Pathophysiology
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder characterized by absurd, recurrent and uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) that produce anxiety, which are followed by repetitive behaviors (compulsions) aimed at reducing anxiety. OCD may be looked upon as a condition in which the affected person frequently experiences irresistible urges to perform repetitive rituals (compulsions). OCD may be defined as the irruption in the mind of uncon‐ trollable, egodystonic and recurrent thoughts, impulses or images. In OCD, repetitive rituals serve to counteract the anxiety precipitated by obsessions. The OCD patients realize the irrational nature of thoughts and rituals but feel helpless and …show more content…
Classic psychoanalysis, as pioneered by Freud, interpreted obsessive-compulsive disorder as unconscious conflicts, which were defensive and punitive (Rapoport et al., 1993). In modern psychoanalysis, obsessive-compulsive disorder is described as a portrayal of ambivalence, with confusion of thoughts and actions that are paradoxically manifested by rigidity and abnormal behaviors. Dynamic psychiatry interprets obsessive-compulsive symptoms as a reflection of feelings and thoughts that provoke aggressive or sexual actions that might produce shame, weakness, or loss of pride (Baer, 1993). The thoughts and behaviors associated with OCD are viewed as senseless, and egodystonic and they stand contradictory to the individual’s motives, goals, identity, and self- perception thereby creating significant subjective distress. The excessive nature of the compulsion, however, creates its own distress and it appears that the individual may be caught up in a kind of negative reinforcement loop (David et al., 2004) The obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders are Tourette’s disorder, Body dysmorphic disorder, Hypochondriasis, Pathological jealousy, Trichotillomania, Skin picking, Nail biting, Compulsive buying, Kleptomania, Pathological gambling, Nonparaphilic sexual