Running head: A NEVER ENDING NIGHMARE 1 A Never Ending Nightmare Dana Bakheet 1220084 English: Research and Communication ENGL 1302 Dar Al-Hekma University A NEVER ENDING NIGHTMARE 2 A Never Ending Nightmare Insomnia, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, the lack of self-esteem, therapy sessions, and medications are hardly any of the hassles that come with a mental illness. Mental illnesses do not care what age, gender or social status a person is for it to take over their lives. People with Mental illnesses lose themselves in these disorders, and as the illness develops it gets a tighter hold and drags its victims deeper down, becoming a heavier burden on them. The National Institute of Mental Health explains Mental Illnesses and their effect on …show more content…
OCD patients also have some certain rituals that they tend to do over and over again such as excessive hand washing and locking and unlocking doors; “a ritual is a compulsion that is carried out in a rigid, set pattern, and a sequence of steps with a clear beginning and end” (Rachman & De Silva, 2009). An OCD patient may also lose control of these rituals and how he/she handles them; Excessive thinking about these rituals and disturbing thoughts causes severe anxiety and heavy episodes of stress and can get in the way of the OCD patients’ …show more content…
The effects of OCD include feelings of shame, anger and frustration, high levels of stress and anxiety, OCD leads to depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem, isolation, and increased interference with the patient’s daily lives. OCD tends to progress and its symptoms tend to become more dominant as time passes without any treatments used, thus impairing the patients’ social life and social interaction due to the rituals and acts they commit because of the disorder. OCD patients feel ashamed of the symptoms of the disorder and tend to isolate themselves from everyone else. Just like they lead to shame and frustration, OCDs also lead to extreme episodes of stress and anxiety due to the excessive obsessing and constant thoughts. OCD interferes with the patients’ daily lives, work, academic progress and family life. It stops patients’ from having a normal life and impairs them from living a busy lifestyle because the rituals they perform tend to take so much of their time each and every single day. OCD affects the patients’ family more than it affects the individuals themselves; OCD often has more significant effects on the patients’ family, whether it was their spouse, children, parents or siblings (Rachman & De Silva, 2009, p. 64). A patients’ family needs to stay strong, but most importantly encourage their OCD patient family member to do the same and give him/her all the support he/she needs.