Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety driven mental illness that results in life altering behaviors and relates that it is the fourth most common psychiatric handicap or disability in the United States today. The paper discusses the symptoms, the available treatments and how one can live with the stigmas involved. The paper concludes that diagnosing and treating patients with OCD is vital to their health and well-being. New research continues to offer promising new revelations regarding OCD and other anxiety driven psychological disorders.

Outline:
Overview OCD/Diagnosis
Symptoms OCD
Treatment OCD
Living With The Stigma of OCD
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is one of many treatable anxiety disorders that pose "significant mental health problems" and "impair social functioning and quality of life" for patients diagnosed with the disease (Valente, 2002: 125). Anxiety disorders like OCD are among the more common forms of psychiatric disorders, yet they often receive relatively little attention with regard to research and medical history (Valente, 2002). Rasmussen & Eisen (1992) define OCD as the "fourth most common" psychiatric handicap or disability in the United States today."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Osborn, I. (1999). "Tormenting thoughts and secret rituals: The hidden epidemic of obsessive compulsive disorder." New York: Dell
• Rasmussen, S.A. & Eisen, J.I. (1992). "The epidemiology and differential diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 53(Supple 4): 4-10.
• Summers, M (2003, Jul). "Everything in its place: My trials and triumphs with obsessive compulsive disorder." New York: Tarcher.
• Valente, S.M. (2002). "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 38(4): 125

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