Prevailing thoughts, rituals, and routines may have control over your troubled teen’s life if he or she is struggling with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It may come to a point where these rituals or routines have more control over your teenager’s life than he himself has.
The disorder, aptly titled, may be described by obsessive thoughts and in turn the compulsive actions which go with them. These obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions significantly affect how one functions in society. It may put a considerable amount of stress on the manner in which one interacts with others in his or her normal environment (may it be the workplace or at school).
Studies have shown that in every 200 teenagers in the U.S. there is one teen that may be suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to some degree. There have been studies that have shown connections between family members with the disorder, yet it has not been proven that the occurrence of the disorder in one family member may necessarily lead to its manifestation in another.
When you notice that ordinary routines of your teen have actually become ritualistic behaviors, you may worry. Once these behaviors significantly affect his or her normal social functioning than the problem you may have at hand may be more than just an ordinary habit. Your teen may be dealing with the makings of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
First you may wonder, what exactly are obsessions?
Persistent thoughts may be considered obsessions. Your teen may lose control of these obsessions. Usual obsessions include those concerning cleanliness and neatness, or anxiety about causing harm to one’s self or another.
What, on the other hand, are compulsions?
The actions that one may take in reaction to one’s obsessions may be considered compulsions. In order to relieve one’s self of these obsessive thoughts a teen may resort to compulsions. For example, a teenager scared of a robber may check the door knob to make sure it’s locked many times before he or she leaves the dorm. Usual compulsions include checking, counting, repeating, organizing, and washing.
Diagnosis
If someone suspects that your teenager may be suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, he or she may refer your teen to a mental health professional that may give a proper diagnosis. In order to diagnose your teen an extensive measurement scale is used. The Yale-Brown Obesessive-Compulsive Scale which determines the severity of OC symptoms may be used.
Treatment
Once your teenager has been diagnosed with OCD, certain medications have proven to aid in treatment of the disorder. SSRI’s such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Luvox have shown to lessen symptoms by up to 80%. Medication along with psychotherapy has been proven to be greatly efficient in treatment of the disorder.
