OCD Causes: Obsessive-Compulsive disorder is a serious mental illness that includes unwanted obsessions and compulsions. It affects the people of all ages that include man, women, old people, and children. It also includes checking, rumination, and repetitive behaviors.
Childhood trauma can affect the development of the brain. Obsessive-compulsive disorder may result due to childhood trauma. It can affect the psychological well being of people.
Here at TryArticles, I have discussed the connection between OCD and childhood trauma.
The Connection Between OCD and Childhood Trauma
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known as OCD, is defined by obsessive, negative thoughts that lead to distress and anxiety. In order to minimize the stress created by their negative emotions or stop their obsessive thoughts, people conduct repetitive, time-consuming actions.
OCD causes can manifest in many different ways. Some people are obsessed with ordering objects in a certain way, while others are overwhelmed by fears of harming someone they love. You might be so used to living with it that you have accepted its effects, but there are many ways that you can address its causes and take control of it.
While it is believed to be caused by a combination of various genetic and environmental factors, one potential cause that has been the focus of recent research is childhood trauma.
Other research shows that traumatic events primarily cause psychological symptoms like “repeated and unwanted re-experiencing of the event, hyperarousal, emotional numbing, and avoidance of stimuli (including thoughts) which could serve as reminders for the event.”
While most people will experience these symptoms at some point in their lives, they typically fade away after a few months. But many experience them for years after the traumatic event. Some experts believe that these people could be living with OCD or PTSD.
OCD Causes: Addressing Your Past To Move Forward
Trauma-related disorders are particularly tricky to treat. When you’re dealing with such delicate memories that can have many kinds of ripple effects on the psyche, you need to have experience dealing with the causes and effects of these experiences.
Dealing with your trauma through therapy is one thing, but outside the context of a comprehensive program, you probably won’t get far. Insight is necessary, but to truly address your childhood trauma and its link to your OCD, a combination of treatment modalities is ideal.
This is especially true for people who don’t respond to insight-based therapies (which, in the wrong hands, can even make symptoms worse).
In a comprehensive residential treatment program, a combination of medical diagnosis and a personalized recovery plan will address every angle of your mental health struggles. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, meaning your path to healing will be different from other people’s.
Commonly used OCD treatments include a specific type of CBT called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), antidepressants, and holistic therapies like yoga and meditation.
At the end of the day, addressing the complex nature of mental illnesses like OCD and the trauma tied to them is best accomplished in a residential setting.
It will be a tough road, but through the help of professional guidance, peer support networks, and treatments that work best for your unique struggle, you will be able to come to terms with your past and begin moving toward the future.
And it makes sense: Looking at cognitive-behavioral models of PTSD reveals many similarities to similar models of OCD. Recent research even suggests that these disorders exist on the same continuum. Although studies continue to shed light on the causes and effects of this disorder, many therapists are unsure of how to approach people with childhood trauma and OCD. For this reason, a comprehensive treatment program is often necessary.
Other research shows that traumatic events primarily cause psychological symptoms like “repeated and unwanted re-experiencing of the event, hyperarousal, emotional numbing, and avoidance of stimuli (including thoughts) which could serve as reminders for the event.”
While most people will experience these symptoms at some point in their lives, they typically fade away after a few months. But many experience them for years after the traumatic event. Some experts believe that these people could be living with OCD or PTSD.
Many studies have solidified the link between OCD and childhood trauma. A theory proposed by psychologist Stanley Rachman suggests that people are more likely to experience obsessions when they are exposed to stressful situations. The theory also suggests that these thoughts are triggered by external cues. And when it comes to compulsions,
Rachman believed that they occur when a person believes they have a responsibility to prevent unwanted events. In the case of childhood trauma, a person might respond with compulsions that they believe will prevent these events.
OCD can manifest in many different ways. Some people are obsessed with ordering objects in a certain way, while others are overwhelmed by fears of harming someone they love. You might be so used to living with it that you have accepted its effects, but there are many ways that you can address its causes and take control of it.
While it is believed to be caused by a combination of various genetic and environmental factors, one potential cause that has been the focus of recent research is childhood trauma.
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