Health tips

Frazzled by fear

When you spill a cup of tea on your desk, you are likely to grab a few paper towels and clean it up with soap till the stain disappears. And that will be the end of it. But there are still others who will not be satisfied till they have repeated this process over a dozen times. In fact, they won’t stop scrubbing the surface even when their hands get dry.

During the course of a routine day, an unexpected event may come our way which will trigger a great deal of stress and anxiety. Fortunately, most of us are equipped to cope with these routine worries and move on with life. But an unfortunate few aren’t; they cannot ignore the intrusive thoughts which occupy their minds – obsessions—and can do little else besides succumbing to compulsively performing rituals which help alleviate the anxiety momentarily.

These people suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder— many of us colloquially refer to it as OCD. This comes under the umbrella of a number of severe anxiety problems. The idea that catastrophic consequences are going to arise should they not respond to an issue takes a firm grip on their minds. And thus repeating an act gives their minds temporarily relief from this obsession.

Thus, people suffering from OCD appear abnormally fastidious about eliminating contamination, aligning objects to in a symmetrical position, organizing things excessively etc.

A person can develop OCD in his teens or twenties. However, the patients always acknowledge their problem at a later age due to the taboo associated with the condition. However, ever increasing media depictions of the condition are reducing the gap between the onset of the disease and quest for medical help.

Remember “Monk”? The popular television sitcom, in which the protagonist, Adrian Monk suffers from OCD, that progressively worsens after his wife’s death.

Another example is the character of Emma Pilsbury in “Glee”, a school counselor who wears gloves before eating her food and separates her grapes according to color.

The treatment for OCD includes a combination of psychotherapy and medications. The psychiatrists or psychologist trained in this area will first educate the patient about their condition and how responding to obsessions with compulsive acts perpetuates their irrational notions. More specific interventions include behavioural therapy. These aim to change the way  thoughts are dealt with. The patient is also exposed to his or her particular triggers in a controlled environment and their compulsive responses are prevented. And thus in this manner their fear is conditioned.  The treatment is long drawn-out and demands great effort and dedication from the patient. Medications too if given take their sweet time before they kick in.

OCD is a debilitating disease. Many hours a day might be spent repeating the same act repeatedly which affects relationships, work and daily life. The condition is often followed by depression and OCD patients have even been known to attempt suicide. Thus it’s important that these patients acknowledge their problem and seek psychiatric assistance.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2012.