Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a behavioral health condition that manifests as anxious thoughts, sensations and behaviors. Apart from traditional medical treatments, brain stimulation proves effective.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is usually overlooked or considered a source of great hilarity. A person who seems to do the same things again and again or even has the same thoughts repeatedly becomes a laughing stock for everyone around.
However, these irrational obsessions or compulsions are actually beyond the person’s control to the extent that they can affect normal life as well. The compulsive behavior could be anything like someone washing their hands over and over, checking locks or switches all the time, counting everything they see, wanting things to be arranged in a certain format, fear of touching things because they may be contaminated, wanting to clean everything and so on. Similarly, obsessive thoughts range from constant worrying about oneself or others, suspicions about others’ behavior or intentions and baseless fears to constant awareness of body sensations and the like.
This is medically classified as a genuine neurological condition. People suffering from OCD may be aware that the thoughts or actions are excessive or unreasonable, but still feel compelled to think or behave in the same pattern. It becomes impulsive and they are beyond logic or reasoning. It is almost as if the mental condition is driving their life and they are forced to act or think in that manner.
What to do?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental disorder that requires medical assistance. If left untreated, it will interfere with the person’s work and life and can even drive him or her to suicide.
A psychiatrist will try to diagnose the condition through physical examination and blood tests. A psychological evaluation plays a crucial role as discussing the thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns will enable the medical professional to evaluate the type and extent of the OCD.
While there is no prescribed cure for OCD, counseling and medications are the most common approach. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help bring a gradual change in the thought process while antidepressants can help control the obsessions or compulsions. Additionally, there are intensive outpatient and residential treatment programs at mental health treatment centers for chronic cases.
Apart from the above, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is gaining traction as an effective treatment for OCD when traditional treatments fail to deliver satisfactory results. In fact, direct TMS is an FDA-approved, non-invasive and safe procedure that is widely used to treat depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders. Brainsway’s dTMS has recently been approved for treatment of OCD as well.
Medical health centers that provide Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation near Centennial use an electromagnetic field to soothe the hyper-connected pathways in the brain that are responsible for the anxious thoughts and behaviors.
A helmet shaped device containing magnetic coils is placed over the patient’s head which delivers magnetic pulses deep into the brain. Improvement is gradual and the symptoms either go away or become manageable in about 30 sessions or less.
