Obsessive-compulsive syndrome. Reasons and how to get rid of it?

Norm or?

At first glance, love for cleanliness and order is very commendable. The home of such a person is usually pleasant to look at. But the more you observe this individual, the more you will be surprised by his behavior.

For example, such people do wet cleaning every day. They don't forget to wipe the dust off the furniture, even if it's not there. It is very important for them to arrange the trinkets on the chest of drawers in the “correct” order; they will definitely straighten a crooked tablecloth or bedspread on the bed... And they also wash their hands a hundred times a day, and certainly with antibacterial soap, change towels daily and carefully align them on the hanger after each use, polish dishes and bathroom fixtures until they shine...

Their loved ones suffer from such “cleanliness”, since the latter constantly hear nagging, accusations of sloppiness: they didn’t clean their shoes, or there were stains on cups or glasses, or they didn’t notice a small spot on the floor... They can throw a tantrum at the slightest reason, which is not uncommon leads to scandals in the family. If a person lives alone, he may not allow other people, even relatives, into the apartment so that, God forbid, they do not stain the floors or furniture...

Causes of "mania"

If you realize that someone (or yourself) is literally fixated on cleaning, try to find the reason for this. There may be several of them.

Fear

Some people have ripophobia - the fear of dirt. They see dirt literally everywhere, even where there is no trace of it. Therefore, they endlessly wash their hands and all objects that can be washed.

Another type of mania is the desire for ideal order. Those suffering from it can straighten a hundred times, for example, what they think is crooked clothing hanging on a chair. Items in a room, closet or somewhere else must be placed in a strictly defined order, and nothing else...

This is a pathologically obsessive condition that needs to be treated. Such a patient needs to undergo a course of psychotherapy.

State of chronic stress

It doesn’t matter for what reason the stress arose: a person has troubles in his personal life, at work, he has lost someone close... If a person has not been noticed in anything like this before, but now he constantly has a broom or a vacuum cleaner in his hands, then a mop, it can be “stressful” cleaning.

Doing housework helps to take your mind off dark thoughts and at least temporarily “drive” them out of your head. However, with prolonged stress, this can only serve as a temporary measure. If you find yourself cleaning even when it’s not at all necessary, then maybe it’s better to go to a psychologist rather than transferring cleaning products and detergents...

Diffidence

Putting things in order in the house, arranging and putting things on shelves and drawers gives a person the illusion of control over their life. This usually happens when we realize that we are not able to control the world around us, the one outside the walls of our apartment. For such a person, everything can be very difficult at work and in his personal life... But in his little world he is the absolute master.

Everyone has at least once met a person who is obsessed with order. Such people spend all their time cleaning. The room, in their opinion, should sparkle with cleanliness. Our mothers instilled in us a love of cleaning from childhood. This is a quality that is always rewarded. However, upon detailed observation of the behavior of a person obsessed with cleanliness, one can notice the absurdity of his actions and irritability.

Sometimes adherence to order develops into mania

How to cope with obsessive-compulsive disorder on your own

OCD can last for many years. Drug therapy is not always indicated or does not bring results. Therefore, learning to cope as independently as possible for the patient in this situation is one of the best solutions.

What is the main problem of those suffering from OCD?

1. In the unconditional faith that a ridiculous thought will be followed by real action.
2. In tireless resistance to these ridiculous thoughts.
3. In constant fear (conscious or subconscious) of losing control over yourself and achieving your plans.
4. In constant fear of being bad for others.

Important. The patient needs to understand that all his absurd and frightening thoughts are just diverse illusions of a brain tired of increased anxiety. As soon as there is a clear understanding that each obsession is another “wrapper” of subconscious fears and suppressed aggression, in which the brain “hides” deep-seated unresolved problems, this will serve as the beginning of a successful recovery from this type of disorder.

Two actions, without which it will be impossible for the patient to break the vicious circle of obsessions and compulsions:

1. Stop any struggle with illogical thoughts that arise.

For example, an obsession came that the patient, leaving the house, did not turn off the iron. The obsession is rapidly progressing, depicting a terrible fire in the apartment.

What need to do? Stop any resistance to the obsession. Let her go and let her draw to the end how the apartment burned down, what hardships she will have to endure in the next few years and why he (the patient) is doing all this?!

