What Is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder And How Is It Treated?

David Beckham, the ex-England football captain, had revealed his struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in a new documentary for Netflix. OCD is a mental health disorder that can affect anyone, but it typically begins during adolescence. It causes a person to have frequent obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.

How does OCD affect people?

People with OCD are troubled by unwanted thoughts, and have repetitive behaviours or rituals, such as double checking all switches are turned off or doors are locked before leaving the house or going to bed. They may be prone to disturbing mental images or have unrealistic fears about contracting infections and diseases. 

Continual intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours can be mentally exhausting, time consuming, and impact seriously on quality of life. 

Beckham described his own struggles with the condition. He said: “The fact that when everyone’s in bed I then go around, clean the candles, turn the lights on to the right setting, make sure everywhere is tidy. I hate coming down in the morning and there’s cups and plates and, you know, bowls.”

“I clip the candle wax, I clean the glass, that’s my pet hate, the smoke around the inside of a candle. I know, it’s weird.” Beckham also revealed that he keeps his kitchen immaculately clean, and commented that he was unsure if his wife Victoria appreciated it or not.

Obsessive rituals around cleaning, hand washing, and ordering and arranging are common in OCD. It may also manifest in unnecessary or excessive counting and checking, hoarding, or seeking reassurance. 

Beckham said: “I’ve got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I’ll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there’s one too many then I’ll put it in another cupboard somewhere … everything has to be perfect.”

What causes OCD?

It is not known exactly what causes OCD. It is thought to be linked to other mental health conditions including depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. It may have a genetic link, or be triggered by life events. It is thought that up to one million people in the UK are living with the condition, and it affects men and women in equal numbers. 

How can OCD be treated?

According to the NHS, people can sometimes feel ashamed or embarrassed about having OCD and this stops them coming forward for treatment. However, it’s no different from having any other health problem and it is treatable. Most people can’t recover from the condition without professional help. 

The main treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which is a talking therapy designed to challenge unhelpful patterns of thinking. It may also encourage people to gradually expose themselves to triggers while not taking any action on them. 

OCD can be treated with medications, most commonly antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The two different types of therapy may be used together. 
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