Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - How To Manage It?

Do you have a family member or a close friend who is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder, which causes anxiety, and is also known as anxiety disorder. The disorder is featured by continuous, uncontrollable and unpleasant thoughts. OCD causes a patient’s mind to get stuck on a certain inclination. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior patterns indicate OCD.
Dealing with an OCD patient

After the initial diagnosis, a patient with OCD enters the stage of acute treatment. The treatment aims at coping with and overcoming the symptoms of OCD.

1. Education: Patients with OCD should get to know as much as possible about the disorder they are suffering from. You should help an OCD affected patient by providing them with the opportunity to read about the disease and talk to other patients, along with regular appointments with a clinician. A treatment plan has to be developed. OCD patients in an acute treatment stage should be taken to a doctor every week, in order to discuss their progress.
2. Therapy: Therapy helps them cope with the symptoms of OCD. Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is undertaken for treating patients with OCD. This mode of treatment gives the patients psychological tools, which help them resist the ill effects of the condition.
3. Medication: Medicines are not required for all OCD patients. Some patients diagnosed with the condition are prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSIs for dealing with the symptoms of OCD. The medicines should be taken for a period of three to four weeks before any results are experienced. 12 weeks are required for a patient to know whether the medicines are working or not. An SRI is ineffective in some cases, and you may be prescribed non-selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor like Clomipramine. This affects the serotonin but has positive impacts on other neurotransmitters in your brain.
4. Family support: Family members play an important part in helping OCD patients manage their condition by providing constant support, staying calm, and being educated about the condition. OCD patients should be treated with affection and should be complimented often. The observations of the patient by family members help a doctor in determining the patient’s condition. As a family member or close friend, you must never be critical about the patient or state negative comments about his condition. Such feedback causes the patient’s condition to worsen. Family members should discuss all problems they face regarding the patient to a doctor.

Patients who have completed OCD treatment require monthly check-ups with a doctor for six months. A year of cognitive therapy is required to be carried out, along with the intake of prescribed medicines.