OCD or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

by Jailyn

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) is a condition in which people cannot stop doing something, such as turning on and off the same light switch several times in a row or checking to make sure the water is off repeatedly. Many people have OCD in some form or another and do not even realize it. About 2% of Americans are diagnosed with OCD every year. OCD can give you the feeling of continually disappointing and aggravating others because of what your condition but you cannot do anything about it. This is what is interesting about OCD, people who may like things to be very clean may have OCD and not even know it. People with this disorder may also suffer from low self-esteem or from shame and embarrassment about what they are thinking or feeling. OCD is nothing compared to having daily routines at home, it is more extreme such as blinking three times before getting out of the bed in the morning or brushing your teeth 50 times on every single tooth.

Recognizing OCD is often difficult because children can adapt to hiding the behaviors. It is not uncommon for a child to engage in strange behavior for months, or even years, before parents know about it. A child may not participate in school activities and parents might think it is just a phase. When a child with OCD tries to contain these thoughts or behaviors, which creates anxiety. OCD obsessive thoughts are repeated, persistent and unwanted urges or images that cause distress or anxiety. Children who feel embarrassed or as if they're "going crazy" may try to blend their actions into a normal daily routine until they are unable to control it anymore.  You might try to get rid of these anxities by performing a compulsion or ritual. These obsessions typically intrude when you are trying to think of or do other things. 

Imagine opening up a book to begin reading it. Chapter one… you read a paragraph. Then you reread it. Then you move to the second paragraph, but you realize that you may not have read the first paragraph well enough. So you go back and read paragraph one again. Then you read and reread paragraph two several times. You finally make it to the end of the page and in turning the page you think, "I've read page one adequately." But you can’t be sure. Did you understand everything you read? Will you remember it later on? So you reread page one again and again. After an hour of being on page one, you get tired and decide to put down the book. You’ll get through the book someday. It’s only the third time you've tried to read chapter one.

Howie Mandel is a well-known celebrity that battles OCD. If you would like more information about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, please visit the National Institute of Mental Health.