Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Everyone checks whether the gas is off sometimes or tidies up clothes very neatly. Maybe you have the same song in your head all day long or you may, for example, only walk on the white paving stones. Only when you spend hours folding your clothes or check ten times whether the door is properly closed does it become compulsive.

Do I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

We all have our established habits and routines for which there is no apparent need. For example, you can think of only being able to go to work when your desk is tidy or something nasty that is said to “knock” on wood. We all know these examples and it is something that does not bother us and which just belongs to us a bit. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a different story: your life is dominated by compulsions (obsessions) and compulsions. Concrete examples of this are:

Fear of blemishes

Obsessive thought: “I have been infected with a serious illness through contact with urine”

Compulsion: washing hands often, cleaning

Compulsion

Compulsive thought: “everything has to be precise”

Compulsion: put everything right, count

Control compulsion

Compulsive thought: “I am doing something wrong or dangerous” (eg leaving gas open)

Compulsion: repeated monitoring

I've always felt the need to follow very strict rules and procedures. My perfectionism and excessive orderliness have increased more and more. I keep rearranging my closets and I can't bear it when something isn't where it belongs. In addition, I am imposing more and more rules on myself, for example I am only allowed to take the elevator if I have a lot of stuff because otherwise I find myself too lazy and it is a waste of energy. I can therefore be very annoyed by people who do not take this into account. My life is made up of lists and schedules of things to do. Making these lists takes a lot of time, but the fear of losing control is too big and the idea of not having lists gives me a lot of tension.

Marieke

How do I get rid of my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

The combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) leads to the best results in the treatment of OCD. CBT firstly looks at your mistakes in the thinking process, such as errors in perception, wrong conclusions, black / white thinking, etc. You are challenged to examine your ideas in practice for credibility / reality (e.g. how realistic is that you get a serious illness from contact with urine). The second element that you pay attention to during CBT is response prevention of the compulsive behavior (= not performing the compulsions) and in addition exposure in vivo (= “undergoing” the fear-inducing situation).