What is important is that the iron may indeed not be turned off. In this case, you need to use the equipment after the first certifying inspection of the apartment.

2. Stop indulging forever in illogical, meaningless desires that provoke obsessions.

For example, an obsession that convinces the patient that he can kill his own father with any cutting object forces him to hide from himself all the sharp and piercing objects in the apartment.

Develop the obsession to the end: the patient kills his father, finds himself imprisoned for life, of course, I feel sorry for the father, but what can be done? The most important thing is to stop putting all knives out of sight. Accept their existence as a daily necessity and nothing more.

Thus, a completely conscious attitude towards the quality of one’s irrational thoughts and actions leads to lasting relief of symptoms and complete recovery.

Causes of the disorder

The development of the disease can be caused both by the characteristics of upbringing, and it can develop independently at a conscious age. The reasons are as follows:

1. Chronic stress. Often the urge to clean appears as a result of severe stress at work or in your personal life. It has been scientifically proven that physical labor helps to distract from anxious thoughts. If you notice that the desire to restore order appears every time after stressful situations, you should contact a specialist.
2. Diffidence. Cleaning your living space helps you feel like you are in control of your life. A manic desire to clean occurs when a person is unable to control the events happening around him. Order gives the illusion of control and significance.
3. Perfectionism is the name of a mental disorder in which achieving an ideal is the main goal of life. Perfectionists diligently put everything on the shelves, wash the floors with special care, and wipe off the dust. If someone ruins their efforts, they will definitely face a flurry of negative emotions and the aggression of a perfectionist.
4. The desire to be good. This reason comes from childhood: when our parents wanted to see us as the smartest, most talented child. This became the starting point for the development of the good child syndrome. With the syndrome, a person tries to do everything in the best possible way and receive a reward for it.

Symptomatic picture

To proceed to direct treatment, you need to make sure there is a problem. The disease manifests itself in the following:

• it seems to the person that the room around him is dirty and requires urgent cleaning;
• thoughts are concentrated only on putting things in order;
• people susceptible to this disease experience the fear of contracting diseases through contact with dirty objects.

Such mania gradually develops into a fear of dirt, which is called ripophobia.

Communication with a ripophobe

Many families suffer because they do not know how to establish communication with the patient or how to convey their thoughts to him. Explain to the person that everyone has their own understanding of cleanliness and order. There is a concept of creative clutter - it is scientifically proven that a little chaos promotes mental clarity, an influx of inspiration and fresh ideas.

If you are forced to live with a repophobe in the same apartment, make a clear distinction between your things and his things.

Forbid him to clean up and throw away what does not belong to him. If conversations and persuasion do not help, it is worth taking the patient to see a specialist.

Possible dangers

It is generally accepted that cleanliness is the key to health. In pursuit of unsurpassed purity, the human immune system suffers. She suffers under the influence of disinfectants used during cleaning. The manic desire to get rid of harmful bacteria leads to the destruction of beneficial ones, which have a positive effect on the human body.

When the bacterial balance is disturbed, gastrointestinal disorders, acne on the skin, and hormonal imbalance are observed.

Young children are at greater risk. Being in sterile conditions, their body loses the ability to resist disease. The absence of viruses and bacteria is just as destructive for humans as their excess.

Perfect cleanliness is dangerous for the body

Correction

Mania for cleanliness and order is a purely psychological problem that requires treatment. Aromatherapy and working with a psychologist will help with this.

Psychological help

Since mania for cleanliness is formed under the influence of psychological factors, treatment must be appropriate. Seek help from a psychotherapist who will determine the exact cause of the problem and help you cope with it. There are several effective methods.

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy consists of correcting the patient’s consciousness. The goal of this therapy is to change your way of thinking, established habits, and lifestyle.
2. Hypnosis. The hypnosis technique is based on putting a person into a deep hypnotic sleep, during which therapeutic effects are carried out through suggestion.

Both methods have shown their effectiveness in practice and are popular in the treatment of such abnormalities.

