OCD and addiction

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental condition that causes individuals to experience unwanted and recurring thoughts or ideas. There’s no clear-cut cause of OCD, but there are different contributing factors. The disorder may also be connected to conditions like separation anxiety disorder and addiction. This article offers a detailed review of OCD, including the signs, symptoms, and treatment.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

OCD is a condition characterized by repetitive and unwanted thoughts that lead to compulsive actions. Individuals diagnosed with OCD typically feel an obligation to perform certain rituals or activities during the day. Without those rituals or activities, they may feel high levels of discomfort.

Like most complex neuropsychiatric disorders, the origins of OCD are not conclusive.1 From the estimates of heritability in the range of 40% to 50%, it is evident that there’s a genetic connection to the risk of OCD. Other less reviewed environmental factors like infection and trauma are also significantly linked to the mental health condition.2

According to the Psychiatric Clinics of North America, OCD affects around 2.3% of people at a period in their lives. Rates of mental health condition during any particular year is approximately 1.2%. Research also proves that OCD affects around 2.2 million adults or one percent of the individuals in the United States of America.3

Signs and Symptoms of OCD

One of the significant signs of OCD in an individual is the continuous urges, thoughts, or ideas that result in anxiety. There are a wide variety of signs and symptoms of OCD, and several of them may occur together. According to the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, there are thirteen predefined categories of symptoms.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Resources

  1. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2092
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24369376/
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25150561/
  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19853982/
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/938802/
  6. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/
  7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705178/
  8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279561/

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