How does haaving OCD affect the human body physically?
411191
It can affect the body the same way stress does: headaches, stomach problems, heart problems, etc. because the sufferer is under a lot of anxiety and stress with the rituals and such.  I know because I suffer from OCD, and I have a lot of stomach and digestive problems because of it.
864226
You already had good and detailed answers in here.\nAnyway as everyone had mentioned OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.\n\nIt is a type of anxiety that happens when there is a problem with the way the brain deals with normal worrying and doubts. Anyone with OCD worry a lot and feel afraid about bad things that could possibly happen. \n\nIt is very normal for anyone to worry every now and then but this normal worries usually go without causing any problem. When such worries become really intense and happening over and over again, it turns as OCD where the brain replays the worry thoughts and if nothing is done, the worry feeling can get worse and worse. These frequent worry thoughts are called obsessions, and the behaviors people do to try to make the worry thoughts go away are called compulsions, thus making it obsessive-compulsive  disorder. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome. \n\nSomeone may have obsession on anything.  The obsessive worries just don't quit. The brain keeps repeating them instead of moving on to something else. No matter how much you don't want to hear it, your brain just keeps playing it back. Yelling the word "Stop!" loudly to a person with an obsessive thought is an incompatible response. Someone may have obsessions about:\n>>germs or dirt \n>>illness or injury (involving the person or someone else) \n>>coming across unlucky numbers or words \n>>things being even or straight \n>>things being perfect or just right in a certain way \n>>making mistakes or not being sure \n>>doing or thinking something bad \n\nCompulsions are ritualitic behaviors, or actions believed to let the bad feelings go away (and for a while, it often does), with fear that not doing the ritual will make something bad to happen. The more the rituals are done, the more the feelings of doing them.OCD afflicted persons know the repetition is unnecessary, but are unable to stop themselves.Afflicted individuals usually experience severe anxiety if unable to complete their rituals, though many therapies work by helping the individual learn that no catastrophe occurs when the behaviors do cease. \n\nResearch has shown that one of the most difficult problems in OCD is in getting family members to understand that the patient is unable to simply stop the behavior. Many times relatives become angry and upset when they are forced to deal with the time-consuming and unrealistic repetitive behaviors. With this background, it is no wonder that many patients do not volunteer their symptoms, and instead complain only of anxiety or depression. \n\nSome OCD compulsions:\n>>checking things over and over (such as doors, locks, or stoves and lights)\n>>recurrent intrusive thoughts of hurting oneself or one's children. \n>>lots of hand washing or showering (doing this way more than usual or having a hard time stopping) \n>>counting (like having to count 25 white cars before going into school) \n>>touching (like touching every single fence post between home and the bus stop) \n>>doing things a certain number of times (like having to try on five dresses before leaving your room) \n>>arranging things in a very particular or neat way \n>>asking the same question over and over \n>>tying and retying shoes over and over until they feel just right.\n\nOCD is a long term illness and a very disruptive illness which definite cause is still under research. Research and treatment trials suggest that abnormalities in serotonin (5-HT) transmission in the central nervous system are central to this disorder. Tke known causes which take their roles are genetics, some infectious diseases, stress, and defective interpersonal relationship. OCD should be differentiated from those being a perfectionist and being overly conscientious. \n\nIt
849533
definately...it can take such a physical toll on your body, that you start to internalize it and it starts destroying all of your organs one by one....it is devastating what it can and will do. Please try to get out from under it before it gives you irreversable illness's that take you all the way down..
6026
Anxiety and stress can cause physical symtoms. If you are ill and do have a disease- look at the word dis ease it can manifest itself as physical. I am not saying your crazy. I am saying that if you are under a lot of stress you can make yourself very sick and then it gets worse like a vicious circle cuz your more stressed. If you feel that isn't it you will just have to find a better doctor. Go to webmd. maybe it's something that is misdiagnosed alot. Like fibromylasia or something. Go to google and type in the symtom that is most worrysome for you. Keep at finding what is wrong. Demand more testing.
871928
everyone has some form of ocd. depends on the degree.\ni notice most successful people have ocd. that obsessive nature allows them too put more energy into something most "normal" people wouldn't.\ntry to channel that obsessive energy into something productive such as reading, playing and instrument etc.\nnothing wrong with ocd.\n\nstay away from meds. they  can make things a lot worse.
