Understanding OCD

QUESTION: Understanding OCD – Why am I like this?

ANSWER:

Understanding OCD can be very difficult for those going through it and also friends and family members. Why am I like this or why is my family member behaving like this? Can I do anything to help myself or help them?

OCD generally begins earlier with boys. Equal numbers of boys and girls or men and women have the disorder. It can begin in your childhood, but most frequently begins in the teen or adult years.

People faced with this disorder can’t always understand why they are the way they are. OCD can be so debilitating that a person may never get out of the house. Most people who have OCD know their thoughts and actions are unreasonable, but they can’t control them and they can’t stop them. A person will try to get over their obsessive thoughts by performing the same action over and over again which only repeats the compulsive behavior.

There can be many different factors that cause OCD. They can be biological, psychological, or genetic in nature -- possibly a combination of two or more. To understand OCD, we need to get a handle on these causes.

Psychological factors all revolve around a perceived fear. Sometimes there is a fear in an object or thought. The object will be avoided at all costs and the thoughts are misinterpreted as fearful thoughts.

Biologically, a lack of serotonin in the brain is linked with OCD. People who are obsessive/compulsive don’t have enough of this essential chemical in their brain.

Genetically, researchers are looking at the gene that contains serotonin. It appears that OCD can be passed from generation to generation.

Whatever the cause, treatment is available. There is hope. One thing is certain. God has promised to never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). He is always the same (Hebrews 13:8). God will always be with you and He wants the best for you.