Aromatherapy

Mania of order occurs as a result of emotional overstrain and excitement. To relax, you need to regularly carry out therapy with aromatic oils; to do this, you need to pour a couple of drops into a special candle, thanks to which the apartment will be filled with wonderful aromas. Aroma oils should contain:

1. Lavender. Helps normalize the functioning of the central nervous system, promotes healthy, complete sleep.
2. Orange. Clears the mind, improves mood, restores the body's strength.
3. Bergamot. Promotes the production of dopamine (the hormone of happiness), reduces symptoms of anxiety and nervous tension.
4. Mint. Stabilizes, restores psychological health, eliminates overexcitement and depression.
5. Marjoram. Normalizes sleep, relieves stress and anxiety.
6. Rose. Stabilizes hormonal levels, relaxes, relieves irritability and fatigue.

If you notice a manic desire to constantly clean the room, strive to ensure that the apartment is perfectly clean, try to let go of the situation, this will not lead to anything good. You need to be more relaxed about cleaning. This doesn't mean your home has to be dirty. It’s just that every action should be done in moderation.

Do you already clean your house several times a day? Do people around you tell you about this or are you lucky enough to notice it yourself? Do you wash your hands after almost “everything” and very thoroughly, although there is no visible degree of contamination? Do you have a sudden desire to clean things up outside your home? Unfortunately, there is no need to talk about simple love for cleanliness here.

What does “purity neurosis” mean?

Purity neurosis is a fairly recent definition for the average person, and what’s more, it’s not particularly clear and difficult to diagnose. The general basis of neurosis is the intractability of some conflict situation or feeling, with incorrect attempts to resolve them.

Psychologists believe that the theoretical limit of the transition of the desire to restore order into a neurosis of cleanliness is determined by the infliction of concern by this behavior on oneself and the people around. Cleaning is not for the sake of cleaning, washing your hands not for the sake of cleansing them - this does not bring pleasure, like ordinary cleaning. That is, a person, in fact, does not have an objective reason to restore this order, the opportunity to receive everyday “benefit” from the result, because everything was clean before, and does not realize this fact in time.

Another “painful” manifestation can be considered cleaning at an inconvenient time with very careful efforts and fanatical emotions (for example, starting to wash a new object 3 minutes before guests arrive). An unreasonably long duration of cleaning without the ability to stop is also a syndrome of neurosis, an obsessive state.

Cleaning, hand washing and excessive bathing without pleasure, as a rule, speak of personal problems and an exaggerated desire to be perfect. Hand washing is sometimes given the meaning of the desire to erase traces of someone or some problematic relationship. People often experience prolonged bathing and hand-washing as a result of unresolved feelings about their partner’s betrayal.

Aggressive feelings that arise from the inability to express emotions about some problematic situation or the belief that there is no one to discuss them with also lead to this “exit” in emergency cleaning. Unexpressed aggression towards other people is also connected to all this.

The desire to “protect” yourself from “bad” thoughts often occurs when you begin such “cleaning”, “washing” everything around you and yourself.

A manifestation of such neurosis can also be a desire (or rather an action) at the moment of the conflict itself, a quarrel, to rearrange something or begin to remove some things (even blaming the other side of the conflict for the disorder). This kind of cleaning helps relieve the first wave of stress and demonstrates the desire to gain control over the situation. More often this manifestation is typical for women.

An overly vigilant attitude towards finding all objects “in their place”, an exaggerated desire to structure everything - is also a “bell” of neurosis. The house is sometimes called the “second body.” And the desire to put things in order in the house is a clear reflection of the desire to put your inner world in order. For such people, moving can be a real disaster with inevitable domestic chaos leading to increased internal chaos.

Men may also experience similar neuroses. Only its manifestation is somewhat different. For example, due to the inability to survive anger, humiliation (for example, due to a conflict at work due to the impossibility of holding a high position) at home, a husband may rudely and constantly demand unrealistic cleanliness and order from his wife.

In the neurosis of purity, problems of sexuality and manifestations of love can also manifest themselves. A person who is wounded and has experienced shame, his imperfection in this area, with his hyperpurity wants to earn the title of “best” and a declaration of love, at least through his master’s qualities.

People with a cleanliness neurosis tend to think about cleaning other than their home. Having visited owners who are less scrupulous in this regard, they begin to get wildly irritated because of the “dirty” house and the mess, unwashed windows or tiles. But in fact, the reason is that the thought arises “about the inconsistency of these people” with the standards of this person. If the owners are not bothered by this, then this is a neurotic problem, which results in serious discomfort. And if a person does not dare to say that this situation is unpleasant for him, then the next step will be very thorough hand washing and another “unplanned” cleaning of the house.

