OC Spectrum Disorders comprise a number of debilitating compulsive and obsessional behaviors that all involve excessive consumption of time and energy on the part of the sufferer. Some of the Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders that I work with include:
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is the obsessive, irrational, and excessive preoccupation with a defect in one’s physical appearance.
Examples of obsessions include:
- excessive focus on acne on the face, body
- scars on body
- size or shape of body parts such as nose, head
Compulsions include:
- excessive staring in the mirror to find changes in physical appearance
- repetitive activities such as hair grooming
- repeated checking with doctors about physical abnormalities
- surgery or medical procedures to change imagined abnormalities, flaws
Trichotillomania is a compulsive, recurrent pulling out of ones hair resulting in noticeable hair loss. Often before the hair pulling episode there is a high level of stress, anxiety, and a strong urge to pull out ones hair. During and after the hair pulling there is a feeling of relief and even a sense of pleasure. These episodes can be both conscious and unconscious.
Hypochondriasis is a constant obsession that one has a serious disease or medical condition. The sufferer often researches diseases and conditions, regularly feels for lumps, takes one’s temperature, observes parts of body (compulsions) and becomes convinced that they are suffering from a disease, and actually experiences psychosomatic symptoms. With repeated medical check-ups and “doctor shopping”, the sufferer will repeatedly be reassured that they do not have the disease or condition. After a short period of relief from the anxiety, the sufferer will once again become convinced of the presence of the disease, or possibly another disease, resulting in more medical check-ups and doctor shopping.
Examples of Obsessions include:
- being convinced that chest pain is a heart attack
- being convinced a headache is actually a brain tumor
- fever or skin sores are symptoms of HIV/AIDS
Compulsions include:
- Visiting doctors and being tested for disease or condition
- repeatedly taking one’s temperature
- constantly searching the internet for disease related information (to the point of extreme anxiety)
Hoarding is the excessive saving and storing of items, such as receipts, mail, newspaper clippings, etc., to the point that the sufferer’s home becomes overloaded with items. The sufferer obsesses that throwing anything away will result in some catastrophic occurrence, such as a stranger finding information about the person, or that throwing something away with have dire consequences, such as credit card theft. The items that are hoarded can even be garbage, as the obsessions can be highly irrational. The sufferer has tremendous difficulty throwing anything away to the point of leaving their home uninhabitable in the most extreme cases.
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