Free «Obsessive Compulsion Disorder» Essay Sample

Obsessive Compulsion Disorder is a mental health problem that evokes the urge among the patients to check things repeatedly or to perform particular routines continuously. Some of the actions may include excessive hand washing, checking whether the door is shut or counting things several times. Therefore, the patients may waste much time on such tasks, which prevents them from achieving the daily targets (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). The causes of the problem remain unknown and once the patient develops an obsession, anxiety occurs prompting a corresponding behavior. In its turn, the action leads to a temporary relief before the patient develops another obsession. The current essay seeks to examine the disorder, by capturing its pathophysiology, statistics, clinical symptoms, treatment, and nursing intervention.     

Pathophysiology                                     

The pathophysiology of the disease functions as a cycle. The patient experiences an obsession or thoughts that are persistent and recur, even if the person tries to confront or ignore them. The thoughts disturb the mental stability of the person leading to the anxiety development. The person may also experience unwanted thoughts that relate to sensitive matters, such as, for example, sex or religion (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Other examples of such behaviors are a loving parent fearing to hurt his/her child or a religious person experiencing thoughts that amount to blasphemy. After the obsession causes anxiety, the patient engages in compulsive behavior to offset the stress that occurs in mind. Some examples of such behaviors include excessive hand washing, counting or checking on things. Regarding the cause of the problem, there is no clear evidence pointing towards it. Nevertheless, scholars repeatedly mention stress as one of the factors (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). The source of the disorder, therefore, remains unknown. 

Statistics Regarding the Problem

The disorder is a global issue that affects people at the cross-boundary level. According to Goodman, Grice, Lapidus, & Coffey (2014), the condition affects 2.3% of individuals all over the world but not in a particular age group. The authors also state that the disease has an annual rate of 1.2% at the global level (Goodman, et al., 2014). The symptoms rarely appear after 35 years and half of the cases develop at an age before 20. However, the cases affect the males and females equally. The members of the National Institute of Mental Health (2016) states that most of diagnosis are made at the age of 19, and that boys do not indicate earlier onsets compared to girls. In this regard, the disease affects both genders mainly during the teenage years.

Clinical Symptoms

Some patients suffering from Obsessive Compulsion Disorder develop a tic disorder that affects the eye blink and other movements, including shoulder shrugging, head jerking, and facial grimacing among others (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). People with the disorder may also have several other associated deviations. The examples are depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anorexia nervosa, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among others (Fenske, & Schwenk 2009). Therefore, the association of the OCD and other disorders necessitate comprehensive diagnosing.

Treatment of the Disorder

There are a variety of medications for the disease, but doctors tend to recommend different approaches to treating it. The Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and the Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor are the most traditional drugs (Grant, 2014), which are prescribed for the period of eight to twelve weeks. Clomipramine also belongs to the tricyclic antidepressants class and is as good as the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors but has more side effects. The drug is used as a second option for treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which results in low impairment of functions and as a first option for treatment of Obsessive Compulsion Disorder that causes moderate or severe impairment of brain functions. Grant (2014), further states that the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors have a high efficacy as most of the patients responds well to treatment. Surgery is also another option for overcoming the disease, and it is based on intentional surgical lesion of the brain. Vagus nerve stimulation and the deep brain stimulation are surgical options that do not cause brain tissue damage. Moreover, antipsychotic medication, such as Risperidone, is also useful in managing the situation (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Consequently, the condition has a variety of treatment methods.              

Nursing Intervention

Apart from medication, different nursing alternatives can also be used for treating the condition, such as the exposure response prevention. The nurses expose a patient to an obsession and then prevent him/her from a compulsive behavior. Such strategy gradually reduces the fear and anxiety, hence enabling the patient to cope with the obsession. For instance, for a patient who washes hands continuously, a nurse may place a dirty mixture on the table in front of the patient and tell him/her to touch the mix. Then, the nurse prevents the patient from washing hands for a particular period of time. After several sessions, the anxiety gradually reduces, and the patient learns to deal with the obsession.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Obsessive Compulsion Disorder is a mental health problem that evokes the urge among the patients to check things repeatedly or to perform particular routines continuously. After an obsession, anxiety develops making a patient engage in a compulsive behavior. The problem affects 2.3% of the world population. Some of the clinical symptoms are other disorders, such as the bipolar disorder. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and the Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are some of the medications used to treat the condition. The other example of intervention is the exposure response prevention, which is widely practiced in nursing. Regarding the above information, OCD is a global issue, but it has solutions.