The manifestation of purity neurosis will be stronger, the stronger the person’s stress, the more acutely he experiences this conflict.

Those who are nearby also suffer in this situation in their own way. Not only can this behavior cause them anxiety, but they may also think that the person considers their presence unnecessary. After all, normal communication is impossible during constant cleaning.

Purity neurosis can only be a partial manifestation of mental “problems.” But this should not be confused with the usual maintenance of cleanliness, the desire to set one’s boundaries, to save one’s space by maintaining the place of one’s things.

Who is more susceptible to purity neurosis?

We found that purity neurosis can be characteristic of both women and men. Let us outline some more detailed signs that “attract” purity neurosis.

Psychologists identify personal characteristics that predispose to the appearance of this type of neurosis. Among them: low self-esteem, uncertainty, susceptibility to judgment (especially manifested as a way to relieve tension before the arrival of certain or large numbers of guests), the desire to be perfect and ideal, etc. All this may be connected to the presence of stereotypes created in childhood. And, of course, external stress will affect the manifestation of neurosis.

Some part of pedantic people can come against all this background into a state of neurosis of purity.

People with obsessive thoughts and a desire to repress them, who set strict limits for themselves and others are high on this list.

It is believed that those who are inclined to avid collecting fall into the same list.

Who is not at risk? Psychologists say that these are people who are able to play at life and perceive themselves and everyone around them with all their advantages and disadvantages.

Does cleaning solve problems?

Of course, frequent physical actions and their repeated repetition to some extent create a feeling of emotional relief, but for the psyche this is a somewhat unfavorable release of experiences. Motor activity can only slightly disrupt the painful series of emotional experiences and interrupt mental activity. But this also makes it impossible to see adequately what the reason for this “cleaning up” is. It is also, as it were, an independent decision without the participation of other parties to the conflict, the desire to master the conflict situation independently.

Cleaning becomes a kind of illusion of protecting oneself, but this is not a solution to the problem, but a reason to seek help (depending on the severity of the condition: either from loved ones or from a specialist).

But, unfortunately, cleaning does not have the ability to relieve stress. On the contrary, such behavior can lead to the habit of repeating all this during any subsequent stressful condition.

Only partial relief can be brought by this activity at first, but not for long. After all, the problem itself is not resolved.

Moreover, a perfectly tidy room can exacerbate a stressful state (for example, with the problem of loneliness, people feel it even more, seeing that there is no one to disturb the order). And then everything comes back with greater force.

If there are loved ones at home, then their praise for cleaning can be a reward if the person lacks their attention.

If this is a negative reaction or a rude remark about the frequency of cleaning, then this is unlikely to help the neurotic. It’s better to try to distract the person, walk somewhere with him, or do the cleaning together and very delicately ask if something is bothering him.

Of course, in the phrase “neurosis of purity” the main thing is not purity at all. This is a huge litmus test of the need to love yourself and the whole world around you as it is. Love makes it easier to look at any shortcomings and do “spring cleaning” in the soul.

From the psychotherapist's notes:

When Larisa sees dust on the window sills and debris on the floor, she experiences a feeling close to sexual arousal. She puts things in order with pleasure and, looking around the transformed room at the end of the work, feels almost ecstasy.

Problem: the husband complains about his wife’s coldness and lack of enthusiasm in bed. The children are tired of their mother’s constant comments about the need to wash their hands not only before, but also after, as well as while eating, and the obsessive aroma of household chemicals.

WHAT'S THE MATTER?

It turns out that her parents taught her from childhood: sex is dirty! Everything related to gender, femininity, intimate organs, too. And now she constantly feels unclean. She washes her hands often, takes a shower, and does laundry all the time. But on the other hand, when she comes into contact with dirt while putting things in order, she seems to be introduced to sex! After all, it’s in her subconscious: sex is dirt, which means dirt is sex! The same attitude towards cleaning is found not only among people with incorrect sex education, but also among women who have been sexually assaulted, as well as those who consider their intimate partner unpleasant. The same mechanism works: intimacy is associated with something disgusting.

