Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (ocd)

repetitive thoughts and urges; repetitive behaviors and mental acts

body dysmorphic disorder

repetitive thoughts and urges about defects in personal appearance

hoarding disorder

repetitive urges to acquire new objects

OCD → obsessions

intrusive, peristant, and uncontrollable thoughts or urges; usually experienced as irriational; common obsessions: contamination, sexual and agressive impulases, body problems, religion, symmetry/order

OCD → compulsions

repetitive behaviors or mental acts that are done impulsively to neutralize anxiety; often done in response to distressing obsessive thought; common sompulsions: cleaning, touching, checking

what are the two model ages of onset for OCD?

before age 10; late adolescence/early adulthood

How many adults will experience OCD in their lifetime?

~ 2%

Is OCD more common is women or men?

slighlty more common in women (1.5x)

What is OCD comorbid with?

75% anxiety disorder; 66% MDD; 33% hoarding symptoms; substabce use disorders also common

body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

Preoccupation with an imagined or exaggerated defect in appearance; may percieve themselves as ugly or “monstrous”; spend 3-8 hrs/day thinking about appearance; engage in compulsive behaviors: check appearance in mirrors, camouflage their appearance(tanning, makeup, plastic surgery); high levels of shame, anxiety, and depression; symptoms may interfere w/social interactions and may cause them to become housebound

hoarding disorder

need to acquire possessions, distress about parting w/possessions, cluttered living space; (evolutionary psychologists suggest that HD may have been an adaptive attempt to stockpile vital resources

causes of OCD and related disorders

genetics/heritability(30-50%); hyperactive brain regions → orbitofrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, anterior cingulate

causes of OCD(psychodynamic)

causes btwn ID impulses and ego control, occurs on a consious rather that unconscious level; traced to anal stage of development(negative toilet training, feelings of insecurity)

causes of ocd (cognitive)

yadasentience(intuitive sense that you’ve done something enough, individuals w/ICD have a yadasenstience deficit; attempts to suppress intrusions(may make matters worse); thought-action fusion(ppl w/OCD may believe “if you think a bad thing will happen, it will happen”

medication treatment(OCD and related)

SSRI’s (50% reduction in OCD symptoms for 60% of ppl)

psychological treatment(OCD and related)

exposure/response preventions(ERP of EX/RP)- not performing the ritual exposes the person to the full force of anxiety provoked by the stim., exposure results in the extinction of the conditioned response(anxiety); Pros: highly effective for children and adults; Cons: unpleasant in short term, time sensitive, 25% of ppl refuse EX/RP treatment