manual
Mentally obsessed By Megan Claus, Jayplay writer
The what, why and how of obsessive-compulsive disorder
For nearly an hour, Briana McAtee lies in bed having a silent argument with herself. "Did I? Yes, you did. No, I didn't." She is convinced she switched the oven off, but a part of her refuses to believe. In reality, the oven is off. Deep down she knows it.
McAtee, Wichita senior, has tendencies of obsession-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is one of the most common anxiety disorders in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 3.3 million adults have OCD.
Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets (1997) provides a pretty good example of the disorder with his incessant bouts of hand washing, avoidance of stepping on cracks and refusal to use the silverware supplied at restaurants. For those of you who didn't catch the flick, OCD involves uncontrollable thoughts and feelings that are followed by actions to relieve them. In other words, Nicholson's character is obsessed with germ contamination, therefore he relieves his obsession by compulsively washing his hands.
While there isn't a single proven cause for OCD, mental health experts have pinpointed how the brain works with the disorder. Basically, the rationale part of the brain (orbital front cortex) fails while the error-detecting part of the brain (anterior cingulate) keeps telling the person something is wrong. This is why McAtee has
small arguments with herself. She knows everything is fine, but that little annoyance in her brain keeps flashing a red light, overriding her rationality.
Leaving OCD untreated is a big no-no. The disorder is strongly linked to other life-debilitating disorders such as anorexia and depression. It can also hinder personal and professional relationships and lead to drug and alcohol abuse.
Assess your actions
It was always an ordeal for McAtee to leave the house with her father, who also has OCD. He would constantly drive back home to be sure the garage door was shut, or that he had turned off the coffee pot or locked the front door. These moments can be classified as life-impairing.
If you think you have OCD, it is important to seek help from a health professional. But before you take a stroll to the clinic, consider taking the OCD self-test provided by the Anxiety Disorders Association of America at www.adaa.org.
There is a difference between little obsessions and serious annoyances. If you are one who cannot keep the television volume set at an odd number, or leave the room without fluffing the pillows, you're just plain anal. But, if you have experiences that truly interfere with your normal routine, you may have OCD.
Consider your options
Medication is the most sought-after treatment, but also has the highest relapse rate of about 80 percent. People are more often encouraged to treat their OCD with medicine because they either want a quick fix or they are just unaware of the other options.
Psychotherapy is the other option, with a relapse rate of about 20 percent. With this type of therapy, people learn to attack their compulsions using techniques to reduce or stop them. For example, a person who constantly washes his hands may be trained to gradually reduce this behavior by only washing his hands before a meal or after using the restroom as opposed to every time he touches something.
For more information about OCD and treatment options, contact Counseling and Psychological Services on campus at 864-2277.
Patients of psychotherapy also learn to understand how their thoughts work and increase a cognitive understanding of the disorder. Every time McAtee doubts her actions, she resists the urge to satisfy the compulsion. So instead of getting up to check the oven, McAtee experiences a silent spell of uncertain thoughts and ultimately overcomes the need to reassure herself.
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Jayplay 1.20.05