Are There Any Stages In OCD & Is There A Surgery For It?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often denoted as OCD and is a typical case of anxiety disorder. It is a group of neuropsychiatric diseases with compulsive thinking and compulsive behavior as the main clinical manifestations. It is characterized by the coexistence of conscious obsession and anti-compulsion.

Willing thoughts or impulses repeatedly invade the patient’s daily life. Although patients experience that these thoughts or impulses originate from themselves and are detrimental, they are always unable to control them. The intense conflict between these thoughts makes them feel great anxiety and pain, which affects their study and work, interpersonal communication and even daily life.⁽¹⁾

The different symptoms of OCD have been categorized into four main classes by the researchers.

Fear Of Contamination And Washing: Many people who have been diagnosed with OCD fear germs or other types of contamination and can avoid situations and activities due to this fear. Forced hand washing and cleaning are also typical. Fear of germs and the need to forcefully wash your hands is often associated with this condition and is a common symptom.

Doubts About Accidental Damage And Verification: For example, someone may suffer from the idea that your child was injured in a car accident. Compulsive behavior can be anything but is often focused to prevent damage. For some people, fear does not mean that they harm anyone, but that some kind of loss will affect their relatives.

Counting, Seeking Symmetry, And Organizing: An example might be someone who suspects that he has closed the door when he leaves home. This type of binding thinking typically triggers binding validation behavior, such as returning to the door multiple times to ensure its closure. OCD can always cause a person to do something wrong or incompletely.

Unacceptable forbidden thoughts and psychological habits: This type of passion is often associated with the pursuit of safety, but there may be other barriers that go along with it. A common type of obsession is associated with harming others, beating them violently, or with violent and offensive images that do not go away. This type of thought can also be sexual, e.g. has sexually inappropriate behavior or recurring and problematic sexual images.

Someone with OCD may have obsessive thoughts of any kind. Some other examples include apprehension of certain relationships, belief in magical thinking or obsession with one’s own body, typical breathing patterns or agility. But the above-mentioned types are some of the most common symptoms.⁽³⁾

There seems to be a brain surgery option for OCD patients suffering from severe OCD and are not responding to other therapies. It may be an effective therapy. However, surgery involves considerable risks. Surgery risks include permanent complications from surgery, such as paralysis on one side of the body and cognitive impairment. According to one study, brain surgery is an option for patients with severe OCD. For this reason, the process should be viewed with caution. According to a new study, one type of brain surgery is a relatively effective treatment for people with OCD.^{(4) (5)}

Statistics in recent years suggest that the incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder is rising. Some studies have shown that the lifetime prevalence of the obsessive-compulsive disorder in the general population is 1% to 2%, and about two-thirds of patients develop the disease before the age of 25. OCD, because of its early onset and prolonged course, often affects patients’ social functions and quality of life. According to a global disease survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the OCD has become more prevalent in the age group 15 to 44 years.

OCD is one of the 20 diseases considered as the highest disease burden among young people.

Patients often fail to seek medical treatment at the beginning of the illness due to various considerations. Some patients who are afraid of getting dirty and repeatedly washing their hands may come to the clinic after the symptoms are so severe that they cannot live normally. The onset may be ten years away from the initial consultation.

This makes treatment more difficult. Thus, you should pay more attention to OCD and detect and treat it early.⁽²⁾

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Also Read:

• OCD: Types, Causes, Signs, Symptoms, Treatment, Tests, Risk Factors
• Treatment For Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD
• Do’s and Don’ts While Helping Someone with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD
• Different Types of OCD
• How to know if you have OCD?
• How Long Does OCD Last & Ways to Overcome it?
• Is OCD A Mood Disorder?
• What Vitamin Deficiency Causes OCD & Do Antidepressants Help OCD?