"Case Study 8: A 26 year old man is very concerned about cleanliness and hygiene. He spends a significant amount of time each day washing his hands or showering, especially after touch a toilet seat, doorknob, or any other item he thinks may be dirty or contaminated. The patient explains that he is concerned about becoming infected or sick from touching these objects. He periodically acknowledges that the washing is excessive but explains that he becomes very anxious when he tries to avoid washing and eventually feels compelled to wash even more to make up for the omission."
It seems that this patient is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. This is an anxiety disorder, and its symptoms include persistent thoughts (called obsessions) or behaviors (known as compulsions). In this case the young man has a compulsion, which is a "forced behavior repeated inspite of its inappropriateness, or unreasonableness and associated discomfort". The patient may also have mysophobia (an extreme fear of being contaminated)
Exposure and response prevention is one possible treatment. This involves exposing the patient to his source of compulsion, and having the patient refrain from the behavior. Over time, this helps him understand that he does not need to use compulsions to relieve his anxiety, and that he has control over his own behaviors. In this case, the patient could touch something he thinks is "germy", like a door knob to a building and then refrain from washing his hands for a few hours.
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/obsessive_compulsive_disorder_ocd.htm
Friday, November 21, 2008
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder! :(
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4 comments:
I think OCD is probably one of the hardest things to get over. The patient would probably freak out if they had to refrain from washing their hands, but that is pretty much the only ways to get over it. OCD can get to the point where it is almost impossible to lead a normal life.
OCD is such a crazy disorder to get over because you feel so freakish over it. I thought I had this once. Good job blogging!
I did OCD for my letter home!! GOOD JOB! it was thorough analysis of what the problem was and you really hit the mark in your highlighting. Also, your treatment plan seems solid.
OCD is a common interest among the class i think that people are trying to be more knowledgeable
about this growing problem
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