each other by working in the space between nerve cells, called the synaptic cleft. According to research, Seretonin is involved with biological processes such as mood, aggression, sleep, appetite and pain. It also seems that Seretonin is capable of connecting to nerve cells in the brain in many different ways and so can cause many different responses. It is not even fully established if it is all or part of the Seretonin chemical or another chemical entirely acting on it; or a malfunction in one or more of the receptors in the brain that Seretonin attaches to that causes the OCD problems.