Icky and Gross

Case Study 8: A 26 year old man is very concerned about cleanliness and hygiene. He spends a significant amount of time each day washing his hands or showering, especially after touch a toilet seat, doorknob, or any other item he thinks may be dirty or contaminated. The patient explains that he is concerned about becoming infected or sick from touching these objects. He periodically acknowledges that the washing is excessive but explains that he becomes very anxious when he tries to avoid washing and eventually feels compelled to wash even more to make up for the omission.

According to DSM-IV (http://allpsych.com/disorders/anxiety/index.html), This man has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). A major indicator of this disease is an obsession to become cleaner. People with this disease will wash their hands nonstop because they are always constantly afriad of becoming infected from touching "dirty" objects. They wash their hands excessively to the point of skin irritation. Another symptom is that people with OCD feel anxious when they don't wash their hands.

One way to cure OCD is to take medication. Generally, antidepressants are used to treat OCD.

Also, Psychotherapy can be used to help control the urges to wash, cope better withs stressors, and help conquer the issues associated with obessesive thoughts.

Basically, this man is concerned with being clean all the time. He worries about getting sick if he touches any objects that he deems to be unclean, so he washes his hands obssessively. He feels anxious if he tries to resist the urges to wash, and so he makes up for the anxiety by washing even more. This devastating obsession has all the symptoms of Obssessive Compulsive Disorder.