714096
First get it diagnosed by a doctor. If it is OCD, there was a series of programs called I Can Change Your Life on british tv (Sky One satellite channel) where Paul McKenna cured a woman of OCD using a technique based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). There are lots of other therapists in other countries who have been trained by him.\n\nThere's a book called Change Your Life in 7 days which may cover the same stuff on amazon, but the blurb doesn't give a contents list. You could ask on here if anyone has it and whether it covers OCD. There are plenty of other books on OCD, but may not use the same technique to cure it. His way was quick, there's may be long expensive analysis sessions.\n\nIf its not OCD, the doctor maybe able to tell you what the other possibilities are (another medical condition, a psychological condition, drugs). He may just be doing it to please you, because he thinks thats what you want. Discuss it and see if there are any mis-understandings between you.\n\nIt may be 'perfectionism', where someone thinks in black and white terms and every achievement is either perfect or useless. The wikipedia article on it (see link) says that it is one symptom of OCD. Also see link to wikipedia entry on OCD.\n\nIf there are any other aspects, you can research them on the net or search Yahoo Answers for questions and answers on the same subject.\n\nIt may be the male need to feel competent and succesful at everything (see Men are from Mars series of books) combined with perfectionism.
789272
no cure, no herbal treatment, but there is psychological approach, please read below.\n\nSome common obsessions include:\n\nFear of being contaminated by germs or dirt \nFear of causing harm to oneself or others \nIntrusive sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images \nExcessive focus on religious or moral ideas \nFear of losing or not having things you might need \nOrder and symmetry: the idea that everything must line up “just right.” \nSuperstitions: excessive attention to something considered lucky or unlucky \nSome common compulsive behaviors are:\n\nexcessive double-checking \ncounting \nhand washing \ncleaning \nordering/arranging \ntouching \npraying \nhoarding \n\n\nWhat treatment is available for OCD?\nOCD is not usually curable, but it is highly treatable, in that effective treatment can greatly reduce the occurrence of obsessive thoughts and compulsive rituals. A combination of behavior therapy and medication seems to offer the best long-term improvement. \n\nExposure Treatment and Response Prevention\nA type of behavioral therapy called exposure and response prevention is generally the first line of treatment for OCD.  In this treatment, you are repeatedly exposed to the source of your obsession. Then you are prevented from engaging in whatever compulsive ritual you use to reduce the anxiety brought about by your obsession. For example, if you are a compulsive hand washer, you might be asked to touch the door handle in a public restroom and then be prevented from washing up. As you sit with the anxiety, the urge to wash your hands will gradually begin to go away on its own. In this way, you learn that you don’t need the ritual to get rid of your anxiety.\n\nExposure treatment and response prevention is carefully planned out and controlled, with your therapist at your side to provide support. You will begin with a situation that provokes only a low level of anxiety. Once you’ve been exposed to this situation and have waited out the anxiety without engaging in your compulsion, you will move on to a more challenging situation. Continuing with the previous example, you might progress from touching the bathroom door handle to touching the toilet flush lever or even the toilet seat itself. With each successful exposure and response prevention, you’ll feel a greater sense of control over your obsessions and compulsions. Studies show that exposure and response prevention can actually “retrain” the brain to function differently, permanently reducing the occurrence of OCD symptoms. This type of behavioral therapy can even extinguish compulsive behaviors entirely.\n\nAccording to the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, 75% of people who complete exposure and response prevention treatment experience improvement of their OCD symptoms.\nFor more information about this behavioral treatment, read What Is Exposure & Response Prevention? and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).\n\nCognitive Therapy\nA cognitive component is often combined with the behavioral approach of exposure and response prevention. Cognitive therapy targets the OCD sufferer’s catastrophic thoughts and exaggerated sense of responsibility. According to OCD Action, “Cognitive therapy suggests that OCD results when an individual misinterprets intrusive thoughts or urges as a sign that not only will harm occur, but that they may be responsible for it through what they do or what they fail to do.” Therefore, a central task of therapy is to address these irrational thoughts and challenge them. See Treatments for OCD: Cognitive Therapy for an overview of the cognitive approach and useful treatment tools, including thought records. For more on how OCD leads to biased and unproductive ways of thinking, visit Cognitive Therapy for OCD: What It is, When to Use It and When Not! \n\nTo review the main ideas involved in a combined cognitive-behavioral approach to OCD treatment, read OCD-UK’s What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?\n\nMedication\n
809328
It's a fairly common preoccupation of some OCD sufferers. Just like there are different types of other illnesses, there are several different typical presentations of OCD. Some patients are into worries of contamination (frequently leading to repeated handwashing and other self-cleaning behaviors); others are into checking locks, or sniffing certain objects, etc.\n\nOver time, someone with a contamination fear leading to their OCD behavior can start feeling like they may have even missed noticing just when it was that they came in contact with potentially contaminated or dirty items. So the worrying and efforts to "undo" the real or imagined contamination (much more imagined than real, for sure) takes on a life of its own. They may start washing their hands pre-emptively as it were. So the answer to your question is yes. The rest of the answer sheds some additional light on this type of disorder and how it comes to adopt certain forms.
