AP Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Joanna feels that she needs to run up and down the stairs exactly 12 times before she leaves for school or else someone she loves will get hurt. What is the name for this type of intrusive, irrational thought?
an obsession
a compulsion
a fear
a disturbance
a heritability
The two parts of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are the obsessions and the compulsions. Obsessions are the irrational, intrusive thoughts that distress the person with OCD, and compulsions are the actions that the person takes to try to alleviate the distress of the obsession. In Joanna's case, the fear of someone getting hurt is the obsession and the running up and down the stairs is the compulsion.
Which of the following is not a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
Anxiety stemming from a traumatic injury
A fear of contamination
Avoidance of situations that may trigger obsessions
Compulsions to reduce anxiety
Intense stress when objects are not in order
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric illness characterized by excessive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive, maladaptive behaviors (compulsions). Common obsessions include a fear of contamination and/or a need to keep things orderly. Common compulsions include obsessive handwashing and counting in certain patterns.
OCD does not arise from a traumatic injury; it results from a combination of psychological and biological factors.
When John leaves his house in morning, he always has to check multiple times to make sure that he has locked his front door. If John tries to leave his house without checking his door, or after only checking it once, he is filled with such anxiety and dread that he must abandon whatever else he is doing to return home and check his front door again. John is most likely struggling with a(n) __________.
compulsion
obsession
stigma
mania
ethical dilemma
A compulsion is a behavior that one feels driven to perform repeatedly, aiming to reduce stress or prevent the occurrence of something horrible. These compulsive behaviors are quite often linked to obsessive thoughtsin cases of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
A patient has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and each morning and night she must spend 45 minutes writing words of praise in her journal so that her mother does not fall ill. The patient has been going to treatment for several years to deal with the issue.
Identify the obsession and the compulsion in this scenario.
Obsession: her mother's health . . . Compulsion: the writing ritual
Obsession: the writing ritual . . . Compulsion: her mother's health
Obsession: the writing ritual . . . Compulsion: going to treatment
Obsession: constant cleanliness . . . Compulsion: tidiness despite the room being clean
Obsessions are recurring intrusive thoughts or worries that are characterized by the extreme difficulty patients have suppressing them. The obsession here is the patient's concern with her mother's health. Compulsions are repeated behaviors that a person feels compelled to perform in relation to a given obsession. In this case, the need to write in a ritualistic fashion as as to prevent a realization of the obsessive fear is the compulsive act.
What is OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Organized-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-chaotic disorder
Obtuse-carotene disorder
Other non-categorized disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions (intrusive thououghts) and compulsions (intense needs to fulfill specific actions). A common obession is cleanliness, which can lend itself to compulsive hand washing or scrubbing.
Samantha must check that her keys are in her purse upon leaving the house exactly seven times. Samantha would most likely be diagnosed with __________.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
A phobia
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Agoraphobia
Schizophrenia
Given that Samantha must check for her keys a certain number of times until she is appeased, this begins to resemble ritualistic repetitive behavior. Repetitive ritualistic behavior is characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder. While checking for keys may be a part of everyday life, feeling the need to check for keys a specific and excessive number of times is not.
Which of the following is not true of obsessions, as listed in the DSM definition of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Used to reduce distress or prevent disasters
Persistent and recurring
Can take form of thoughts or mental images
OCD patient recognizes that obsessions are products of his/her own mind
All of these are true of obsessions
Unlike compulsions, which are behaviors that OCD patients feel they must do to prevent disaster or just to reduce their distress, obsessions are unwelcome, unhelpful thoughts that OCD patients actively attempt to ignore or suppress.
90% of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) often also suffer from another disorder. Which of the following disorders is most likely to co-occur with OCD?
Social anxiety disorders
Mood disorders
Body dysmorphic disorders
Panic disorders
Substance abuse disorders
90% of people people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) suffer from comorbid disorders. The most common comorbid disorders are social anxiety disorders. Of the 90% of OCD patients with comorbid disorders, 76% have social anxiety disorders. Approximately 63% suffer from mood disorders.
Henry has a habit that he wants help breaking. Henry tends to wash his hands in a particular way over a 5-minute period several times per day, sometimes up to 25 times per day. Often, his hands become red and his skin cracks because he washes them so much, but he continues washing because he becomes anxious if he doesn't wash. Based on this information, Henry is most likely to have ___________________.
obsessive compulsive disorder
panic disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder
specific phobia
Obsessive compulsive disorder involves persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless rituals (compulsions). In this case, we know that Henry has compulsions, but we don't have evidence of obsessions. However, compared to the symptoms of panic disorder (recurrent panic attacks), post-traumatic stress disorder (anxiety and avoidance occurring after a traumatic event), and specific phobia (excessive fear over objects or situations that pose no real threat), we can conclude that the most likely diagnosis would be obsessive compulsive disorder.
Which of the following is not a common compulsion associated with OCD?
Excessively having flash backs to a past event
Excessively checking to make sure the oven is turned off
Excessive hand washing
Excessively checking to make sure a loved one is still breathing
Excessively arranging items in a particular order
OCD is a disorder characterized by obsessions (intrusive, distressing thoughts) and compulsions (actions taken to try to "fix" the intrusive thought). Common compulsions include excessive washing, turning items off, checking on loved ones, and arranging items. Flashbacks are a symptom of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and are not associated with OCD.