The syndrome of compulsive states is expressed in the fact that people are harassed by thoughts, actions, impulses, which can not be got rid of. Medical language obsessive thoughts are called obsessions, and actions are compulsions. Obsessive movements, manipulations turn into rituals, which can not be disturbed by a patient with a neurosis, this causes panic.
Symptoms of a neurosis
A neurotic disorder appears when the metabolism of certain substances( neurotransmitters) is broken in the nerve endings - serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline. Their task is to carry nerve impulses, and when the disorder of this function occurs, a person changes. Neurosis is often caused by stress and fueled by problems in the future, a person falls ill with experiences, and they do not allow him to become healthy.
Obsessive-compulsive states
Obsessive-phobic neurosis, which is also a neurosis of compulsive states, can be characterized by thoughts, doubts, fears, perceptions that a person is unable to control. At the same time, a patient with ROC realizes that something is wrong with him, sees his problems, tries to fight them. Signs of the obsessive-compulsive disorder:
- Doubts, suspiciousness, anxiety, pathological self-doubt. The man repeatedly checks whether the iron, gas is turned off, dishes are washed, etc. The patient with a neurosis does not trust his feelings, becomes anxious.
- Concerns, agonizing fear, doubts about your ability to perform any upcoming actions: speak to the audience, recall and tell the poem.
- Obsessive thoughts, infinite mental reproduction of names, surnames, verse lines.
- "Stuck in the head" scraps of words, persistent ideas, contrary to the present attitudes of man, "delusional" thoughts( what will happen if the dog grows the fifth leg).
- Phobias and persecutory fears, for example, fear of heart disease( cardio phobia), indoor spaces( claustrophobia), and more.
- Obsessive actions when there is an aspiration to perform something without the need for that: to count objects that fall on your eyes, to stretch your neck all the time, to straighten your hair, arrange objects, constantly wash your hands, obsessive cleaning.
- Views, haunting bright memories( a fragment of a melody, other sound images from which it is impossible to get rid of, visual representations).
- Memories, when again and again the details of unpleasant events come to mind, some fragments of what happened.
Compulsive behavior of
Obsessive-compulsive disorder( OCD) in an adult manifests itself in external behavior:
- compulsive overeating looks like a "seizure of the problem" to relieve stress, internal discomfort;
- diet - obsessive fasting before losing weight;
- gambling, the need for risk, gambling;
- workaholism, the need to be busy, full immersion in the work;
- need for achievements, turning into obsession, tiresome race for the symbol symbolizing well-being( home, expensive car);
- exhaustion of oneself by physical exercises;
- compulsive need for sex, multiple links;
- thirst for stress, adventure;
- flight, the desire to escape from life's problems, refusal to contact;
- obsessive need to spend, make ill-considered purchases( shopaholism);
- fanaticism - the desire to have an idol, to worship;
- thirst to organize everything, paint life on points, regulate.
Obsessive-compulsive motion syndrome in children
Obsessive-compulsive syndrome in young patients is often confused with tics, uncontrolled muscle contractions, twitchings. Ticks do not always have psychological causes, they can not be tracked and kept. Obsessive movements give in to strong-willed effort and always talk about psychological discomfort. All obsessive movements can not be enumerated, there are many, they are individual. The main sign of neurosis is that all these actions are repeated almost per minute, accompanied by hysterics, insomnia. Symptoms of a neurosis:
- nibbling of nails;
- clicking with your fingers;
- smacking lips, jerking lips, biting lips;
- striving to bypass objects on the left or just on the right;
- the child constantly and sharply twists a head, twirls buttons, blows on a palm.
OCD - what is this disease
There are common obsessions or obsessions with obsessive-compulsive disorder( OCD).Patients with obsessive-compulsive syndrome are afraid of microbes, infections, have different phobias, are manic punctual, strive for accuracy and symmetry, are subject to sexual thoughts or images. Obsessive thoughts can appear in a healthy person, but in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder they "go off scale".The patient with the compulsive disorder syndrome is experiencing anxiety, which he tries to "extinguish" by compulsions reminiscent of rituals.
Obsessive movements, which the person repeats in obsessive-compulsive disorder, have a "protective" role for him, performing these actions, he tries to drown out internal panic. Compulsions can have the character of physical actions( checking whether the tile is off, if the door is closed, water does not pour) or thoughts( pronouncing the phrase in your mind, counting).Neurosis can be hereditary, conditioned by neurological problems or arise as an autoimmune reaction( associated with streptococcal infection in children).
Diagnosis of neurosis
The psychiatrist can diagnose a neurosis of compulsive states. To do this, the patient is examined, his survey and conversation with relatives, domestic. If there is a suspicion of brain damage, an MRI or computed tomography scan is prescribed. The psychiatrist also makes differential diagnosis to exclude other mental disorders, such as psychopathy, early stage schizophrenia, and brain tumors.
Yale-Brown scale
The degree of severity of the obsessive-compulsive disorder is measured on the Yale-Brown scale. There are 10 items in which the symptoms of OCD are listed, and in sub-points 5 of their severity, each has a score of 0 to 4. Answering test questions, the patient evaluates the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder within a week. The number of points determines how much neurosis is expressed, from the subclinical state( the initial stage) to the extremely severe degree of OCD.
Treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder
Help in obsessive states is chosen depending on the cause of OCD:
- If neurosis is due to endogenous depression( temporary disruption in the brain metabolism of dopamine or serotonin), to cure it, antidepressants and psychotherapy are used.
- When OCD, as an independent disease, antidepressants are supplemented with drugs from other groups, psychotherapy is used.
- With neurosis and reactive depression( reaction to stress), priority is given to psychotherapy, and medications are secondary.
- In the case of obsessive-compulsive disorder on the background of neurasthenia( nervous exhaustion), the basis of treatment is nootropic drugs.
OCD is treated with folk remedies:
- almonds increase cerebral activity;
- walnuts help to establish a balance of substances in the brain, increase serotonin, melatonin;
- poppy helps to eliminate depression;
- St. John's wort works like an antidepressant.
Rational psychotherapy
With this form of treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder, the therapist works with the patient, using reasoned statements to create a true "internal picture of the disease," that is, the correct attitude of the patient with OCD to his disease. This method was developed in the early twentieth century by Paul Dubois, a Swiss neurologist. At the heart of his conception lies the idea that neuroses are a consequence of the wrong ideas and conclusions of the patient. You can defeat neurosis if you change attitudes toward it.
Medical treatment of neurosis
The main method used to treat the obsessive-compulsive disorder in Russia is medication. Combat with obsessive-compulsive syndrome help preparations of the following groups:
- Antidepressants: Sertraline, Clomipramine, Fluoxetine.
- Tranquilizers( anxiolytics): Clonazepam, Relanium, Laurafen, Phenazepam. Anksiolitiki appoint patients with OCD short courses to restore sleep and relieve anxiety. If you take them for a long time, then in addition to the neurosis, addiction will develop.
- In severe chronic forms of the compulsive disorder syndrome, atypical psychotropic( neuroleptics) is prescribed: Aminazine, Truksal.