Control ticks compulsions that determine everyday life

OCD: constraints determine everyday life

Is the stove really out? The front door completed? People who suffer from morbid control need to constantly check such things. A normal life is impossible with such an obsessive-compulsive disorder. But such constraints are easy to treat.

Affected people are aware of the futility of their thoughts
Forcibly disturbed persons are considered to be people with an exaggerated tendency to control and funny quirks. Since they are usually afraid to be laughed at, they usually keep their problem for as long as possible and are under tremendous pressure for that very reason. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder suffer from obsessive and uncontrollable obsessive thoughts, which usually cause them to carry out certain actions over and over again. Angelika Erhardt, Senior Consultant of the Psychiatric Outpatient Department at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich explains: „They check maybe 20 or 30 times if the stove is on because they are afraid they might forget it and cause something bad.“ Although they are aware of the absurdity and meaninglessness of these thoughts, they still do not succeed in stopping them.

Two out of every 100 people develop a pathological obsessive-compulsive disorder
According to the neuroscientist, about two in every 100 people develop OCD in the pathological sense during their lifetime. Factors that may play a role include hereditary predisposition, but above all also drastic life events and negative childhood experiences, such as an education that is characterized by pressure and high performance requirements. Among obsessive-compulsive disorders, control is a common form. But also washing compulsions, counting constraints, regulatory constraints or disease courses, which include several constraints, are possible. According to various press reports also Arne Schätzig (name changed) belonged to the latter circle. He developed control duties after a period of washing, which meant that he spent up to an hour a day in a particular phase of surveillance and had to make do with being too late for excuses. He explained part of the circumstances: „I did not think I had closed the car door or turned off the Internet on my cell phone and feared that the costs could get out of hand.“ At times he could not work anymore or participate in family life.

Compulsions can be treated very well today
Untreated, obsessive-compulsive disorders often lead to a downward spiral with ever-increasing suffering. Prof. Ulrich Voderholzer, medical director of the Schön Klinik Roseneck, specialist clinic for mental and psychosomatic diseases, in Prien am Chiemsee said: „The important message to those affected is that you can treat obsessions today very well. You are not helpless.“ The most promising is a behavioral therapy geared specifically to obsessive-compulsive disorder, which includes stimulus confrontation and teaches those affected to expose themselves to the force-triggering stimuli without performing their compulsive rituals. Another treatment option is the use of special psychotropic drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, according to Voderholzer, they are only a second choice: „Behavioral therapy is the more effective method.“ Although most of the constraints do not quite disappear, they can often be reduced to such a low level that they no longer interfere with everyday life. The chances of success are better, the sooner the treatment begins.

Lack of qualified therapists
According to Voderholzer, however, it takes an average of six years before the diagnosis is even made. Another problem is the lack of therapists qualified for obsessive-compulsive disorder and therefore many obsessive-compulsive disorder receives no or inadequate treatment. In addition, the schedules of specialized clinics and practices are often full in the long run. „Some patients are told to call again for an appointment in a year“, said Antonia Peters, CEO of the German Society for Obsessive-Compulsive Diseases. Peters, who supports patients with her colleagues, among other things in the search for physicians, stressed that patients should have the courage to open up and as soon as possible to get treatment. Also an expert of the professional association of German neurologists pointed out the importance of a treatment a few years ago. Accordingly, the health consequences of obsessive-compulsive disorder, such as constant tremors, excessive sweating, palpitations, inner restlessness or heart stumbling, can be prevented only with therapeutic measures. (Ad)