Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety Disorders & Phobias
Anxiety Disorders
We all have anxiety or fears in life. That is NORMAL. What is not normal is to have anxiety start to interfere with your ability to do things you love = because of the fears attached to that worrisome topic. Having an anxiety disorder is Different then having anxiety.
Common Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder:
Symptoms often include: difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, worrying for more than an hour a day, excessive fear with public speaking or meeting new people, excessive anxiety, stomachaches or feeling chronically fatigued.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder. We often think about individuals with OCD being people who struggle with hand-washing or “liking things clean”. People with OCD can actually suffer with being fixated on any kind of unwanted thought, image, sound or memory. The individual suffering with OCD can often feel tormented by these thoughts and will engage in an act (compulsion) in order to protect themselves or others from this fear.
Common Obsessions Include:
-
Relationship Obsessions: e.g. “what if my partner is cheating? What if they are not the right one?”
-
Perfectionism fears: “What if I fail, do something wrong or disappoint someone? Or make a mistake?”
-
Religious fears: “What if I sin? What if I am a bad person?”
-
Harm fears: “ What if I accidentally hurt someone's feelings/ physically hurt them?”
Common Compulsions Include:
1) Mentally replaying a situation or event multiple times.
2) Planning things you're going to say or do for future events.
3) Avoiding situations that provoke you to think of your fears.
4) Distracting yourself when you get in situations that provoke fearful thoughts.
5) Asking reassurance from loved ones repeatedly.