OCD Flashcards
what is OCD?
presence of obsessions, compulsions or both
what are obsessions defined by?
- recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress – (egodystonic)
- individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges or images, or to neutralise them with some other thought or action
what are compulsions defined by?
- repetitive behaviours or mental acts that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
- behaviours or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety, or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviours or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralise or prevent, or are clearly excessive
what are egodystonic thoughts?
- not at all in line with who we are/or what we believe in
- in conflict with the ego
what are the most common obsession/compulsions?
- most common: contamination, order, doubt and the need to check
- sometimes aggressive impulses to harm someone
obsessions and compulsions are thought to have an e___ a___ function?
evolutionary adaptive
what are some features of OCD?
- no longer considered an anxiety disorder in DSM-5
- life-time prevalence fairly low compared to other anxiety disorders (2-3%)
- 90% of individuals experience obsessions AND behavioural compulsions
- similar prevalence in women and men
- up to 50% experience Major Depressive Disorder at the same time
what does the behavioural perspective say about OCD?
- Mowrer’s (1947) 2-factor theory
- behaviour and obsession linked by contiguous pairings = CC
- anxiety related with obsession leads to compulsions = OC
does exposure with response prevention help OCD?
- principles based on the behavioural perspective
- exposure to stimuli that provokes obsessions
- prevention of compulsions
- fairly effective treatment: ~50% of patients recover
what does the cognitive perspective say about OCD?
- obsessions (which are egodystonic) lead to automatic thoughts (which are egosyntonic) and compulsions
- ATs activate dysfunctional schemas and also lead to prevention/correction of compulsions
cognitive perspective on OCD: responsibility schemas - recurring experiences?
- growing up with rigid rules of conduct
- being shielded from responsibility (e.g., overprotective
parenting) - being raised with a sense of responsibility for avoiding harm
- increased responsibility for family members’ protection
cognitive perspective on OCD: responsibility schemas - isolated experiences?
incidents in which one actually does cause harm or erroneously
believes that he or she did
cognitive perspective on OCD: misinterpretations of responsibility?
- thinking being the same as acting – thought-action fusion.
- the failure to prevent self or other’s harm is the same as being responsible for that harm
- responsibility is never attenuated by other factors, such as low probability of a given event occurring
- not trying to prevent or neutralise an obsession is the same as wishing that the event occurs
- people must (and WE CAN) control their own thoughts
how does CBT help OCD: over-estimation of threat?
- lack of self-serving positivity attributional bias
- overestimate the likelihood of harm befalling them
- experience reduced relief compared to controls when presented with statistics about the low frequency of harmful events
how does CBT help OCD: thought control?
- OCD patients present higher thought control than typical individuals
- correlational studies: thought suppression associated with negative appraisal of those thoughts & OCD symptoms
- experimental studies: thought suppression alleviates negative appraisals and distress
