Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder

At Life Quality Resources, we know that a cognitive-behavioral approach that focuses on a balancing of mind and body is the best way to manage Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. We develop a program that fits your specific needs.

​

A typical treatment for OCD at Life Quality Resources will draw upon:

• Stress Management

• Focus and Attention

• Behavior Control

• Neurotransmitter Balance

• Biofeedback/Neurofeedback

• Nutrition

• Relaxation Methods

• Coping Strategies

• Medication Management (if needed – 18 and over)

 

About OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is regularly grouped with anxiety disorders, and is characterized in two parts: unreasonable thoughts and fears that are known as obsessions, and the repetitive behaviors that these obsessions lead to are called compulsions. Most people that suffer from OCD are cognitively aware of the irrational or unreasonable nature of their fear, but are unable to suppress it. These thoughts and fears have some common themes such as the fear of dirt or contamination, the necessity of order or symmetry, aggression or horror, and sexual imagery or thoughts.

​

These fears lead people with OCD to the next stage of the disorder which is acting on the thought or fear, known as a compulsion. Many times performing a compulsion functions as an attempt to ease the anxiety or distress that not doing it is creating in a person suffering from OCD. This is rarely more than a temporary solution to the anxiety until the obsessive thought or fear manifests itself once again, causing the vicious cycle to start over. Just as with obsessions, compulsions have some common themes as well like washing/cleaning, counting, checking, demanding reassurance, arranging, and repeating actions.

​

It is normal, on occasion, to go back to double-check when you think you left the iron on. However, when obsessions and compulsions become the focal point of your life, and many hours of each day are spent thinking or acted on these obsessions and compulsions, your quality of life suffers immensely, and your condition may make you feel helpless or powerless. At this point, if you have not already started seeking professional help, it is time to. The clinical staff at Life Quality Resources can help you start making that transition back to the time before these obsessions and compulsions gained control of your daily functioning.

 

Causes

There is a large body of research on the causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Some of the research suggests that the form of OCD that starts in childhood seems to be different than the form of OCD that develops in adulthood. A few theories on the cause of OCD seem to be pervasive in the literature.

Neurophysiology – Communication abnormalities in the orbital cortex (above the eyes), basal ganglia and thalamus arise from feelings of anxiety in the OCD sufferer, causing a series of inappropriate responses between these areas of the brain. These messages are confusing to the cortex, and a sequence of responses are activated to force the brain to attempt to relieve the anxiety, thereby causing the OCD sufferer to act out the compulsion to make this happen.

Neurochemical – It is thought that OCD sufferers may have an insufficient amount of serotonin, or that the serotonin that is present in OCD sufferers is malfunctioning in its communication with nerve cells and receptors.

Genetics – Some research points to an increased likelihood of developing OCD if one or more of your family members is suffering from one of the OCD-Spectrum disorders (these include body dysmorphic disorder, hypochondria, binge eating, and trichotillomania).

Environmental Factors – Learned behavior-related habits and feelings of guilt or shame seem to be a common theme for those suffering from OCD.

​

The reality behind the cause of OCD is that there are a variety of factors in combination that seem to present in sufferers, and that no one cause can explain this complex disorder.