Obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD)

Internal stressors Posted by Ahmad Azizov on August 31, 2020

Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD)

These disorders are driven by stressors just like impulse control disorders. The difference is the source of the stressors, as OCD is caused by internal stressors (obsessions). 

OCD

  • Obsessions 
    • Thoughts that provoke anxiety and keep coming into the patient's head (internal) 
    • These are often unwanted
    • e.g. safety 
  • Compulsions  
    • A behaviour or a set of tasks 
    • Compulsions relieve the anxiety 
    • Patients can resist these for a period of time but eventually, anxiety builds up and they must follow their compulsions 
    • e.g checking the stove 
  • Diagnosis 
    • Clinical 
    • When these lead to social and functional impairment = OCD 
  • Treatment 
    • Psychotherapy > medications 
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy 
      • Desensitization 
    • Medications 
      • SSRIs 
      • Benzodiazepines are not fit for use as this is a chronic disorder 
  • Types 
    • Hoarding disorder 
      • Anxiety when throwing things (invaluable objects) away leading to an unsafe environment 
      • Can go unnoticed because it takes place in their private living space 
    • Body dysmorphic disorder 
      • More common in females 
      • Obsession 
        • Obsessed about a body part associated with beauty - hair, nose, breast 
        • These patients consider these parts ugly even though it may look normal 
      • Compulsion 
        • Checking their looks out in a mirror frequently 
        • Unnecessary surgeries  
    • Muscle dysphoria disorder 
      • More common in males 
      • Obsession
        • Muscle size (often not to win a competition) 
        • It is for the purpose of looking good 
      • Compulsion 
        • Excessive exercise
        • Steroid use  
      • Complications 
        • Rhabdomyolysis > acute renal failure = disorder 
          •  
          • The urine of someone who has rhabdomyolysis due to muscular breakdown 
        • Wilson's disease/Copper disorder
          • Copper ring accumulation in the eyes of someone with Wilson's disease
        • Testicular atrophy 
    • Trichotillomania 
      • Not a specific cause
      • Obsession
        • Variety of obsessions
      • Compulsion 
        • Pulling out hair - alopecia 
        • Different length of hair 
      • Treatment 
        • Rule out fungus - can be a medical cause of hair loss 
      • Bezoar 
        • Pulling out hair and eating it > bowel obstruction 

All information provided on this website is for educational purposes and does not constitute any medical advice. Please speak to you doctor before changing your diet, activity or medications. 


Written by
Ahmad Azizov Member since April 2020
Interested in Vascular surgery resident at Western U

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