By the way, in the most extreme cases, a woman can become completely unkempt in terms of personal hygiene (they say, anyway, neither water nor soap will wash away the main dirt - the genitals), but she is fanatical about disinfecting her home.

Such neat people can be identified by their clothes: they are emphatically asexual. Looks like a monk's robe, a school uniform or a men's suit.

SOLUTION:

Do you recognize yourself? Understand that by creating sterile cleanliness, you undermine children’s immunity! An experiment was conducted: some newborn mice were placed in disinfected cages, and some were placed in cages where a little house dust was added daily. When, after some time, the pups were placed in conditions familiar to their parents, laboratory mice, the first pups began to get sick often and eventually died from various infections. And the second group felt great. Therefore, clean up only the dirt that your eyes see. There is also no need to fight the invisible (this is not only unnecessary, but also harmful).

And be sure to consult a psychotherapist about your attitude: sex is dirty! Also, try to arrange an act of love with your husband somewhere on the deserted bank of a river, lake or sea. Don't be afraid to get dirty! And try to get pleasure despite all parental taboos.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an uncontrollable process of constantly remembering traumatic past events, thoughts or actions. Characteristic for people who lack self-confidence. Changes that often occur that disrupt the patient’s usual activities are accompanied by painful experiences.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is typical for people who lack self-confidence

There are two types of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

Distracted obsession, which includes:

1. Obsessive counting
   - a person counts everything he sees: steps, windows, buttons on the shirt of the person standing next to him. Various arithmetic operations with numbers can also be performed - addition, multiplication.
2. Obsessive thoughts
   (neurotic obsessions) - manifest themselves as thoughts of a negative nature that offend the moral essence of a person, which cannot be gotten rid of. They cause a constant feeling of anxiety and can even develop into a phobia.
3. Intrusive memories
   are events from the past of a negative nature that arise involuntarily in the form of vivid pictures.
4. Compulsions
   are automatic, uncontrolled movements that occur involuntarily. The patient does not notice these actions, but is able to stop by force of will. However, as soon as he is distracted, they will resume.

Imaginative obsession, which includes emotional experiences such as anxiety, emotional stress, fear.

Classification according to ICD-10

According to the international classifier, obsessive-compulsive disorder is designated as obsessive-compulsive disorder and is located under code F42.

The disease is characterized as the presence of obsessive thoughts and actions that stereotypically arise in the patient. By nature, these images, ideas or impulses are always upsetting for the patient, and the fight against them is completely unsuccessful.

The patient regards such thoughts and further forced actions as his own ideas, even if they are completely immoral and disgusting.

Obsessive actions look like rituals and are repeated to the patient again and again in the form of stereotypical mannerisms. In this case, we are not talking about any pleasure or actions favorable to someone.

The essence of each action is to prevent some terrible event if the patient does not carry out this action in a timely manner.

As a rule, the patient recognizes the actions as useless and absurd, and he resists them in every possible way to no avail. The emotional background is consistently alarming. When resisting compulsive actions, the level of anxiety increases sharply and becomes clearly expressed in external manifestations.

Included: anankastic neurosis and obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Excluded: obsessive-compulsive personality (F60.5).

Obsessiveness. Their clinical manifestations

The most common symptom of obsessional neurosis is obsessions

- obsessive thoughts of a negative nature. The patient is aware of his condition and tries to cope with the disease, but it is impossible to do this on his own.

Compulsions may occur

, which may be hidden actions or thoughts.

With mild neurosis, outsiders may attribute the patient’s quirks to the person’s character traits; in severe conditions, this disorder means disability.

Mild neurosis is sometimes mistaken for personality traits

There are several paths of the disease:

• Symptoms persist for several months or even years
• With lulls and outbreaks provoked by stressful situations
• Constant and steady progression of the disease

What is obsessive neurosis and why does it occur?

OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder
This term has many synonyms: obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD. If you translate the name of the disease from Latin, you get the following:

• obsessio – two interpretation options: “interception, siege” or “obsession with an idea”;
• compulsio – “coercion”.

Whatever you call the condition, the meaning is the same: with obsessive disorder, a person is overcome by annoying, persistent, tormenting thoughts. These can be memories, doubts, fears - obsessions. They take over consciousness, cause a feeling of panic, growing anxiety, and paint their own picture of the world, distorting objective reality.

