Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Blogs This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

The Best and Worst Treatment Options for OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed disorder. Indeed, estimates indicate that it can take from 14-17 years from the onset of symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment for OCD. Even when a proper diagnosis is made, choosing the appropriate treatment program can be confusing and overwhelming. It is not unusual for those seeking help to be steered in the wrong direction by professionals who are not familiar with the best options for treating OCD. I speak from personal experience as my son Dan suffered with severe OCD. As an advocate for OCD awareness and proper treatme...
Source: World of Psychology - November 4, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Caregivers OCD Personal Treatment Compulsions Obsessions OCD treatment Source Type: blogs

Could Your Child ’ s Little Quirks Be Signs of OCD?
A friend of mine recently brought up a concern he had and was worried that he was overreacting. His son, who is friends with my youngest daughter, was beginning to struggle in school. It wasn’t that the educational material was beyond him. The problem was that his son refused to turn in the work he had already completed. In the beginning, my friend was just confused. The teacher sent a note home explaining that his son was doing the work but not handing it into her. When she had asked why, his son had become agitated and said it wasn’t done, even though she could clearly see he had completed it. This back-and-forth con...
Source: World of Psychology - November 2, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tyler Jacobson Tags: Anxiety and Panic Children and Teens OCD Parenting Personal Student Therapist Students Success & Achievement Source Type: blogs

Helping a child with obsessive-compulsive disorder
If your child has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you know that this condition affects not only your child but also your entire family. The guidance that follows can help parents gain a better understanding of OCD, learn helpful strategies to support their children, and ease distress all around. What is obsessive-compulsive disorder? OCD typically includes uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions or rituals) that a child feels an urgent need to repeat again and again. For example, your child may repeat a grooming routine until he feels “just right.” A child may engage in compulsio...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 1, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jacqueline Sperling, PhD Tags: Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs

The Link Between OCD and GOD: How Religion Impacts Symptomology
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is defined as “an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts (called obsessions) and/or repetitive, ritualized behaviors that the person feels driven to perform (called compulsions). It may manifest in the form of hand washing until skin is red and raw, checking doors multiple times even if the key just turned in the lock, or making certain the stove is turned off even if one has done it a moment ago. It isn’t a memory issue, since the person is aware of having just engaged in the behaviors. Many years ago, I had the experience of interviewing a world-renow...
Source: World of Psychology - October 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW Tags: Anxiety and Panic OCD Perfectionism Personal Spirituality Source Type: blogs

Study: One-week brain training can increase cognitive flexibility and reduce OCD symptoms
In this study, we investigated the effects of two novel smartphone interventions on cognitive flexibility and OCD symptoms in healthy individuals with OCD-like contamination fears. In the first intervention, participants watched a brief video recording of themselves engaging in handwashing on a smartphone, four times a day, for a total of one week (N=?31). The second intervention was similar except that participants watched themselves repeatedly touching a disgust-inducing object (N=?31). In a third (control) “intervention”, participants watched themselves performing sequential hand movements (N=?31). As hypothesized, ...
Source: SharpBrains - October 30, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Technology app Brain-Training brain-training-app cognitive-flexibility handwashing obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD smartphone Source Type: blogs

OCD and Physical Pain
I don’t think it comes as a surprise to many that physical pain and mental pain often seem to be connected. I often hear from people with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder who also suffer from debilitating physical pain. And it’s not unusual, once their OCD is treated, for their physical symptoms to subside or even disappear completely. Sometimes the pain those with OCD experience is directly related to compulsions they perform. For example, some people with OCD are compelled to perform extensive rituals while showering, perhaps twisting and turning in particular ways for a specific amount of time. This might lead t...
Source: World of Psychology - October 26, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Anxiety and Panic Caregivers OCD Personal Phobia Avoidance Chronic Pain Compulsions Fibromyalgia Obsessions Rituals stiff joints Source Type: blogs

Is Exposure & Response Prevention Therapy a Well-Guarded Secret?
OCD Awareness Week 2018 has come and gone and there were many successful, informative events to help all those whose lives have been touched by obsessive-compulsive disorder. There was also attention paid to OCD through the national media, though I’m not sure if the two shows I watched/listened to were broadcasted because of OCD Awareness Week. While I think the productions both did a good job debunking the myths of OCD and illustrating what the disorder is all about (as much as you can without actually having OCD), I believe they were sorely lacking in one extremely important area — treatment. The first show ...
Source: World of Psychology - October 23, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Books Minding the Media OCD Personal Psychology Psychotherapy Stigma Treatment Source Type: blogs

Intensive CBT: How fast can I get better?
A highly effective psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on how our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes can affect our feelings and behavior. Traditional CBT treatment usually requires weekly 30- to 60-minute sessions over 12 to 20 weeks. A faster option now emerging is intensive CBT (I-CBT), which employs much longer sessions concentrated into a month, week, or weekend — or sometimes a single eight-hour session. CBT helps people learn tools to reframe different types of thinking, such as black-and-white thinking (I can’t do anything right) and emotional reasoning (I feel you dislike me, so it mu...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 23, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Soo Jeong Youn, PhD Tags: Adolescent health Anxiety and Depression Behavioral Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs

