You return, again and again, to your house to make sure the doors are locked or the stove is off and, even when you find they are, your worry isn’t quelled. Or, perhaps your fear of germs has become heightened, especially during the pandemic, and your anxiety is at an all-time high.
These are just two examples of how obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can hijack your life, making you a veritable prisoner to your anxiety.
Here at Prime Psychiatry, our extensive team of mental health experts very much believes that mental health disorders shouldn’t impair your ability to live life freely. To help you live with OCD, we offer a wide range of treatment options that can help you take charge of your life.
Here’s a look.
A quick look at OCD
More than 40 million adults in the United States struggle with an anxiety disorder and, of these numbers, 2.2 million are affected by OCD
While we’re presenting numbers for adults, the average age of onset of OCD is 19, and one-quarter of cases are evident by the age of 14. In fact, one-third of people with OCD first experienced symptoms in childhood.
No matter the age, OCD often carries with it two components — obsession and compulsion, as the name implies. In basic terms, obsession refers to your thoughts while compulsion refers to your actions.
The combination of these two can make living with OCD considerably difficult as your thoughts turn into actions that can disrupt your life.
Preventing OCD from controlling you
One of the primary complaints that people with OCD have is that they feel imprisoned by the disorder as it can affect their ability to function “normally.” School, jobs, relationships — these are all areas that can be greatly affected by OCD.
While there may be no cure when it comes to OCD, there are plenty of ways in which we can help you manage this chronic condition, preventing it from hijacking your life.
At our practice, we understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to most mental health conditions, and this is certainly true of OCD. That said, there are universally effective techniques for controlling OCD and we offer them here.
These techniques include:
- Medications, such as antidepressants
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Exposure and response prevention (ERP)
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation
- Lifestyle changes
In most cases, patients benefit from a combination of therapies. For example, medications can go a long way toward addressing the obsession side of the OCD equation while therapies like CBT and ERP are effective in helping you control your compulsive behaviors.
Our team works diligently to find the right combination of therapies for each patient, and we can do the same for you. Our goal is the same as yours — taking the teeth out of your OCD so that you can enjoy a happy and productive life.
To learn more about your treatment options and how to best live with your OCD, contact our office in Frisco, Texas, to set up a consultation.