- What is and what is not OCD?
- Is OCD curable?
- At what age does OCD begin?
- Is there a trigger for OCD? Can it be prevented?
- Are there differences in the symptoms of OCD experienced by boys and girls?
- How long do symptoms have to last for an OCD diagnosis?
- What is the treatment for OCD?
- What is the approximate time it takes for a person with OCD to experience a reduction in their symptoms during therapy?
- If you take medication and it works, do you need to take it for life?
- Do yoga, meditation, or other therapies work for OCD?
- Is OCD dangerous for the person who has it?
- How can we differentiate OCD from the symptoms of ASD?
- If a child with ASD has OCD, should we leave it alone or try to reduce or eliminate it?
- Is OCD associated with ADHD or bipolar disorder?
- How can I tell if my son or daughter has OCD?
- My daughter's hair is constantly breaking, which weakens it. She's even gone into the house up to 10 times to check that the gas was off. What can we do to stop her?
- How can we help our daughter with OCD to gain more self-confidence and reduce her anxiety?
- Why does a person with OCD generally have thoughts related to magic and religion?
- What should mothers do if they detect exaggerated symptoms in their children that cause suffering?
- Can people with pathological jealousy be treated with strategies similar to those used for people with OCD?
- I have an 11-year-old daughter who does a lot of things that seem like OCD. Is a diagnosis necessary? I'm afraid the label will overshadow the disorder itself, and that any behavior will be excused because she has OCD.
- I was diagnosed with OCD 20 years ago, I can't stop talking to myself (silently or in a low voice) and I get very distracted. Why might this be and what can I do?
- What can we, as a family, do if our adult daughter refuses help and has no interest in getting better?
- When my OCD drives the people around me crazy, what should they do?
- What is the difference between having tics and doing compulsions?
Why does a person with OCD generally have thoughts related to magic and religion?
The content of obsessions can vary greatly among affected individuals, and often a single person may have several different obsessions simultaneously, or these may change throughout their life. So-called magical thinking (usually the fear that something bad will happen to oneself or a loved one, or sometimes to anyone in general) is a very common theme in people with OCD and is often accompanied by repetitive rituals (touching an object several times, repeating an action such as sitting down or getting up from a chair or bed, dressing and undressing, the need to repeat certain words or phrases, etc.), a need for order/symmetry (arranging objects in a certain way), and avoidance behaviors (not stepping on certain areas of the floor, not touching certain objects, etc.). These obsessions are usually experienced with intense anxiety, as the person feels guilty, believing that if they don't carry out their ritual, something terrible might happen to themselves or their loved ones.
Another distinct theme is religious (which affects around 20% of people with OCD) and may be related to moral issues (about doing or not doing certain actions that are considered morally incorrect) or to impulses/images of blasphemy or sacrilege (fear of having insulting or aggressive thoughts or impulses towards religious figures).
It is important to remember that, on the other hand, the most frequent obsessive symptoms are:
- Doubts or fear of making a mistake that could have a negative consequence , which are associated with checking rituals (present in 60% of people with OCD)
- Fears of contagion of diseases or contact with dirt , with washing/cleaning rituals (which are present in 40-50% of people with OCD).
- Aggressive or "repugnant" obsessions in the form of images or impulses in which the person fears losing control and causing harm to a loved one
- Obsessions with sexual content in which the person may be afraid of feeling sexual attraction to children, their own family members, etc.
In these cases, it is very important to reassure her, explain that these types of thoughts are obsessions, and help her recognize them without fear, with the certainty that they pose no risk to herself or to those close to her.
