OCD+and+Video+Game+Addiction

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Overview
toc OCD, by definition, is a mental disorder caused by miscommunication between the front and the back of the brain. These miscommunications can cause obsessions and compulsions. Though obsessions and compulsions are very similar, they are two different things. Compulsions are more like rituals that victims of OCD perform. Obsessions are not. The most recent study has shown that about 2-3 million adults have OCD today. That is roughly the same amount of people that live in Texas. More than 500,000 children have OCD. That's roughly the same amount of children who have diabetes (What). Children can develop OCD between the ages of 8-12 and also in early adulthood (Weinhouse). OCD has many more effects than just obsessions and compulsions. It can lead to hoarding, anxiety, and depression (Hutson). OCD also has an affect with other [|mental disorders].

Family
In one specific case, a girl's OCD got in the way with her relationship between her family. She was constantly angry and depressed because her family didn't understand what she was really going through. Her family had a hard time coping with her OCD and they tried to avoid it more than they tried to help it. Her OCD also caused her family to struggle financially. She started believing that her clothes were contaminated with germs so she could never wear the same clothes more than once. She had her family buy more and more clothes. Therefore, that put them in a financial struggle (Lanning).

Outside life
OCD can cause withdraw from the outside world because of fear of contamination and germs (Hutson). People with OCD are labeled as "crazy" because, often times, they don't have an answer for why they do what they do causing them to feel like outcasts (Weiskopf). In another specific case, one man always felt like he would become contaminated with the outside world so he always stayed in his house. This also later lead to him [|hoarding] Because OCD can be triggered by traumatic events in one's life, withdraw from the outside world can occur because of the fear of encountering that same event again (Howe). For those who are addicted to video games, it might be hard for them to solve problems when confronted with them, They might "hide" inside the game so that they don't have to actually solve the problem head on. They also might hide their feelings from others.

Young OCD
Children who develop OCD early don't see that their rituals or obsessions aren't "normal" (Help). Parents also don't know how to deal with their child's OCD. They might feel the need to just pretend it isn't there and other times they might just not know what to do. In children, "the most common signs and symptoms are fear of contamination/serious illness, fixation on lucky/unlucky numbers, fear of intruders, a need for symmetry or exactness, and excessive doubt" they might also have extreme [|anxiety.]

Solutions
Cognitive thinking and behavioral therapy sessions are one of the most effective ways to help cure OCD. This is when the person who has OCD is constantly exposed to their OCD. For example, if someone has an OCD about touching doorknobs, then in their cognitive therapy sessions the doctor would have them touch doorknobs over and over again. The goal of these sessions are to help the patient realize that their OCD is something that they can overcome. Another way to help cure OCD is getting the patient's family involved with the therapy sessions. The reason for this is because not only is the OCD affecting the one individual but their whole family. It is the best way to get everyone on the same page to help find a solution to the OCD and not work around it. There also is a medicine called Compulsin that helps lessen the compulsions and other obsessions that someone with OCD would have.

Reference Section
"BRAIN FOOD: Are you suffering from ... Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." Management Today 15 Sept. 2003: 29. Student Resources in Context. Web. 8 Mar. 2012

"Help for youngsters with obsessive compulsive disorder." USA Today [Magazine] Apr. 1998: 12+. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.

Howe, D.K. "Inheriting OCD. (Health & Medicine)." American Fitness May-June 2002: 14. Student Resources in Context. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.

Hutson, Matthew. "Learning to let go." Psychology Today Mar.-Apr. 2007: 27. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Lanning, Rebecca. "'My life was out of control.' (real life story of a teenager with obsessive-compulsive disorder)." Teen Magazine Dec. 1996: 58+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Symptoms and Treatment of Compulsive Behavior and Obsessive Thoughts." Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

OCD Logo. Digital image. Facebook. Web. 10 May 2012. .

Weinhouse, Beth. "The perfectionist disease." Good Housekeeping Mar. 1996: 86+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.

Weiskopf, Catherine. "Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Nov. 1998: 19. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.

"What Is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?" International OCD Foundation. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. .