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    • Mental and behavioural disorders account for 19% of the global burden of disease - WHO
    • It is estimated that nearly 450 million people suffer from a mental or behavioural disorder in the world - WHO
    • Nearly 10% of total population suffers from these disorders - WHO
    • Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.
    • Nearly 1% of the Indian population suffer from serious mental & behavioural disorders and 10% from moderate disorders, requiring psychiatric help.
    • By 2020 mental depression will be largest cause of disabilty worldwide and by 2025 it may overtake heart diseases as the biggest health concern - WHO
    • About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14 - WHO
    • Around 20% of the world's children and adolescents are estimated to have mental disorders or problems - WHO
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Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder may make a person feel isolated, helpless, or harbour feelings of inadequacy. The patient often suffers from uncontrollable repeated thoughts and compulsive behaviours, or irrational urges with no easy escape from distress. It is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go of it.

The person feels severely hampered in handling day-to-day relationships, occupational and social roles.

Not anymore, says Dr Sandeep Vohra, Managing Director of Vohra Neuropsychiatry Centre Healthcare. Our centre psychiatrists are now successfully rendering relief to patients within India and abroad from the vagaries of obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Vohra Neuropsychiatry Centre Healthcare, fortunately, offers safe, effective and comprehensive online treatment so that the OCD patients can lead a satisfying and productive life.

Regular online consultative sessions are held on-line with OCD patients, who may often be calling from Bihar, Mumbai, Delhi, Madrid, Dubai or Afghanistan. The internet wire has become a crucial lifeline in healing people in different time-zones.

OCD is a disorder of the brain and the mind that causes some problems in information processing. It is an anxiety disorder and is not an individual’s fault or the result of a weak or unstable personality.

Multiple factors can cause the OCD. Research suggests that OCD involves insufficient levels of a neurochemical serotonin that makes people vulnerable to having the illness. These neurochemical disturbances result in problems in communication between the front part of the brain (the orbital cortex) and deeper structures (the basal ganglia), says Dr Vohra.

Genes do play a role in OCD in some cases, though the illness is still best explained by multiple factors. Some cases of childhood-onset OCD tend to run in families. When a parent has OCD, there is a slightly increased risk that a child will develop OCD, although the risk is still very low. Immediate professional help must be sought from a doctor in case of suspected illness.

OCD usually involves having both obsessions and compulsion, though a person with OCD may sometimes have only one or the other.

Obsessions

Obsessions are recurrent thoughts, images, or impulses that the individual feels out of his/her control. The individual finds them inappropriate, disturbing and intrusive, and usually recognizes that they don't really make sense. Obsessions are accompanied by uncomfortable feelings and anxiety when the person tries to stop these recurrent ideas/impulses. Some common obsessions include repeated thoughts of being contaminated, checking urges, excessive religious or moral doubt, intrusive sexual or aggressive thoughts, etc.

Compulsion

compulsions are behaviors or rituals that one feels driven to act out again and again. People with OCD typically try to make their obsessions go away by performing compulsions. OCD compulsions do not yield any pleasure. Rather, these rituals are performed to obtain temporary relief from the discomfort caused by the obsessions. These might include washing hands to remove “contamination”, repeating a name or phrase to reduce anxiety, performing a series of complex steps in exact order etc.

TREATMENT OPTIONS:

Medicinal

Newer and safer medications have revolutionized the treatment of OCD. These medications increase the levels of the neurotransmitter Serotonin in the brain and thus reduce the symptoms considerably. Recent studies suggest that longer duration of treatment rather than higher dosage is required for good response.

Cognitive Therapy

A combination of anti-obsessive medications with counselling and behaviour therapy has been found to yield better results. The type of Behaviour therapy most often used to treat OCD is called Exposure and Response Prevention. It consists of having an individual confront his/her fears and repetitive thoughts head-on by gradually exposing to more and more of them. Another technique, Thought Stopping, too helps in managing repeated, unwanted thoughts. With psychological management, one also learns ways to control one’s body responses to anxiety, such as breathing and relaxation exercises.

Family Education

The role of the family in helping patients is of utmost importance. The family members play a crucial role by supporting the patient in emotional, psychological and financial distress and encouraging compliance with medication.

Vohra Neuropsychiatry Centre Healthcare psychiatrists have a unique track-record in administering regular online healing to a large number of our patients both within India and other countries.

Dr Sandeep Vohra, Managing Director of Vohra Neuropsychiatry Centre Healthcare, is sanguine about the recovery of patients through regular treatment regime offered by the centre. Our treatment helps relieve symptoms of OCD. By our painstaking professional care, many people with OCD are now leading rewarding and meaningful lives in their communities.