10 - Obsessive – Compulsive Behaviour

The combination of obsessive-compulsive neurotic behaviours may involve obsessive thoughts, compulsive acts, or a combination of obsessive thoughts with compulsive acts.

Obsessions are simply persistent, irrational thoughts. Inappropriate thoughts occur and will not leave the mind voluntarily. For example, you may believe that if you do not attend every game your high school basketball team plays, they will lose. Then, you blame yourself for causing them to lose these games. That’s a strange idea, isn’t it? But that’s the kind of weird logic that surrounds obsessions. Obsessions are ideas heavily laden with strong emotions. A person may perceive obsessions to be dangerous because they violate the individual’s personal goals and values. The disruptions and annoyance that obsessions bring to the individual can cause a person to feel constrained and disorganized. 

A compulsion is an action that results from an irresistible inner force compelling the performance of an act without or even against the will of the individual. For example, handwashing is one of the most common of the compulsive acts. Most compulsions reveal a profound concern for cleanliness and order. It is as though the victim were trying in this way to wash out some guilty memory of past uncleanliness or misbehaviour. Compulsive behaviour is never altered in any detail; it is repetitive, ritualistic actions. Some compulsive behaviours might be an urge to count and then to recount something, persistent mannerisms (tics), and compulsive sexual behaviour.

Obsessions are persistent thoughts; compulsions are repetitive actions.

 

Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) are caused by a chemical imbalance. OCD usually starts in adolescence. People affected realize something is wrong with them. These people are intelligent and perform their everyday tasks. At the same time, they carefully conceal their secret disturbance from others. OCD tends to show up in other family members. There is no cure for OCD but it can be effectively controlled with drugs or therapy, which helps the individual to get the upper hand on this behaviour. OCD may affect as many as 3% of the population.

An unusual compulsive behaviour is hair pulling know as trichotillomania. Hair pulling is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medication can correct it although there is no known cure.

Related to compulsive disorders is the condition known as Tourette’s Syndrome. It is a condition that includes many different motor tics (related to body movement) and vocal tics. Motor tics include such things as eye blinking, mouth opening, grimacing, or shoulder shrugging. Vocal tics include such things as throat clearing, snorting, grunting, or barking. An individual may repeat sounds or words. In some cases, an individual may involuntarily use foul language (swearing) or may involuntarily make obscene gestures.

An individual experiencing Tourette’s Syndrome may have tics many times a day. The location of the tics on the body and their frequency can change over time. The disorder usually begins sometime during childhood and affects more males than females. Research is still not clear about causes but neurotransmitters in the brain are involved in some way. A variety of drugs may be used to keep the tics under control so they do not interfere with the individual’s daily life. Self-control is difficult for people with Tourette’s Syndrome because it is a complex neurochemical problem. The person with Tourette’s should not feel cornered either physically or emotionally. The goal of any treatment or therapy is not to eliminate the tics but to bring them under some measure of control.