DO I HAVE OCD?

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OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is a debilitating disorder that affects approximately 1-2% of the adult population and up to 5% of children and adolescents. It’s a disorder that is not very well understood and is often stereotypically characterized by phrases such as “neat freak” or “control freak”.

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OCD typically involves anxiety-based intrusive thoughts, urges or impulses (obsessions) that an individual tries to suppress with some form of compulsive action (compulsion).

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Compulsions are often repetitive and acted on with the intention to prevent an unwanted occurrence and decrease anxiety. These prevention efforts are usually extreme and may seem irrational to the objective eye. Oftentimes, school/work functioning is impacted because many hours are spent engaging in compulsive behaviors related to those relentless intrusive thoughts (obsessions).

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TYPES OF OCD

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OCD thoughts and behaviors fall into a number of different categories. Some examples include: aggression, contamination, sexual, hoarding, religious, symmetry, and illness.

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OCD THERAPY IN CHICAGO

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Our OCD therapists are trained in the gold standard treatment for OCD - Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).
 

Therapy sessions usually involve creating a hierarchy of feared situations based on an individuals’ OCD thoughts, practicing exposure to the feared triggers and consequences, and learning techniques to refrain from engaging in compulsive behaviors. Over time, with both therapy and medication, frequency and intensity of thoughts usually decrease and individuals no longer feel the need to engage in time-consuming compulsive behaviors.

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