82705
Usually worrying about it is a good sign that you might not, unless you are doing it incessantly.  However, you might have an anxiety disorder that is not OCD.\n\nObsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.\n\nIf you are really concerned, you should see your doctor about anxiety and get a referral if necessary.  OCD, if untreated, can take over your life, although some people I have known with it, are high functioning and quite normal.
215766
OCD Obsessive compulsive disorder.
874577
I don't think there is ever a connection with OCD. I have it, too and some of the things I consistently do are really weird. Mine is a number thing mostly.
433879
Your mind and body are connected.  Do a search on psychoneuroimmunology.  There has been a lot of research on how depression and anxiety can affect lymphocyte counts, recovery, and wound healing.
550543
I believe that there are varying degrees of all mental disorders. I have OCD and sometimes it gets really bad, almost debilitating. Other times it is ok to deal with. Check out this website for more Tourettes information.
795378
If you obsess about things you cannot change or cannot seem to control, yes.\n\nSee a professional, I did.\n\nI have had OCD since I was a kid, and I can't tell you how many times I would freak out if things were not even, or clean, or the way I thought they needed to be....\n\nA good medication like wellbutrin XL can change your life, but get a proper diagnosis first, by a therapist.\n\nTrust me, life is too short to sweat the small stuff!\n\nIt never goes away but when you learn to manage it, it changes your life.\n\nGood Luck,\nTanya
144542
Sure, all mental illnesses can have varying degrees.  Some of your behaviors could be described as OCD-like, but I think the important questions to consider here are: 1) are your "compulsions" interfering with your daily life (do you spend hours and hours making sure each little thing is just perfect), 2) would you consider any of your habits to be harmful (as in washing one's hands 30 times a day to the point where your skin is irritated), and 3)are the things that you are doing actually compusive, or rather just personal preferences that are no cause for alarm?  It sounds, from your breif description, that your habits are merely habits.  Some people enjoy varying degrees of cleanliness and organization, and you just might be at one end of the spectrum.  Unless your cleaning preferences are really disruptive, it sounds like you're just a person who enjoys a certain order in their life.
330339
My brother has OCD and I don't think that there is anything that you can do on your own. Remember OCD cannot be cured just treated. Advise: go to your psychiatrist and discus your options.
1004936
Sufferers of hypochondria may benefit from one or more of the following exercises:\n\nKeeping a journal describing what led to the anxiety attacks or panic \nTalking with friends or family members, and taking a different perspective on the symptoms \nTracking the triggering factors of anxiety, and avoiding them (e.g. self-diagnosis, reading about symptoms) \nMaintaining a healthy lifestyle and positive outlook \n\n\nHypochondria (or hypochondriasis, sometimes referred to as health anxiety or health phobia) is a somatoform disorder in which one has the unfounded belief that he or she is suffering from a serious illness. Hypochondria is often characterized by irrational fears of being diseased/dying, obsessions over minor bodily symptoms or imperfections, doubt and disbelief in doctors' diagnosis, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis and preoccupation with one's body. Hypochondriacs often require constant reassurance, sometimes from multiple doctors, family and friends.\n\nHypochondria is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, and can also be brought on by stress.\n\nEtymology\nThe term hypochondria comes from the Greek hypo- (below) and chondros (cartilage - of the breast bone). The term was originally used to describe unidentifiable stomach pains. It was thought by ancient Greek physicians that such pains were caused by the movement of the spleen, an organ located near the hypochondrium (the upper region of the abdomen just below the ribs on either side of the epigastrium).\n\nDuring the 19th century the term evolved to be the male counterpart to hysteria.\n\nEffects\nHypochondria can cause one or more of the following effects:\n\nAnxiety attacks or panic attacks \nDepression \nFear of pending doom \nLoss of appetite \nDecreased libido \nIncreased self-consciousness \nDecreased motivation in life.