Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, if left untreated can lead to serious consequences and harm. There are a couple of ways that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is treated.
Psychotherapy
A type of therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be the most effective. It is active, problem-focused, and goal-directed. CBT involves retraining your thought patterns and routines so that compulsive behaviors are no longer necessary. One approach in particular is called the exposure and response prevention (E/RP). It involves gradually exposing you to a feared object or obsession (exposure) such as dirt, and teaching you healthy ways to deal with it (response prevention). The cognitive portion of CBT is often added to E/RP to help challenge the irrational beliefs associated with OCD.
Many have suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder including famous, legendary minds. These are some of those people who have had OCD yet accomplished great things.
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer and director. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world with his net worth totaling 43.4 billion dollars. By the late 1950s Hughes had developed debilitating symptoms of social avoidance behavior and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which included compulsive hand washing. The Aviator (2004), directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes focuses primarily on Hughes’ achievements in aviation, in the movie industry, and on the increasing handicaps imposed on him by his obsessive-compulsive behavior.
I was washing my hands thinking about the act of washing my hand. I like to put the soap on my hand first and then wash it under the water. I have rituals like this, but they don’t consume my life. I wanted to research more about this topic of how a simple ritual is different from obsessive compulsive disorder.
Part I and Part II was on warning signs of suicide. The last part of this series will be on how to help a suicidal person. These are some of the ways to help in no particular order.
Part I blog was on identifying some of myths and facts of suicide. Today’s will outline the warning signs and risk factors to look for in a person that may be contemplating suicide.
Warning signs of suicide:
Expressing feelings directly or bringing up the topic of suicide
People contemplating suicide suffer great psychological and emotional pain. They often seek and want help.
Giving away prized possessions, settling affairs, making out a will
They feel a sense of responsibility to have things in order before ending their life.
Since initially writing a blog last September on why people commit suicide, I wanted to explore this difficult issue once again.
An average of 1 person every 16.1 minutes has killed themselves. There are more suicides than homicides. Each suicide intimately affects 6 other people. These are some of the staggering statistics taken from American Association of Suicidology 2005 statistics .
It is often hard to distinguish what is fact from fiction, especially with the stigmas that exist in our society. Here are some of the myths and explanation of facts:
Part I of this Alzheimer’s series consisted of a general overview, while part II was a blog about tools to help a person suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Today’s will concentrate on caregivers and preventing caregiver burden.
In January, I wrote a general blog about preventing caregiver burden and the following are more to add to the list.
acknowledge your feelings
As in any difficult situation, many feelings can come up. Some caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients have felt the following:
Alzheimer’s Disease blog Part I was an overview on what Alzheimer’s Disease is. Today’s blog will focus on how to keep your loved one safe, as well as happy.
Changes that will help a person suffering from Alzheimer’s:
Activities
physical activity
regular walks or dance can help both physically and mentally
social groups
church groups, adult day care centers, or senior centers can provide opportunities to socialize
Your loved one starts to forget the name of their daughter, forgets how to get home, forgets how to turn on the TV. These are the difficult scenes that play out if someone you love has Alzheimer’s Disease. This will be a three-part blog, consisting of a general overview, tools to help caregivers, and ways for caregivers to take care of themselves.
A couple years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Osteoporosis, a debilitating disease where bones become fragile and easy to break. Just recently after she took a bone density scan, we found that it had gotten much worse than expected. This was hard for the family, but especially for my mom. Although there are no cures at this time, there are medications that can be taken to slow down the disease and make the existing bones stronger. My mom has been in contact with various physicians as to the best treatment option and I as well have been trying to understand osteoporosis. Here are some information and resources that I gathered.