The personality ceases to exist here and now, plunging into the abyss of fear. Often, trying to get rid of the pressure caused by obsession, the patient commits compulsions - monotonous, repetitive actions that calm him down and return him to reality. Hence the scientific name of the disease, shortened to OCD.

Previously, it was believed that obsessive-thought neurosis was a problem for adults overloaded with work and various household concerns. However, today the disease has become much younger, and children are increasingly affected by it. Increased workload, excitability, inability to express accumulated experiences, lack of physical activity, overexertion, stressful situations are the main factors that cause such deviations in childhood.

Personality characteristics in obsessive-compulsive neurosis

Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs after 10 years of age and is most common during puberty. An assistant in the development of NNS are such personality traits as: anxious and suspicious - indecisiveness, anxiety, constant susceptibility to doubt, strong self-doubt, conservatism; anankasty - excessive caution and suspicion, rigidity, perfectionism, fixation on negative thoughts, the desire to do everything right. As neurosis progresses, personality disorders also develop.

Fears associated with obsessions are called phobias (a phobia is an irresistible strong fear that occurs even if the patient is aware of its groundlessness and meaninglessness). Therefore, NNS are divided into two groups:

1. Phobic neurosis
   - obsessive fears.
2. Obsessive action neurosis
   - obsessive movements and actions.

Diet

Diet for the nervous system

• Efficacy: therapeutic effect after 2 months
• Timing: constantly
• Cost of food: 1700-1800 rubles per week

Diet for depression

• Efficacy: therapeutic effect after 1-3 months
• Dates: no data
• Cost of products: 1700-1800 rubles. in Week

The influence of various micronutrients on the functions of the central nervous system, emotional reactions/mood and, in general, on the general condition and well-being of a person has been reliably proven. A lack of micronutrients in the body (magnesium, iron, B12, B1, B6, C, B2, folic acid) leads to an imbalance of neurotransmitters, including those that are actively involved in the synthesis of serotonin .

A rationally formed diet containing a sufficient amount of minerals/vitamins will help reduce the manifestations of negative symptoms. For obsessive-compulsive neuroses, patients are recommended to follow the Diet for the Nervous System , and for patients with comorbid disorders in the form of depressive disorders, the Diet for Depression .

How to get rid of obsession

It is advisable to combine several approaches to quickly and effectively treat the patient.

Obsession syndrome should not be left untreated

To get rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the following are used:

• Drug therapy - the use of antidepressants, tranquilizers, psychotropic drugs. In severe cases of the disease, the patient may remain in a psychiatric hospital.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy involves bringing the patient face to face with his phobia in order to demonstrate how unfounded his fears are.
• “Thought stopping” - used to treat obsessions and phobias.
• Hypnosis.
• Individual psychotherapy.
• Autogenic training.
• Game therapy.
• Art therapy.

Causes and stages of development

Obsessive neurosis develops due to biological and psychological factors. But each case is individual, and therefore the degree of influence of factors is different. The severity of manifestations is measured using the Yale-Brown scale. If we consider the psychological side of obsessive-compulsive neurosis, then compulsive behavior (which is not rational) may be due to genetic markers.

According to science, obsessive neurosis occurs as a result of metabolic disorders of the hormone of joy - serotonin. Doctors believe that serotonin regulates anxiety levels by binding to nerve cells through receptors. In addition, scientists suggest that the 3rd factor may be ecology, but a genetic connection has not yet been established. By the way, the likelihood of a hereditary predisposition to obsessive-compulsive disorder neurosis is extremely high, based on the latest medical research.

Medicine knows 3 stages of obsessive-compulsive neurosis:

1. At stage 1, manifestations of obsessive states can persist for 2-3 months or about 2 years.
2. Remitting, which is characterized by a weakening of obsessions and impulses.
3. This stage is characterized by a progressive form of the disease. However, complete relief from anxiety and anxious thoughts occurs extremely rarely. Already closer to 40 years, obsessive neurosis with its painful manifestations recedes.

In the 19th century The term “neurosis” gained popularity, which was equated to the patient’s obsessive state. Scientist Jean-Etienne D. Esquirol called this type of disorder the disease of doubt, since patients often hesitated between common sense and complete nonsense.

