Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) develop distressing obsessions that they attempt to control with compulsive rituals. If you recognize signs of OCD in yourself or a family member, contact board-certified psychiatrist Ahmar M Butt, MD, at Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, in Ankeny, Iowa. Dr. Butt offers expert medication management, psychotherapy (talk therapy), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to help patients with OCD. Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, today or schedule a consultation online to get relief from OCD.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

OCD causes distressing, unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions). To manage obsessions, sufferers develop ritual behaviors (compulsions).

You can’t control the obsessions you develop with OCD, even if you understand that there’s no basis for your fears or that the risk is minimal.

For example, you might develop an obsession with germs that causes you to fear the consequences of infection or contamination. Even when you know that life without bacteria isn’t beneficial to health (or even possible), your obsession with cleanliness overrides your knowledge.

Compulsions arise from your attempts to relieve the stress obsessions cause. With a germ obsession, you might insist on washing your hands in a specific way for a set period every hour throughout the day.

What might my obsessions and compulsions involve?

In addition to germs and infection, common obsessions include:

• Taboo sexual or religious topics
• Personal and family safety
• Aggressive, violent thoughts about yourself or others
• Need for order and symmetry

Compulsions can include counting, touching, or tapping. You might have to touch every mailbox you see, count to a certain number, do math calculations, or open and close doors a set number of times.

Other compulsions include arranging things in precise, immaculate order and repeatedly checking that you’ve turned off electrical appliances or locked the door. You might also recite specific phrases or prayers.

Compulsions provide the illusion that they soothe obsessive thoughts, but the relief you feel is temporary. As OCD gets worse, the inability to perform compulsive behaviors becomes so important that if anything stops you from completing a ritual, it causes severe distress and panic.

How is OCD treated?

Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, offers effective OCD treatments that can include:

Medication

Medicines like anti-anxiety drugs improve the brain activity that controls mood. This enables you to benefit more from psychotherapy (talk therapy/counseling).

Psychotherapy

Talking through your obsessions and compulsions with a skilled psychiatrist helps you understand why you have OCD. You can then use techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to challenge your thoughts and actions and reduce their hold on you.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

TMS is a painless treatment using magnetic energy. It targets the part of your brain involved in OCD, activating new communication networks that help your brain function better.

Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC today or book an appointment online to take your first steps to freedom from OCD.