Introduction to OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is comparible to the wind. You never know which way it will blow or how fast. Sometimes it knocks you off your feet and other times it's just kind of annoying. Believe me. It can go from a summer breeze to a hurricane in just about a day without taking your meds. But can you imagine what is was like not having them to begin with?

History
Not until the more recent years have people truly known the cause of people with OCD's odd behavior. In the Middle Ages it was supposedly the work of Satan (which indeed sometimes it does feel that way.) Scrupulosity, or the religious type of OCD, (what I have) was definitely the more common obsession then, especially because religion was a very important part of everyone's life at that time. Unlike today, people thought it was better to follow the OCD voice in your head instead of ignoring it. I can't begin to imagine some of the crazy things people would do to go along with that voice.
Around the 18th century people began trying to find cures for the obsessions and anxiety. Of course the drawing blood and laxatives that they came up with didn't amount to much but at least they tried-right? So unfortunately all the doctors could come up with to do with the people of this strange illness was to throw them into asylums.
Then finally, around 50 years ago proper treatment for the illness was devoleped. ERP, (Exposure Response Prevention) a type of therapy in which the person with OCD is slowly exposed to their fear or anxiety, was formed and is still used along with new and improved medicines to treat OCD. Personally, I'm really thankful I have OCD now and not 100 years ago. :)

What is OCD?

I'm not a scientist or doctor but who better to tell you about OCD then someone with OCD themselves. First, lets break the word apart.

Obssessive
You probably already know what obsessing is. It's what teenage girls do over Robert Pattison. :) But when you have OCD the range of things to obsess about is immense. Some obsessions that I have had aren't bad. In fact, after a couple years I simply grow out of them. For instance, when I was around nine, the only thing I cared about was horses. I had books, movies, jewelry, clothes, and more all relvolving around horses. I even remember getting into crying fits because I didn't have a horse but, my equestrian obsession ended suddenly after a couple years. That's another thing about OCD. There is no way of knowing when, but if you have an obsession usually it will end very suddenly and out of the blue.
Of course, as well as the not so bad obsessions, there are bad ones. This is where the real craziness begins. Obsessions can start from anything. Sometimes you don't even know they are beginning. It may start with some uncomfortable thoughts, doubt, or even guilt. Those things are of course caused by the disorder. Then, to comfort ourselves and make the bad thoughts go away we do what they're telling us to do or change what were doing which is what any normal person would do. But of course, it doesn't stop there. The bad thoughts come back, only worse so we must change what were doing even more, and then more, and then more. Before long you have a whole ritual you must perform in order to keep the bad thoughts away. The thing that gives you the bad thoughts (germs, death, sickness) is the obsession which can get worse and worse over time. The things that you do to keep the bad thoughts away are the compulsions (washing your hands, checking things over and over ) and can get weirder and weirder over time.

Compulsive

So compulsions, simply stated, are what you do to prevent the anxiety. Some make sense, like over using germ-x so you won't get sick, but others don't make much sense, like touching things a certain number of times so a family member won't die. It's the compulsions that can be very, very time consuming, boring, and completely wacky. Here are a few examples:
Obsession: Sickness -> Compulsions: Washing hands for at least five minutes, not ever going to close to people, Holding breath when looking at a sick person.

Obsession: Contaminated Food: -> Compulsions: Eating food only you have touched, Never touching food that is more than one day old, Never eating with fingers

Obsession: Not going to heaven (Scrupulosity) : -> Compulsions: Never capitalizing any word but God, Only stepping on right foot when saying holy words, Never looking at ground while praying, Never thinking about unpleasant things while praying.

Those are just some of the things I could think of and actually about half of them are compulsions I have had.

When you have OCD and it gets really serious, your obsession becomes the most important thing in your life. It's all you think about. That's why it's good to take care of your obsession at the beginning. Sometimes, I may just be obsessed with something for one day, but still it's the only thing I'm thinking about and I can't get it out of my mind.

OCD isn't fully understood by a lot of people. In my class people joke about OCD but I know they really have no idea. I sometimes get stressed when my brother is showing symptoms of his OCD like his obsession with bees. I try to make him understand that they really aren't scary but he's got his mind set. I know that's probably how my family felt when I was going through some major episodes. They tried to help me but I wouldn't let them and it only led to stress and tears. I was a completely different person.
One of the most important things to OCD is that you have got to recognize that you have it. If you don't there is no chance you will get better because you have to see that OCD is there and that it's the cause. That can sometimes be the hardest thing because when you are having compulsion to do something it feels so real. It feels like if you don't do it the worst will happen. But with counseling, proper medication (not laxatives :D ) and support from family and friends, you can get through it.