Neurosis of obsessive thoughts is suffered less often than neurasthenia or hysterical neurosis. But people of both sexes suffer from this disorder equally. Diagnosis is simple: the patient is asked to stretch his arms forward to make sure his fingers are shaking. In addition, with obsessive-compulsive neurosis, revitalization of tendon reflexes, hyperhidrosis of the hands and disturbances in the functioning of the autonomic system are observed.

Obsession with cleanliness

Cleaning that is not fun and inconvenient for everyone is the most common form of cleanliness neurosis.

Neurosis of purity arises due to the impossibility of resolving a conflict situation or a constantly disturbing feeling. What distinguishes obsession from the usual desire to tidy up an apartment is that with such behavior a person begins to cause inconvenience to himself and others. The patient does not receive pleasure and household benefits from cleaning, since often already clean and put away things are put in order.

Cleanliness neurosis can manifest itself as:

• Washing already clean objects, moving things that are in order from place to place, constant hand washing, long bath procedures, etc.
• Cleaning at inappropriate times (a few minutes before guests arrive, during an argument).
• Excessively long cleaning with the inability to stop.
• The desire to put everything in its place and intolerance to the movement of things from their usual positions.

At the same time, a person does not receive pleasure from all of the above actions.

Cleanliness neurosis is associated with a constantly disturbing feeling

Cleanliness neurosis can occur due to:

• Exaggerated desire to be perfect
• Desires to forget some unpleasant events of the past
• Aggression caused by the inability to express one’s emotions or opinion on something or someone else’s account
• Trying not to think about very exciting events
• Striving to put your inner world in order
• Desires to compensate for one’s shortcomings of a sexual nature - imaginary or real - at the expense of one’s abilities in the household

In men, the obsession with cleanliness manifests itself somewhat differently from women: they begin to demand from their wives constant and unattainable cleanliness in the house. Neurosis can be caused by any unexperienced negative emotion.

People with:

• Low self-esteem
• Strong dependence on the opinions of others
• Lack of confidence in yourself and your judgment
• Certain stereotypes that developed in childhood
• Constant exposure to stress
• Excessive demands on yourself and others
• A penchant for collecting

An uncontrollable desire for cleanliness is observed in patients not only in their own homes, but also when they visit other people's apartments. As a result, when visiting, this person either demands urgent cleaning from the owners of the house, experiencing serious discomfort due to the home not meeting his standards, or tolerates it, which leads to another unplanned cleaning of the house and excessive amounts of hand washing. Symptoms of purity neurosis are directly proportional to the severity of a person’s internal experiences.

However, it is worth remembering that keeping the apartment clean and tidy, putting things in their places and organizing them is not necessarily a symptom of neurosis if all these actions give a person pleasure and do not take up most of his time.

Cleaning when you are obsessively clean still does not bring psychological satisfaction

Obsessive thoughts during VSD

VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia) is a dysfunction of the human autonomic system. With this disease, the following types of neuroses may occur:

• Neurasthenia
  is increased irritability of the body combined with general weakness and loss of strength, increased fatigue and, as a result, physical and mental exhaustion. Accompanied by depression, dizziness and severe headaches that interfere with mental and physical work.
• Hysterical neurosis
  is a strong surge of emotions that occurs as a result of severe stress and is accompanied by convulsions, partial loss of sensitivity, transient paralysis, and loss of consciousness.
• Phobic neurosis
  is a constant feeling of fear and anxiety, accompanied by disruption of the autonomic system, and resulting in social withdrawal. Also, as a result, panic attacks and phobias may occur.
• Hypochondriacal neurosis
  is excessive preoccupation with one’s own health and, as a result, a constant feeling of anxiety and fear of getting sick. Such patients react sharply to any physical discomfort felt and immediately consult a doctor. They can invent symptoms for themselves and in most cases do not agree to take medications.
• Obsessive-compulsive neurosis
  is involuntary thoughts and fears that cannot be eliminated.
• Depressive neurosis
  is chronic fatigue, depression, loss of interest in life, in some cases accompanied by thoughts of suicide. Occurs due to unresolved traumatic situations.

