Week Two - Anxiety Disorders (Case Study 3)

Case Study 3: Bert is 40 years old and works on an assembly line in a brush factory. He is terribly afraid of being contaminated by germs. He avoids shaking hands with others. He won’t eat in the cafeteria. He has trouble leaving the bathroom because he isn’t sure he has washed his hands well enough.

According to the DSM-IV, Bert's compulsions are classified as repetitive behaviors which reduce his stress and anxiety; these compulsions are classically defined in OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD usually associated with persistent ideas, thoughts, and impulses that inhibit regular activities. The most extreme examples of OCD includes the fear of "contamination." Bert's symptoms confirm the diagnosis: reoccuring and persistant thoughts that can be intrusive in one's life, excessive worries about one's life, attempts to ignore such impulses, and a recognition of such impulses. Bert possess ALL of these, and thus would be a prime cantidad for OCD.

Treatment for OCD can be managed (but not treated!) with anti-depressants; however, some people find medication to be intrusive and, in a sense, has been documented by some to make them feel "numb." Another alternative is group therapy with other patients who also possess OCD. In fact, the latter is often described by many to be the best treatment. Patients with OCD commonly describe a feeling of isolation from others because of their inability to cope with their disorder, believing that they are "in it all alone." In these support groups, OCD patients are given the opportunity to meet with others who work with the same problems they do.






http://www.biologicalunhappiness.com/DSM-OCD.htm
http://www.peaceandhealing.com/personality/obsessive.asp
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/ocd/site/Transcripts/best_ocd_treatment.htm
http://www.ocdla.com/OCDtherapygroups.html