With the onset of better research and various therapies, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is becoming diagnosed more and more as doctors and therapists recognize the behaviors for what they are. It had seemed that OCD was rather rare, however it is more likely that people were better a hiding their OCD behaviors. In fact, some people have been successful for years at integrating their coping behaviors into their daily routines so that no one ever really noticed or realized what they were doing.
As you can see, the hiding and compensating of the behaviors greatly impacts the life of a person with OCD. For the most part, OCD starts to manifest itself in older children to young adults. It is not common for someone nearing their 40s or older to develop it. In addition, both males and females develop these conditions with rather equal occurrences.
OCD impacts people with PhDs all the way down to those with no formal education plus all walks of life are affected too. There are no known factors that indicate who would be predisposed to develop OCD, although those with ultra-religious backgrounds may obsess over issues with religious ties.
OCD can be a minor inconvenience to a major problem that bleeds into all facets of life. Some people are always late to work, school or some commitment because of that fear of the house burning down and the need to constantly check the oven or that light switch one more time. Bedtime could become quite a chore for young children who obsess about the dust bunnies under their beds or the clothes hanging out of alignment in the closets and the need to constantly check the closets and the bed.
Adults with OCD that have problems with germs may avoid sexual relations with their spouse or any type of physical contact because they are too busy taking that extra shower or washing their hands again. Children with OCD may check the answers on their test paper over and over again which prevents them from finishing the test.
You can see the looming problems and the impact that these different scenarios can have with the adults and children. Even those around them are affected too. With marriages, a physical intimacy is an important part of the relationship. If OCD interferes, the partner can eventually become resentful and belittling to the OCD sufferer. Divorces have happened as a result of OCD. And the children who obsess over every test answer may flunk and be held back in school, which can be detrimental to their already fragile self-confidence and self-esteem.
Productivity, social life, family life, the work place and school all are affected due to OCD. As a result, jobs are lost as are friends, spouses and even the freedom of being able to have fun and relax without any worries. Some researchers have come up with an arbitrary figure of several billion dollars in the economy each year due to obsessive-compulsive disorder. There seems to be a lot to lose because of OCD and everything to gain when seeking treatment for it.
