There's a common misconception that if you like to meticulously organize your things, keep your hands clean, or plan out your weekend to the last detail, you might have OCD. In fact, OCD, which stands for obsessive compulsive disorder, is a serious psychiatric condition that is frequently misunderstood by society and mental health professionals alike. So let's start by debunking some myths. Myth one: repetitive or ritualistic behaviors are synonymous with OCD. As its name suggests, obsessive compulsive disorder has two aspects: the intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses, known as obsessions, and the behavioral compulsions people engage in to relieve the anxiety the obsessions cause. The kinds of actions that people often associate with OCD, like excessive hand washing, or checking things repeatedly, may be examples of obsessive or compulsive tendencies that many of us exhibit from time to time. But the actual disorder is far more rare and can be quite debilitating. People affected have little or no control over their obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, which tend to be time consuming and interfere with work, school or social life to the point of causing significant distress. This set of diagnostic criteria is what separates people suffering from OCD from those who may just be a bit more meticulous or hygiene obsessed than usual. Myth two: the main symptom of OCD is excessive hand washing. Although hand washing is the most common image of OCD in popular culture, obsessions and compulsions can take many different forms. Obsessions can manifest as fears of contamination and illness, worries about harming others, or preoccupations with numbers, patterns, morality, or sexual identity. And compulsions can range from excessive cleaning or double checking, to the fastidious arrangement of objects, or walking in predetermined patterns. Myth three: individuals with OCD don't understand that they are acting irrationally. Many individuals with OCD actually understand the relationship between their obsessions and compulsions quite well. Being unable to avoid these thoughts and actions despite being aware of their irrationality is part of the reason why OCD is so distressing. OCD sufferers report feeling crazy for experiencing anxiety based on irrational thoughts and finding it difficult to control their responses. So what exactly causes OCD? The frustrating answer is we don't really know. However, we have some important clues. OCD is considered a neurobiological disorder. In other words, research suggests that OCD sufferers brains are actually hardwired to behave in a certain fashion. Research has implicated three regions of the brain variously involved in social behavior and complex cognitive planning, voluntary movement, and emotional and motivational responses. The other piece of the puzzle is that OCD is associated with low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that communicates between brain structures and helps regulate vital processes, such as mood, aggression, impulse control, sleep, appetite, body temperature and pain. But are serotonin and activity in these brain regions the sources of OCD or symptoms of an unknown underlying cause of the disorder. We probably won't know until we have a much more intimate understanding of the brain. The good news is there are effective treatments for OCD, including medications, which increase serotonin in the brain by limiting its reabsorption by brain cells, behavioral therapy that gradually desensitizes patients to their anxieties, and in some cases, electroconvulsive therapy, or surgery, when OCD doesn't respond to other forms of treatment. Knowing that your own brain is lying to you while not being able to resist its commands can be agonizing. But with knowledge and understanding comes the power to seek help, and future research into the brain may finally provide the answers we're looking for.
Pogrešno se misli da ako pedantno organizirate svoje stvari, održavate ruke čistima ili planirate svoj vikend do posljednjeg detalja, možda imate OKP. U stvari, OKP - što znači opsesivno kompulzivni poremećaj, ozbiljno je psihološko stanje koje često nailazi na nerazumijevanje od strane društva i stručnjaka za mentalno zdravlje. Pa počnimo s razotkrivanjem nekih mitova. Prvi mit: ponavljajuća ili ritualna ponašanja povezuju se s OKP. Kao što samo ime kaže, opsesivno kompulzivni poremećaj ima dva aspekta: intruzivne misli, slike ili impulsi, poznati kao opsesije, te behavioristički kompulzivne radnje koje ljudi čine kako bi se oslobodili anksioznosti koje uzrokuju opsesije. Vrste radnji koje ljudi često povezuju s OKP, kao što je pretjerano pranje ruku ili neprestano provjeravanje, mogu biti primjeri opsesivnih ili kompulzivnih tendencija koje mnogi od nas pokazuju s vremena na vrijeme. Ali pravi poremećaj je puno rjeđi i može biti poprilično paralizirajući. Ljudi s OKP imaju malo ili nikakvu kontrolu nad svojim opsesivnim mislima i kompulzivnim ponašanjem, koje može uzeti puno vremena i ometati posao, školu ili društveni život do te mjere da uzrokuje veliki nemir. Ovaj set dijagnostičkih kriterija je ono što razlikuje ljude koji imaju OKP od onih koji su možda samo malo pedantniji ili više opsjednuti higijenom nego što je to uobičajeno. Drugi mit: glavni simptom OKP je prekomjerno pranje ruku. Iako je pranje ruku najčešća slika OKP u popularnoj kulturi, opsesije i kompulzije mogu imati puno različitih oblika. Opsesije se mogu manifestirati kao strahovi od zaraze i bolesti, brige o ozljeđivanju drugih, preokupacije brojevima, uzorcima, moralom ili seksualnim identitetom. Kompulzije sežu od prekomjernog čišćenja preko duplog provjeravanja do probirljivog redanja stvari do hodanja u predodređenim uzorcima Treći mit: osobe s OKP ne razumiju da se ponašaju iracionalno. Mnoge osobe s OKP zapravo jako dobro shvaćaju vezu između svojih opsesija i kompulzija. Biti u nemogućnosti izbjeći ove misli i radnje unatoč tome što su svjesni svoje iracionalnosti je dio razloga zašto je OKP tako stresan. Osobe s OKP tvrde da se osjećaju ludima zato što se njihov nemir temelji na iracionalnim mislima i teško im je kontrolirati svoje odgovore. Pa, što zapravo uzrokuje OKP? Frustrirajući odgovor je da zapravo ne znamo. Međutim, imamo neke važne tragove. OKP se smatra neurobiološkim poremećajem. Drugim riječima, istraživanje je pokazalo da mozak osoba s OKP zapravo "programiran" da se ponaša na određene načine. Istraživanje implicira tri regije mozga koje su uključene u društveno ponašanje i složeno kognitivno planiranje, svojevoljno kretanje i emocionalne i motivacijske odgovore. Drugi dio slagalice je da je OKP povezan s niskim razinama serotonina, neurotransmitera koji komunicira između struktura mozga i pomaže regulirati vitalne procese kao što su raspoloženje, agresija, kontrola impulsa, spavanje, apetit, tjelesna temperatura i bol. Ali jesu li serotonin i aktivnost u ovim regijama mozga izvori OKP ili simptomi nepoznatog temeljnog uzroka poremećaja. Vjerojatno nećemo saznati prije nego što budemo imali puno bolje razumijevanje mozga. Dobra vijest je da postoje učinkovita liječenja OKP-a, što uključuje lijekove koji povećaju razine serotonina u mozgu ograničavanjem njegovog ponovnog upijanja preko moždanih stanica, bihevioralne terapije koje postupno desenzivitiraju pacijente na nemir, te u nekim slučajevima, elektrokonvulzivnu terapiju ili operaciju, kada OKP ne reagira na druge oblike liječenja. Znati da vam vaš mozak laže dok niste sposobni odoljeti njegovim naredbama može biti očajno. Međutim, sa znanjem i razumijevanjem dolazi i moć da se zatraži pomoć, a buduća istraživanja mozga će moći napokon dati odgovore koje tražimo.