OCD is an illness, and having it is not a person's fault, just like having asthma or diabetes is not someone's fault. And like asthma, diabetes, or any other illness, OCD can be treated so people can get relief from its symptoms. But unlike diabetes or other illnesses, you can't have a lab test or blood test to tell you if you have OCD. Instead, a doctor such as a psychologist or psychiatrist has to ask you questions about obsessions and compulsions. They will ask and discuss questions like: Do you have worries, thoughts, images, feelings, or ideas that bother or upset or scare you? Do you feel you have to check, repeat, ask, or do things over and over again? Do you feel you have to do things a certain number of times, or in a certain pattern? Once a doctor has diagnosed a person with OCD, he or she can begin treating the condition. The good news is that there are treatments that really work. Lots of mental health specialists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors are trained in treating OCD.
How is it treated?
Treatment includes medicines and counseling. Using both often works best. Antidepressant medicines called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most commonly used. Examples of these medicines include Prozac and Zoloft. You may begin to feel better in about 1 to 3 weeks after you start taking medicine. But it can take as long as 6 to 8 weeks to see more improvement. If you have concerns about your medicine, or if you do not start to feel better by 3 weeks, talk to your doctor. He or she may increase the dose or change to a different medicine. Counseling for the disorder includes a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy called exposure and response prevention. This therapy slowly increases your contact with the thing that causes worries or false beliefs. For example, if you were worried about getting germs from things you touch, you would touch an object you believe has germs and then not wash your hands afterward. You would keep doing that until you could do it without feeling anxious. This can be hard at first. But with the help of a counselor, this therapy can reduce your symptoms over time. Other cognitive therapy may also help change the false beliefs that lead to OCD behaviors. Treatment can make your symptoms less severe. But you may still have some mild symptoms after you begin treatment. For many teens, the thought of going to therapy can be a little scary and overwhelming. A lot of people are so embarrassed by their obsessions and compulsions that they don't even tell their parents and friends about them, never mind a stranger. But most people find they feel comfortable — even relieved — after they meet with a therapist once or twice and know what to expect. The therapist will often begin by teaching about OCD and how the therapy works. A type of talk therapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) offers specific methods, called exposure and ritual (or response) prevention that work for people with OCD. CBT helps people to learn to use the power of their own behavior to change their thoughts and feelings for the better. First, a person learns how OCD works — how giving in to compulsions makes OCD stronger and how resisting compulsions makes OCD weaker. Exposure therapy and ritual prevention allow someone to face their fears in a safe way, little by little, without doing compulsions. Therapists who treat OCD teach people new ways to react to worries and fear without doing rituals. This type of therapy actually helps "reset" the brain's mechanisms that trigger obsessions and compulsions. At first, it can seem hard to stop doing rituals, but eventually people feel safe and stronger about dealing with their obsessions and compulsions. Overcoming OCD is not a fast or easy process. It takes patience, practice, and hard work. People with OCD usually go to therapy about once or twice a week for a while, then less often as they begin to get better. Sometimes the doctor may also prescribe medications to help with symptoms. Feeling better can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. For many teens with OCD, the symptoms may get better for a time and then might get worse during stressful events in their lives. But learning how to deal with OCD makes it easier to take care of it if there is a flare-up. Lots of people with OCD find that support groups can help them feel less alone and let them make friends with others who understand and are living with the same challenges. Having OCD doesn't mean a person is crazy — or that he or she should just be able stop the obsessions and compulsions alone. Going to the doctor when you have flu isn't embarrassing, and neither is seeking treatment if you think you have OCD. With help, people can get relief from OCD and have more time and energy to spend doing things they enjoy.