Can I Become Addicted to My Anxiety Medication?
What is Anxiety? Having anxiety is a difficult issue suffered by millions. It is much more than just butterflies in your stomach before going on stage or before an important event – it can be crippling and can cause severe impacts on one’s life, and you may need to be on anxiety medication to help with the symptoms. According to anxiety.org, there are many anxiety-related disorders, and they are divided into three main categories: Anxiety disorders Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders Trauma and stressor-related disorders Anxiety disorders are characterized by a general feature of excessive fear (i.e. emoti...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 8, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Anxiety Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment PTSD anxiety medication benzodiazepines Source Type: blogs

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation shows early promise to ameliorate depression, especially if combined with other therapies and dosage optimized
Conclusions: The effect size of tDCS treatment was comparable with those reported for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and antidepressant drug treatment in primary care. The most important parameters for optimisation in future trials are depression refractoriness and tDCS dose. News in Context: Guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tdcs) for depression FDA clears deep transcranial magnetic stimulation device to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder FDA clears first CBT-based digital therapeutic to treat substance...
Source: SharpBrains - October 1, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Health & Wellness Professional Development Technology depression efficacy Major Depressive Disorder MDD meta-analysis NICE pharmacotherapy tDCS Transcranial-direct-current-stimulation US Food and Drug Admin Source Type: blogs

Update: Think twice before taking Adderall as cognitive enhancer — it may worsen your working memory
___ Dear reader, It’s time for SharpBrains monthly e-newsletter, starting in this occasion with an important article by Duke University’s Dr. David Rabiner raising concerns about the growing non-medical use of ADHD drugs. New research: Do ADHD drugs really help college students without ADHD? Mindfully debunking four meditation myths Cognitive training & remediation works, especially in schizophrenia and healthy aging New tools: Neurotechnology pioneers, please design with the end-user in mind FDA clears deep transcranial magnetic stimulation device to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder DARPA pavi...
Source: SharpBrains - September 28, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Health & Wellness Technology brain cognition cognitive-enhancer enewsletter Working-memory Source Type: blogs

Co-Occurring Mental Health and Addiction
What is a Co-Occuring disorder? The coexistence of both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse use disorder is referred to as a co-occurring disorder. Any combination of mental health and addiction can be referred to as having a co-occuring disorder. The combinations can be seemingly endless, and can even include more than one of either a mental disorder or an addiction. Combinations may include depression and alcoholism, anorexia and cocaine addiction, bipolar disorder and heroin addiction and the list goes on. Surprisingly, as many as 6 in 10 substance abusers also have at least one other mental disorder. There i...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - September 26, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources ADHD Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Anxiety Behavioral Addictions Depression Depression Treatment Drinking Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eat Source Type: blogs

What Makes a Good Mental Health Advocate?
I have been fortunate over the years to share the story of my son Dan’s recovery from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. The fact that he continues to do so well is concrete evidence that obsessive-compulsive disorder, no matter how severe, is indeed treatable, and it is gratifying to know that many who are suffering have found hope through my family’s story. I hear from many people who are at various stages in their fight against OCD. When they tell me they have either read about Dan’s journey or heard me speak about him the first question they often ask is “How is Dan now?” I am so incredibly thankful that t...
Source: World of Psychology - September 19, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Caregivers Family OCD Personal Policy and Advocacy Stigma Source Type: blogs

FDA clears deep transcranial magnetic stimulation device to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder
___ BrainsWay’s Brain Stimulation Device Receives FDA Approval to Treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (IEEE Spectrum): “In 2013, Jerusalem-based BrainsWay began marketing a new type of brain stimulation device that uses magnetic pulses to treat major depressive disorder. Now, thanks to positive results in a study of 100 patients, the company has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the device for a second psychiatric condition—obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) … Typically, noninvasive electrical and magnetic fields applied to the scalp, such as in transcranial direct curren...
Source: SharpBrains - September 14, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Health & Wellness Technology brain-stimulation BrainsWay deep transcranial magnetic stimulation Deep-TMS device FDA Major Depressive Disorder obsessive-compulsive disorder tDCS Transcranial-direct-current-stimulation Source Type: blogs

Orthorexia: The extreme quest for a healthy diet
The pursuit for the healthiest diet continues. Just as I was finishing writing this blog post, a new study came out suggesting that both low-carb and high-carb diets may shorten lifespan. In the 1980s and ‘90s, we were following the low-fat trend. These days, the ketogenic diet and the very-low-carb diet are all the rage. And if you think there is controversy about the right amount of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins you should eat, the conversation can get downright ugly if we start talking about specific items like gluten. Research continues to look for insight into the best diet for humans. But the relentless focus o...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 12, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Marcelo Campos, MD Tags: Behavioral Health Healthy Eating Mental Health Source Type: blogs