Do you experience any of the following?

• Are you continually troubled or distressed by a recurring thought or idea that does not go away?
• Do you feel an overwhelming urge to perform a behaviour over and over again?
• Do you feel out of control?
• Do you feel overwhelmed with responsibility?
• Have you experienced intrusive images, thoughts and urges that don’t go away?
• Are you in fear of doubt?
• Do you demand 100% certainty?

Then you are not alone, you probably have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a disorder effecting at least 2% to 3% of the population

If any of the above resonates with you we may have the answers to your problems. We are a group of former OCD sufferers who have experienced and overcome all of the above. Our journey has taught us how to manage our anxieties and we have found freedom to gain back our lives. We feel so passionate about what we have discovered and have made it our mission to help and support others who experience the same. Curious? Then read on……….

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCD is an anxiety condition mostly triggered by stress or trauma, not caused by it. OCD consists of two components:

• Obsessions – are persistent they include impulses, ideas, images or thoughts that intrude into a persons thinking and causes excessive worry and anxiety
• Compulsions – are mental acts or repetitive behaviours performed in response to obsessions to relieve or prevent worry and/or anxiety

The contents of obsessions and compulsions vary from one individual to another and are as multifaceted and unique as those who suffer from them.

Compulsions can include either or both ‘overt’ rituals, such as excessive checking, washing, cleaning, rearranging, tapping etc and ‘covert’ rituals such as silently counting, praying, repeating certain words and mentally ruminating.

At first the compulsion may well work and gives the sufferer a sense of control and peace. However the solution soon becomes the problem as the behaviour fuels the obsession. The more you are sold into the worry/fear the more doubt and uncertainty you experience and as a consequence you start to crave reassurance by performing the ritual again and again and again until it feels comfortable or looks right.

Why?

Scientists and experts are divided in their opinions about the cause of OCD. However it is thought there are three contributing factors.

• Psychological – The way we think about things
• Biological – Our genetic make-up
• Environmental – Our life experiences

All of these components have a part to play but not necessary in equal proportions, for example:

If someone develops OCD after experiencing a car crash which traumatises them, it would suggest an environmental factor has been the trigger which affects the psychological and awakens the biological. The cause  may suggest 50% environmental, 30% psychological and 20% biological. It is too complicated to be an accurate measure but a suggested example.