OCD

• DSM-5 categories of OCD

  • OCD
  • Trichotillomania
  • Hoarding disorder
  • Excoriation disorder
• Disorders in the DSM-5 categories of OCD

  • Repetitive behaviour accompanied by obsessive thinking
• OCD

  Characterised by either obsessions (recurring thoughts, images, etc.) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours such as handwashing). Most people with a diagnosis of OCD have both obsessions and compulsions.
• Trichotillomania

  Compulsive hair-pulling
• Hoarding disorder

  The compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything, regardless of its value
• Excoriation disorder

  Compulsive skin-picking
• Behavioural characteristics of OCD

  • Compulsive behaviour
  • Compulsions are repetitive
  • Compulsions reduce anxiety
• Around 10% of people with OCD show compulsive behaviour alone - they have no obsessions, just a general sense of irrational anxiety
• For the vast majority, compulsive behaviours are performed in an attempt to manage the anxiety produced by obsessions
• Avoidance in OCD

  • People with OCD try to manage their OCD by avoiding situations that trigger anxiety
  • This avoidance can lead people to avoid very ordinary situations, such as emptying their rubbish bins, and this can in itself interfere with leading a regular life
• OCD is regarded as a particularly unpleasant emotional experience because of the powerful anxiety that accompanies both obsessions and compulsions
• OCD is often accompanied by depression, so anxiety can be accompanied by low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities
• OCD sometimes involves other negative emotions such as irrational guilt, for example over minor moral issues, or disgust, which may be directed against something external like dirt or at the self
• Cognitive characteristics of OCD

  • Obsessive thoughts
  • Cognitive coping strategies
  • Insight into excessive anxiety
• For around 90% of people with OCD the major cognitive feature of their condition is obsessive thoughts, i.e. thoughts that recur over and over again
• People with OCD adopt cognitive coping strategies to deal with the obsessions, such as praying or meditating
• People with OCD are aware that the obsessions and compulsions are not rational
• People with OCD experience catastrophic thoughts about the worst case scenarios that might result if their anxieties were justified
• People with OCD tend to be hypervigilant, i.e. they maintain constant alertness and keep astere toned on potential hazards