Telemedicine

OCD Treatment

OCD Defined

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) comprises of recurrent rituals, compulsions, intrusive thoughts, and preoccupations that are time consuming, causing severe distress to the person, and impairment in important areas of daily functioning. The individual may have either an obsession, compulsion, or a combination of both:

• Obsession – a mental event consisting of persistent and intrusive thoughts or feelings
• Compulsion – a persistent, conscious and patterned behavior usually done to alleviate anxiety related to the obsession (may also experience anxiety when compulsive behavior is not carried out)
  

These individuals may be obsessed with patterns related to contamination, pathological doubt, bodily or somatic symptoms, or need for symmetry. To alleviate anxiety from these obsessions, they may have the compulsion to check, wash, count, ask or confess, reorganize or re-order, and hoard. These thoughts and actions are often unwanted and recurrent, where the individual may find they often try to resist the urge which often fails, leading to more distress.