(Source: NIMH 03/04)
Persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
suffer intensely from recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or rituals
(compulsions) which they feel they cannot control. Rituals such as hand-washing, counting,
checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive
thoughts or making them go away.
Performing these rituals however provides only temporary relief, and not
performing then markedly increases anxiety.
Left untreated, obsessions and the need to perform rituals can take over
a person’s life. OCD is often a chronic,
relapsing illness.
§
About 2.3% of the U.S. population ages 18-54-approximately 3.3 million
Americans-has OCD in a given year.
§
OCD affects men and women equally.
§
OCD typically begins during adolescence or early childhood.
§
OCD cost the U.S. $8.4 billion in 1990 in social and economic losses,
nearly 6% of the total mental health bill of $148 billion.
What
Treatments Are Available for OCD?
Treatments for OCD have been developed through
research supported by the NIMH and other research institutions. These treatments, which combine medications
and behavioral therapy (a specific type of psychotherapy), are often effective.
Several medications have been proven effective in
helping people with OCD: clomipramine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline, and
paroxetine. If one drug is not
effective, others should be tried. A
number of other medications are currently being studied.
A type of behavioral therapy known as “exposure and
response prevention” is very useful for treating OCD. In this approach, a person is deliberately
and voluntarily exposed to whatever triggers the obsessive thoughts, and then
is taught techniques to avoid performing the compulsive rituals and to deal
with the anxiety.
Recent Research
Findings
There is growing evidence that OCD represents
abnormal functioning of brain circuitry, probably involving a part of the brain
called the striatum. OCD is not caused
by family problems or attitudes; learned in childhood, such as an inordinate emphasis
on cleanliness, or belief that certain thoughts are dangerous or
unacceptable. Brain imaging studies
using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET) have compared
people with and without OCD. Those with
OCD have patterns of brain activity that differ from people with other mental
illnesses or people with no mental illness at all. In addition, PET scans shows that in patients
with OCD, both behavioral therapy and medication produce changes in the
striatum. This is graphic evidence that
both a psychotherapy and medication effect the brain.
Can People
With OCD Have Other Illnesses?
OCD is sometimes accompanied by depression eating
disorders, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or other
anxiety disorders. When a person also
has other disorders, OCD is often more difficult to diagnose and treat.
Symptoms of OCD also coexist and may even be part of
a spectrum of other brain disorders, such as Tourette’s syndrome. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of other
disorders are important to successful treatment of OCD.
For More
Information About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Other Anxiety Disorders,
Write:
The Anxiety Disorders Education Program,
National Institute of Mental Health,
6001 Executive Blvd.,
Room 8184,
MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD
20892-9663
Or call 301-443-4513
Publications and other information are also
available online from the NIMH Anxiety Disorders Web site at
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety or by calling toll free 1-88-88-ANXIETY
(1-888-826-9438).
For More Information About NIMH
The Office of Communications and Public Liaison
carries out educational activities and publishes and distributes research
reports, press releases, fact sheets, and publications intended for
researchers, health care providers, and the general public. A publications list may be obtained by
contacting:
The Office of Communications and Public Liaison,
NIMH
Information Resource and Inquiries Branch
6001 Executive Blvd.,
Room
8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD
20892-9663
Phone:
301-443-4513
FAX: 301-443-4279
Mental Health FAX 4U: 301-443-5158
E-Mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
NIMH home page address:
www.nimh.nih.gov
For More Information on Mental Illnesses:
Alliance for the Mentally
Ill
NAMI of Greater Chicago
1536 West Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
312-563-0445