"Quiz: Are You Suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? 10 Self-Assessment Tips"
Identifying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Self-Assessment Methods
In today's fast-paced work and lifestyle, many people may experience shifts in their mental wellbeing. What better ways can we have to determine if we suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? Here are some self-assessment methods for your reference.
Self-Assessment Methods for OCD
- I frequently wash my hands repeatedly for extended periods, exceeding normal necessity.
- I often worry unreasonably that I have contracted a certain illness.
- I believe I should adhere to specific routines for dressing, undressing, cleaning, and walking.
- I am compelled to repeat tasks until I consider them done perfectly.
- I frequently imagine that my carelessness or minor mistakes will lead to catastrophic consequences.
- Sometimes, I have to repeat the same content, sentence, or number several times without reason.
- In certain situations, I fear losing control and acting awkwardly.
- I am troubled by the need to remember insignificant details perfectly.
- I sometimes experience unexplained urges to destroy certain objects or harm others.
- Under certain circumstances, even when ill, I feel compelled to overeat.
Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Can OCD be treated? Generally, OCD develops slowly with a prolonged course, and symptoms may persist for years with varying severity. Symptoms typically improve after treatment. The primary treatments currently available include:
Family and Interpersonal Relationship Therapy
This method emphasizes interpersonal factors, providing counseling for both the patient and their family members during treatment.
Medication
Anti-anxiety medications can alleviate anxiety, facilitating psychotherapy and behavioral therapy.
Psychotherapy
This emphasizes analyzing and resolving conflicts among various psychological phenomena through insight, emotional experience modification, and self-enhancement. During treatment, explanation, empathy analysis, self-association, and self-reconstruction techniques are widely applied.
Behavioral Therapy
The most commonly used methods are systematic desensitization and exposure therapy. Gradual exposure to both imagined and real-life anxiety-provoking situations is particularly effective. As exposure is prolonged, success depends on the patient's ability to alleviate anxiety and regain composure. Therefore, this approach requires a longer treatment duration, approximately 2 hours.
Self-Treatment for OCD
If you have OCD, you can be your own behavioral therapist. Learn basic OCD knowledge. Under medical guidance, learn how to expose yourself to triggering obsessions, how to resist obsessive thoughts and urges. Practice distraction, shifting your focus away from obsessive symptoms, even for a few minutes. Any enjoyable, constructive activity works. Engage in hobbies like walking, exercising, listening to music, reading, or playing computer games. Remember, avoid habitual rumination and remind yourself, "My OCD is acting up again; I must do something meaningful instead."
