Medical Symptoms - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

Medical symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

I have been nursing in many fields of medicine for nearly 40 years. I have seen so much. People are more sick today than they ever have been. No doubt, with good reason. A polluted environment, inferior food, no health insurance, stress, stress, and more stress. Is there any wonder?

People come to the emergency room because of illness, pain, disease, or fear. They worry that they have some disease based on medical symptoms they have heard about and may be experiencing. They want answers to their medical questions, regarding their medical symptoms.

The purpose of this lens is to answer a few of those questions regarding Obsessive Complusive Disorder or OCD. Hopefully if you are suffering with the medical symptoms of this disease or know someone who is, you may find this lens to be helpful.

Are You Bothered by Any of These Symptoms?

Do you find yourself being bothered by certain things that seem out of order in your lives? Do you check over and over if the pictures are straight, or the fringe on the rug is combed out? Do you have to check again and again that the stove is turned off or that the door is locked? Do you count things uncontrollably? Are you obsessed with washing your hands, they are just never clean enough? Would it make you just nuts if you ever threw anything away? You just have to keep it incase some day you might have a need for it?

These are just a very few of the symptoms of OCD also known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. If these types of things are happening in your life, you may have this disorder.

These behaviors can be extremely persistent to the point of upsetting your life and routine. It can range from very mild that really doesn't bother you or anyone else to quite severe, that you are unable to function due to the distractions and it is very noticeable to others.

Resources for Medical Symptoms

Other diseases or symptoms

Another Resource for Medical Symptoms: other diseases discussed regarding what is it? and do I have it?
MRSA- Staph Superbug: A huge and growing problem for everyone, health care workers and patients alike. It is everywhere. You must protect yourself.

Obsessive Hand Washing

Notice how the skin is red and raw from excessive scrubbing. Some people will scrub their skin with boiling hot water and use wire brushes to try to get the skin clean enough. But are frequently not able to satisfy themselves, causing sking damage so severe they require progressive treatment.

Don't Step on a Crack

Being obsessed with not stepping on a crack in the sidewalk or floor is very hindering to any kind of normal life. It is also requires anyone suffering with this particular symptom to never be able to walk with their head up.

Hoarding

People become obsessed with everything they own or have ever owned. They can not throw anything away, frequently it is so severe that they will even hoard their garbage. People who suffer with this will rent storage units after they have completely filled their homes so as to continue with their hoarding.

Interestingly enough, people who hoard everything they own are usually not all that interested in cleaness or tidiness which is normally one of the paramount symptoms of OCD.

Not A Laughing Matter

Obviously this disorder has two components, obsession and compulsion. The obsession is the desire to accomplish or the fear of being unable to accomplish such as fear of germs. The compulsion is the behavior that results from what they are obsessing over, frequently repetitive such as incessant hand washing.

Another example of obsession is someone who is fearful of not being loved by someone. The compulsive behavior might be they have to count things or clean things and they actually fear that if do not do this ritual, whatever it is, they will not be loved by this individual. It is an overwhelming and irresistible feeling that they can no cope with on an intellectual level. It is very emotional and controlling for them and extremely anxiety producing.

We laugh at the antics of the TV character, Monk or the grumpy OCD played by Jack Nicholas in "As Good As It Gets", but OCD is a very serious matter not to be taken lightly. People with sever forms of this disease are sometimes completely incapacitated. They are not able to live normal lives. They sometimes can not hold jobs, finish school or even live alone. Sometimes these people will isolate themselves from
"normal" life since they cannot cope with it. Sometimes they can not even go out in public and deal with "normal" people.

Television's Famous OCD: Monk

A famous example of someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the TV Detective Monk. That character is depicted as loveable and charming but highly affected by his disorder. That is a severe case indeed.

The Movie About An OCD That has Problems Coping Starring Jack Nicholson

OCD Cartoon

Boy Does This Make the Point

Medical Symptoms: Different Medical Resources of Interest

Some interesting reads that might be useful

Many times there are diseases, medical symptoms or terms that we are unfamiliar with. Sometimes it is good to know your disease. Here are some resources that may be useful for you.

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OCD- Is there hope

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Presentation

This was created to demonstrate what Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can look like. This was a project for my nursing class, however, it is a serious life altering disorder, and needs to be taken seriously.

4.6578946

Runtime: 171
120920 views
264 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Excellent Resources for Medical Symptoms and Diseases

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Severe Symptom of OCD: Skin Picking

Another severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder is the manifestation of chronic skin picking. Skin picking by definition is the recurrent picking of the skin accompanied by visible tissue damage, resulting in significant distress and/or functional impairment. (Flessner, 2)

Classified as an obsessive compulsive disorder, skin picking most frequently occurs in females with the onset of the disorder happening at or close to the age 16. Very little research has been done regarding this disorder, But research done by the university of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studied the soical problems and economic impact on skin picking. The results of this study were analyzed and significant relationships were revealed between chronic skin picking and depression or anxiety disorders, which as we have already discerned is the very basis of obsessive compulsive disorder and is therefore skin picking is listed as a manifestation of this same disease.

The most commonly picked area on the body is the face, arms and legs, indicating a reason for depression in many because of the permanent scarring that can result from recurrent skin picking. A surprising fact found in the study was that those who pick their skin actually spend 2.75 hours per day picking the skin, resisting the urge to pick the skin, or thinking about picking the skin.

It is a devastating symptom of the disorder because many people try to hide their OCD and try to fit in to the "normal" world as best they can but the skin pickers have physical evidence of their disorder that can leaved the permanently scared and frequently requiring medical attention for skin infections.

Skin Picking Disorder

Everyone battles something. Share what bothers you.

Do you have any medical symptoms

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Yes, I'm a real case

inkserotica says:

I've a number of niggly problems that aren't serious in themselves (apart from the depression) but do wear me down over a long period of time. My only explanation for all this is that I'm a HSP :)

Posted October 23, 2008

nightbear says:

Yes, I have mild OCD now, for years it was much more controlling but the love of a good man helped me more than science.

Posted October 22, 2008

No, Right as rain

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