Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – A fight with oneself!! The Role of Homoeopathy.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – A fight with oneself!! The Role of Homoeopathy.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which individuals have recurrent, disturbing thoughts they can’t prevent unless they engage in specific behaviors. It is a type of mental illness. People with OCD can have either obsessive thoughts and urges or compulsive, repetitive behaviors, such type of disorder can affect your job, school, and relationship. Your thoughts and action are beyond your control, although you may not want to think or do these things. You feel helpless to stop. Obsessive thought can include lot of fears of getting hurt, constant awareness of blinking, breathing or other sensations of body, suspiciousness.

With an example I want to tell you what exactly is the meaning of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – have you ever left your home, gotten halfway down the street, and then returned to see if you really locked the door or turned off the stove and have you ever worried about catching a disease by touching infected people or objects? Most of us will say yes, we do have had such experiences, and they are completely normal, but some people experience intense anxiety about such concerns. These individuals have disturbing thoughts or images that they cannot get rid off their minds (obsessions) unless they perform some action or ritual that somehow reassures them and helps to break the cycle (compulsions). These compulsive thoughts then become compulsive habits. Unfortunately, obsessing or being obsessed are commonly used terms in everyday language. The more casual use of these words means that someone is preoccupied with the thought, an idea or even a person.

WHAT CAN BE THE CAUSE OF SUCH REACTIONS?

Not all rituals or forms of repetitive behavior normal repetitive behavior that feature everyday life may include bedtime routine, religious practices and learning a new skill. We all have repetitious thoughts occasionally for example – after watching a film containing disturbing scenes of violence and if we are sensitive to it we may find ourselves thinking about these over and over again, but it will be temporary, but individuals who develop OCD are unable to do so. They get anxious by their obsessive thoughts but they can’t dismiss them from their minds. Moreover, all these thoughts arise from past experiences, that make a fixed idea in their mind that some thoughts are so dangerous that must be voided at all costs, they feel only by performing specific actions which can ensure their safety and reduce their anxiety and fear and day by day because these rituals do help reduce anxiety, the tendency to perform them gets stronger.

Fear is a powerful emotion that can play an important role in survival. Common OCD compulsions include – washing and cleaning, including constant hand washing, checking including checking body parts or checking that nothing terrible happened, repeating, mental compulsions, including praying to prevent harm.

GENETICS – Individuals with OCD are more likely to have first degree family members exhibiting the same disorder than do matched controls. In cases where OCD develops during childhood, there is a much stronger familial link in the disorder than cases in which OCD develops later in adulthood. A mutation has been found in the human serotonin transporter gene.

AUTO IMMUNE DISORDER – In some cases of rapid onset of OCD in children and adolescents may be caused by a syndrome connected to group a  streptococcal infections, known as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders

COGNITIVE MODELS

Cognitive models -Suggest that dysfunctional beliefs & maladaptive appraisal underlie unhelpful strategies in the management of intrusive phenomena. Such strategies lead to extreme reactions to specific intrusive thoughts, images or urges resulting in obsessive & compulsive symptoms.

NEUROBIOLOGICAL: Neurobiological model of obsessive-compulsive disorder: evidence from recent neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings. OCD was previously considered refractory to most types of therapeutic intervention. There is now, however, ample evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and behavior therapy are highly effective methods for treatment of OCD. Furthermore, recent neurobiological studies of OCD have found a close correlation between clinical symptoms, cognitive function, and brain function. A large number of previous neuroimaging studies using positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have identified abnormally high activities throughout the frontal cortex and subcortical structures in patients with OCD. Most studies reported excessive activation of these areas during symptom provocation. Furthermore, these hyperactivities were decreased after successful treatment using either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or behavioral therapy. Based on these findings, an orbitofronto-striatal model has been postulated as an abnormal neural circuit that mediates symptomatic expression of OCD.

TREATMENT: Common treatment involves counselling such as cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes antidepressants such as a selective serotine reuptake inhibitors or clomipramine but we have homeopathy which has treasures to deal with psychiatric issues.

Homeopathy follows the law of individualization which means every individual is different from other individual in mental state, physical symptoms, behavior, personal habits, hobbies, sleep pattern, occupation etc.,. These characteristics define the overall makeup or temperament of the person and homeopathy treats the individual as a whole. Every individual perceives each situation differently and reacts in a unique way depending upon his temperament.

Past experiences weather emotional or physical experiences with oneself or with your associated people contribute a huge amount of role. In homeopathy we find the cause on individual level. We understand the concept and ideas in a patient. We analyze the emotions that lead to compulsive disorders. In homeopathy we call such fears and emotions as DELUSIONS that is the fertilizer for every compulsive disease.

Delusion is a false perception of reality. Perception is what you think about the reality. It is your individual way of thinking which is far different from reality. The whole mental state of a person is an expression of the disease which is called as DELUSION. What is disease? It is not the local physical problem but the root cause of every disease which lies in the mental state. Every illness that manifests in human body first comes on mental sphere and in fact it is the real disease of the individual. The way patient thinks, behaves, feels, likes, dislikes etc plays a great role in building up the delusion. The delusional state of the person needs to be treated not merely with the signs and symptoms but from the root as the disease can reoccur.

About the Author:

Dr.Sahil Gupta is a Doctor in Homeopathy (BHMS, MD (AM),PG Homeopathy from London UK),MA  PSYCHOLOGY,PGDACG, Certified in DRUG DEADDICTION, COUNSELING, MENTAL HEALTH & GUIDANCE. He practices in Jammu (J&K) INDIA, and can be reached at sahil.gupta123892@gmailll.com or via Dr.Sahil Gupta (+91 9018067072)