I chose to take a closer look at Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and what the medical treatment for it entails. OCD is a behavioral disorder where the individual become obsessed with a certain behavior. The obsession is unwanted and brings the individual stress. The individual reacting to this is called a compulsion. The cycle of obsession and compulsions takes over the individual’s life to a point where it affects their everyday functioning. Common obsessions include: obsessions related to perfectionism, fear of harming others, fear of losing control, fear of germs, obsession with unwanted sexual thoughts and being extremely superstitious (International OCD Foundation). Common compulsions in reaction to the obsessions include: excessive …show more content…
Depending on the seriousness of the OCD a combination of therapy and medication can get OCD under control but the patient must want to recover and give full effort in therapy to see results. The therapy that is most commonly used for OCD patients is called Exposure and response prevention (ERP). This therapy is done by a professional in a safe environment and the patient is slowly exposed to the things that trigger their compulsive behavior. During the process the patient learns new techniques to deal with their compulsions, therefore slowly changing the behavior. This type of therapy can also be done in a group therapy setting. For medication, antidepressants are usually given to help people with their OCD behaviors. Medications such as Zoloft and Prozac are used most often. 7 out of 10 patients with OCD say that they benefit from using an antidepressant and say about 40-60% of their OCD symptoms are reduced (International OCD Foundation). The medication has to be taken regularly for it to work properly and make take a couple of weeks to start working in the first place. A common mistake for OCD patients is that they stop taking the medication because they feel they are okay and then only take it when they are