What Do We Need For Recovery From Our OCD?

 (Information for this essay comes from the following source: the website ocduk.org/what-causes-ocd)

 

What do we really need for recovery from our OCD?  We don’t know the exact causes. We may ask 10 - 15 doctors; we may get just as many different answers.  There are many prevailing theories.

We don’t know why some treatments work for some and not for others.

It is believed that OCD is the result of the combination of the following factors:

1. neurobiological

2. genetic

3. behavioral

4. cognitive

5. environment

 

Even though there are certain parts of the brain are different in OCD sufferers than non OCD sufferers, it is unknown how these differences relate to the precise mechanisms of OCD.

 

An imbalance in the neurotransmitter or brain chemical serotonin could be to blame. Medications known as Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to treat OCD. But it is not known why these meds help some people.

 

Brain imaging has shown differences between the brains of people with OCD and those without OCD. But the scientific community is split whether what they have found is a cause or a result of having this disorder.

 

We just don’t know what the causes are or why certain treatments work for some and not for others.  

 

 

 

But there are things that we do know. I’m speaking for the Greater Toronto (Canada) Area and if other areas are similar, then, we have a long way to go.

 

There is a lack of genuine community support for OCD sufferers. As well as their families and friends. They need help as well.

 

Peer support groups can only do so much. They are places for members to share their pains, their frustrations, gather information.  But nothing more.

 

They have no right offering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy ( CBT) for liability reasons.

 

 CBT is hard to come by. In many cases, it is not free and can be costly. The wait lists are lengthy.

 

With apologies for sounding self righteous, in many community mental health agencies, we are often grouped with others who have more severe mental illnesses. Many are marginalized making OCD sufferers uncomfortable. Many of our OCD members have expressed this concern.

 

We may share commonalities with those who suffer from other mental illnesses but we do have differences that others do not understand.  And, I’m sure, we don’t understand them.

 

We need to address not only the OCD but the entire needs of the patients. Treat the persons with the illness, not just his illness.

 

Support should be available 365 days a year, Not just from 9 - 5 Monday – Friday. Our OCD does not take holidays or weekends off.

 

We need more people who understand, empathize with our sufferings. Those with caring hearts. Something that medications cannot offer.  

 

We need employment opportunities if we are to get back on our feet. We have a high unemployment rate. We need to create work environments that are welcoming, understanding.

 

Overcoming our OCD, getting out into the work force is like a cast coming off a broken leg. Recovery is slow, often terrifying. Like a person fearful about reinjuring a healed leg that was once broken, relapses are always fearfully lingering on the backs of our minds.

 

If none of these are true, why, then, does the World Health Organization, according to the website “ocduk.org”, rate OCD as one of the most disabling illnesses of any kind in terms of lost earnings and diminished quality of life? Why do so many OCD sufferers think about suicide?

 

We have a long way to go!!