Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment
It is estimated that approximately 3% of the population suffers from some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It does affect both men and women with women having a slightly higher percentage of reported cases. Since there are several different ideas about what causes OCD but no definite answers, there is not a known cure for it. The best option to ensure people can live a normal life is to find a treatment that works well for them.
Not everyone responds to OCD treatments the same way and that can be frustrating. It depends on the patient’s willingness to take their medication daily as well as their dedication to other forms of therapy along with it. Not everyone responds well to medication because each of us have a different chemical make up. It also depends on the severity of the OCD.
There are two types of therapy that are used for OCD. Behavioral Therapy is used to help the individual alter their current behaviors. This will take time depending on the abilities of the individual and how severe the OCD is. For Behavioral Therapy to be effective the individual has to willingly address areas that need to be worked on, set goals, and identify steps to reach those goals.
Cognitive Therapy involves changing the way an individual perceives any given situation. This process involves the individual identifying areas that need to be changed and starting to understand them with a different point of view. For example someone with OCD who washed his hands 40 times a day can teach himself that he only needs to wash his hands 5 times a day to kill the same amount of germs.
Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Therapy may be used at the same time if necessary in more severe cases of OCD. It is very common to combine at least one of the therapies with different medications. There are various types of medications that can be tried until the patient uses one that is very effective for them. They are categorized as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. The most popular are Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft.
Treating OCD is not an easy concept. There is no set of directions to follow when it comes to administering the therapy or the medications. Therefore it is important that the doctors and psychiatrists involved in the treatment plan monitor the patient as well as see them often while experimenting with what is going to benefit the patient the most.
