Memoir Analysis: Devil In The Details By J. Traig
Memoir Analysis: Devil in the Details by J. Traig
Mental Illness
According to DSM-5 (2017), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repeated and persistent thoughts called obsessions, which are experienced as imposed and inappropriate and which cause intense feelings of anxiety and discomfort. In order to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts, the person with OCD performs repetitive behaviors called compulsions. Most often those two symptoms present together although obsessive thoughts without compulsions may exist , but more likely there will be multiple obsessions with corresponding compulsions.
DSM-5 (2017) provides several diagnostic criteria for OCD, the first one being “Presence of obsessions, compulsions, …show more content…
It is really hard to pinpoint what could have triggered it. Psychoanalytic theory suggests regression to an earlier developmental stage due to underdeveloped ego. “Insecurity, fear, and anger can cause an adult to regress” (Lokko & Stern, 2015). It is possible that Traig experienced these feeling especially in early puberty when her symptoms became apparent. However, those feelings are pretty common among general population and do not cause everyone to regress. Learning theorists contemplate that OCD is caused by a traumatic event which conditioned the person to avoid behaviors associated with traumatic situation and thus remain free of discomfort it causes. In Traig’s case, such triggering event was not obvious. She was experiencing her obsessions as early as in preschool, but at that time they were occasional and the compulsive behaviors showed mostly through the play with toys, where she would keep rearranging her toys or feeding them in certain order repeatedly. More likely to be the cause of Traig’s disease are biological aspects which suggest that neurobiological disturbances as well as serotonin levels may play a role in obsessive-compulsive behaviors (Townsend & Morgan, 2017, p. 458). Genetics is another biological aspect that could be associated with OCD, but the memoir never mentioned any family member or relative
Mental Illness
According to DSM-5 (2017), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repeated and persistent thoughts called obsessions, which are experienced as imposed and inappropriate and which cause intense feelings of anxiety and discomfort. In order to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts, the person with OCD performs repetitive behaviors called compulsions. Most often those two symptoms present together although obsessive thoughts without compulsions may exist , but more likely there will be multiple obsessions with corresponding compulsions.
DSM-5 (2017) provides several diagnostic criteria for OCD, the first one being “Presence of obsessions, compulsions, …show more content…
It is really hard to pinpoint what could have triggered it. Psychoanalytic theory suggests regression to an earlier developmental stage due to underdeveloped ego. “Insecurity, fear, and anger can cause an adult to regress” (Lokko & Stern, 2015). It is possible that Traig experienced these feeling especially in early puberty when her symptoms became apparent. However, those feelings are pretty common among general population and do not cause everyone to regress. Learning theorists contemplate that OCD is caused by a traumatic event which conditioned the person to avoid behaviors associated with traumatic situation and thus remain free of discomfort it causes. In Traig’s case, such triggering event was not obvious. She was experiencing her obsessions as early as in preschool, but at that time they were occasional and the compulsive behaviors showed mostly through the play with toys, where she would keep rearranging her toys or feeding them in certain order repeatedly. More likely to be the cause of Traig’s disease are biological aspects which suggest that neurobiological disturbances as well as serotonin levels may play a role in obsessive-compulsive behaviors (Townsend & Morgan, 2017, p. 458). Genetics is another biological aspect that could be associated with OCD, but the memoir never mentioned any family member or relative