Obsessions take place involuntary. These are apparently uncontrollable thoughts, images, or impulses that take place over and over again in the mind of the person having such obsessions. The individual does not want to have such thoughts but he or she can’t stop them. Unfortunately, these obsessive thoughts cause disturbance and distraction from the normal routine works and the daily living of the individual.
Compulsions are such repeatedly performed behaviors or rituals that he or she feels compelled to act out. Such compulsions are performed in an attempt to take care of the obsessive thoughts and the performer will take to such tasks because he or she wants such obsessions to go away. For example, if someone is afraid of contamination and infection, he or she might develop obsession for cleaning everything and or not touching anything with bare hands and or may act out repeatedly washing and cleaning hands. The counseling and the guidance may provide temporary relief but it never lasts. The obsessive thoughts may come back stronger. Such compulsive behaviors end up causing anxiety themselves as the compulsive acts become more compulsive, demanding and time-consuming.
People afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder may fall into one of the following categories:
- Washers : they are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions.
- Checkers : they repeatedly check things (oven turned off, door locked, etc.) that they associate mentally with some kind of harm or danger to them or to their dearones .
- Doubters and sinners : their sense of perfection make them scared of many things. They believe and are afraid that if everything isn’t perfect ,something terrible will happen or they will be punished.
- Counters and arrangers. They are obsessed with, arrangement, perfect order and symmetry. They become superstitious about numbers, colors, arrangements, objects etc. .
- Hoarders : they fear that something bad will happen if they throw or waste anything away. They feel compelled to hoard things that they don’t need or do not use.
Alka Mansik Pramarsh Foundation Clinical Psychologists-Family therapists Indore 0731-4263087,9179383554 