Over the last ten years, there has appeared a mounting body of evidence that suggests there is a small subgroup of individuals whose childhood onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders may have been triggered by streptococcal throat infections.

Anxiety seems to be an ever-growing part of everyday life. Everyone believes he has a pretty good idea of what anxiety is; we all know more-or-less synonymous terms for anxiety, such as "nervousness, tension, jitteriness, edginess, jumpiness, irritability," and so forth. But what is the definition of anxiety?

Psychiatric Medications, sometimes called psychotropics (literally, "mind-growers"), have become a powerful tool in the treatment of mental illness. However, much ignorance remains about their uses and effects, resulting in undertreatment and stigmatization of patients, In this article, I have endeavored to address the most common questions and misunderstandings surrounding psychotropic medications.

As a psychiatrist who treats a large number of OCD patients, I have witnessed the increasing intrusion of managed care into the field of mental health over the past few years, and the resulting erosion of the availability of quality care to anyone with basic health coverage. Sufferers of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are, in my opinion, especially vulnerable to the kinds of restrictions to appropriate care that most managed mental health plans impose.

I am often asked, "Dr. Schloss, what is the best medication to treat OCD?" The answer is that there is no one medication that is effective in treating OCD for every patient. While there are a number of medications that produce significant improvement in OCD symptoms in many patients, I am used to seeing patients who have little or no response to the first medication prescribed for them, but who then go on to enjoy excellent results from the second. 

I recently visited my local library searching for current articles on OCD that might be of interest to my support group. The periodicals file is computerized so I conducted a search of articles on Obsessions, Compulsions and both together.

When I survey my past life, I discover nothing but a barren waste of time, with disorders of the mind very near to madness.

- Samuel Johnson

Having recently returned from a brief personal OCD pilgrimage while in London, I thought I would take the opportunity to share it with the OCD membership. 

Recently, I was sitting in session with a patient, Jesse, a sixteen year-old boy who had started seeing me only three weeks before for a problem with thoughts that he said were very unpleasant. So far, we hadn't gotten very far, as he still couldn't seem to tell me anything about them yet. 

I have been actively involved in the treatment of OCD since 1982, and have treated over 650 cases of the disorder. During that time, I have come to many valuable understandings that I believe are important tools for anyone planning to take on this disorder. 

OCD encompasses many different groups of symptoms. One of the less well-known is touching and movement compulsions. Those whose disorder includes these symptoms can be seen to do one or more of the following:

Together with morbid obsessions, magical and superstitious thinking makes up one of the stranger and more misunderstood aspects of OCD. When my patients try to describe their symptoms, they preface their explanation with, "I know this sounds crazy, but...."

Everybody has pet peeves. Mine happen to include technical terms that are commonly used but don't really mean anything. Within the field of OCD, one particular term that I really wish should go away is "obsessive slowness." Researchers and practitioners generally use it to describe the behavior of people who carry out everyday activities in an extremely slow manner.

Within limits, a certain amount of superstitious thinking can be a harmless part of normal life. The popularity of horoscopes, tarot card readings, good luck charms, and psychics in our own society bears witness to this. However, even in primitive societies where magic controls people's actions and decisions on an everyday basis, it is integrated into everyday life, regarded as a tool, and does not paralyze its users. 

Over the years, I have watched my OCD patients putting great amounts of emotional, mental, and physical energy into the struggle against their symptoms. OCD, as we know, is especially characterized by doubt, and they seemed to believe that there just had to be a way to overcome their crushing doubts and the severe resulting anxiety. 

Steve, a 26 year-old computer programmer: “I can’t stop thinking about why we’re all here and whether there’s any purpose to life. I keep going over it in my mind all day long. I have continual thoughts of how one day I’ll be dead and no one will remember me. It will be as if I never existed. 

Always expect the unexpected - you can have an obsessive thought any time or any place. Don’t be surprised when old or even new ones occur. Don’t let it throw you. Be prepared to use your therapy tools at any time, and in any place.

“Doc,” began Don, a 35 year-old school teacher, “I told my wife we should sell my car, because I just can’t drive any more. Every time I go anywhere, I keep thinking that I’m hitting people with my car. It could be a jogger, a pedestrian, someone on a bike, or even an animal.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has long been known to take on many strange forms and cause people to think unusual things. It is important to know about and be able to recognize these different forms in order to make a correct diagnosis, and therefore have an effective treatment plan.