Compulsive Behavior Treatment

Among the many treatable behavioral disorders that can be successfully resolved by the mental health practitioners at Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, California, is obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is an anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has intrusive thoughts (obsessions) as well as an urgent need (compulsion) to do something to relieve the discomfort prompted by the obsession. These feelings lead the person to perform irrational repetitive rituals that can disrupt normal day-to-day activities. Most people who have OCD have both obsessions as well as compulsions.

An example might be an obsession for cleanliness, an unhealthy need to do things perfectly or notions of harming themselves or others. These thoughts range from, “I must wash my hands because I might have touched something that is dirty” or “I’m sure I left the oven on” or “I’m going to hurt my baby.”

In response to these obsessions of the mind, those with OCD resort to compulsive behaviors in order to ward off harm to themselves or others. These compulsions can include constant hand washing for those fearing germs; checking and rechecking household appliances to make sure they’re turned off; hoarding; repeating, and rearranging items to keep them in alignment – the latter much like the TV detective character in  “Monk.”  Performing these rituals provides some relief for those suffering OCD, but that relief is only temporary.

To be diagnosed with OCD, you must have both the obsession and the compulsion. The four characteristics of obsessions include:

• Persistent and recurrent intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety and distress
• These thoughts are not simply excessive worries about real-life situations
• The sufferer tries to ignore such thoughts, or attempts to neutralize them with some other thought or action
• The person with OCD recognizes that the intrusive thoughts are not based on reality.

The two characteristics of compulsions are:

• The person is driven to perform repetitive behaviors in response to an obsession, and that behavior is performed under rigid rules that cannot be side-stepped or ignored
• The repetitive behaviors have the goal of reducing or removing the obsession, even though they have little or nothing to do with the obsession

Morningside Recovery has a comprehensive program to help those suffering from obsessive-compulsive behavior. That help comes in the form of medication and psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a technique known as exposure and ritual prevention (ERP).

The introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) into psychopharmacology has resulted in a medication that has fewer side effects than antidepressants such as Anafranil. Such medications, in conjunction with intensive therapy with the licensed psychiatrists and psychologists at Morningside, can reduce the symptoms of OCD.

But OCD won’t go away with just medication. And traditional therapies such as hypnosis, stress management, talk therapy and acupuncture won’t treat the disorder. At Morningside, the mental health staff relies on cognitive behavioral therapy in conjunction with exposure and response prevention therapy.  With ERP, the Morningside therapist will expose you to your obsessions, and then gradually prevent you from performing the compulsive act that follows that obsession. For instance, if your compulsion is constant hand washing, the therapist might have you touch an object and then wait longer and longer each time to wash your hands. The delays lengthen and you learn to control the compulsion, leading to a decrease in the number of times you feel compelled to wash up.

With CBT, a trained professional will help you understand that the brain is sending you erroneous messages. You will learn how to recognize those “error” messages and respond to them in new ways that help you control the obsession and the compulsion.

If you have obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, and you think it’s your fault or it’s because of something you did, you’re wrong. OCD is the result of a number of factors that can include genetics, physical makeup, or the environment in which you find yourself. It’s not a character issue and it’s not a personal weakness.

To find out more about what Morningside Recovery can do for you, call the mental health staff at .