From childhood, everyone is taught to have order and cleanliness. Cleanliness is a sign that a good housewife lives in the house. Ordinary house cleaning turns into a manic passion for sterility. Some wash their hands almost every 5 minutes with antibacterial soap and force others to adhere to the same hygiene rules.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

For effective treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis, complex therapy is prescribed, including medicinal and psychotherapeutic treatment.

Antidepressants and drugs that relieve anxiety and fear (tranquilizers) are often used. The use of anxiolytics for a long time is not recommended due to the rapid development of psychophysical dependence. Therefore, it is advisable to discontinue their use at the first improvement in emotional health.

Drugs of the depressant group are prescribed when obsession is accompanied by a depressive state. For mild symptoms of depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are used.

To improve the effectiveness of treatment, patients suffering from obsessive disorder are often prescribed behavioral and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. Basic psychotherapeutic procedures:

1. Exposure therapy is the most effective treatment for this disease. When used in combination with hypnosuggestive psychotherapy, it allows you to achieve the desired results in a short time.
2. The emaginal exposure method helps to significantly reduce the frequency of obsessions and reduce individual sensitivity to disturbing thoughts and images. It is performed by recording short stories on audio media based on the patient’s obsessions. This method allows the patient to influence his own fears.
3. In addition, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is a widespread psychotherapy used to treat various neurological diseases, including obsessive syndrome. The main goal of this method is to change the subjective perception of psychological experiences. The fact is that our feelings and behavior directly depend on our thoughts. To one degree or another, we tend to exaggerate the complexity of almost all life situations. In other words, we experience discomfort not from the problem itself, but from attempts to control and eliminate it. The end result of this therapy for a person suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder is a change in the perception of situations, thoughts and feelings that previously caused discomfort.

Regardless of the chosen therapeutic method, first of all, the psychotherapist must completely win over the patient. Only in this case will there be fruitful cooperation aimed at eliminating the disease. An important role in this matter is played by the patient’s relatives, who need to be instilled with faith in his recovery. It is worth noting that with the correct use of psychotherapeutic methods, the effectiveness of drug treatment significantly increases.

Features of the disorder

There must be a golden mean in everything. If a cult of cleanliness reigns in a family, then in the future a person raised in such conditions may face two problems related to hygiene.

Sloppiness. Having escaped from the place where there was perfect order, a person relaxes and stops looking after the house; there is no one else to force him to clean his home.

Excessive maintenance of cleanliness in the house. The desire to be clean should not go beyond the limits: if people spend all day cleaning, wiping off dust, putting things in their places, this can lead to paranoid deviations. The painful desire for cleanliness is called a mania for cleanliness and order. This is more of a phobia. They are called:

• mysophobia (fear of dirt);
• germophobia (fear of infection).

The second type of phobia is mainly common. People have a panicky fear of infection, they try to avoid contact with others: even after a regular handshake, they try to wash their hands or treat them with an antiseptic as quickly as possible.

Frequent hand washing causes irritation and flaking of the skin, which can lead to eczema or other skin conditions.

Germophobes are usually withdrawn, and as a result they develop other neurological problems.

HOW OBSESSIVE CONDITIONS SYNDROME OCCURS

According to the theory of our Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov, a special focus of excitation is formed in the patient’s brain, with high activity of inhibitory structures. It does not suppress the excitation of other foci, so criticality in thinking remains. However, this focus of excitation is not eliminated by willpower and is not suppressed by impulses of new stimuli. Therefore, a person cannot get rid of obsessive thoughts.

Later, Pavlov I.P. came to the conclusion that the basis for the appearance of obsessive thoughts is the result of inhibition in foci of pathological excitation. Therefore, for example, blasphemous thoughts appear in religious people, violent and perverted sexual fantasies in those who are strictly brought up and preach high moral principles.

Nervous processes in patients are sluggish, they are inert. This is due to overstrain of inhibition processes in the brain. A similar clinical picture occurs with depression. In this regard, patients with obsessive neurosis often develop depressive disorders.

Causes

Any habit or action does not arise out of nowhere; there is always a basis that served as an impetus for the development of the problem. The reasons may be as follows:

• Fear of dirt and germs – ripophobia.
• Stress that occurs for various reasons.
• Housework can distract a person from bad thoughts. Every time problems arise, he starts cleaning the house.
• Diffidence. Putting things in order in the house, putting things in their places - all this creates the illusion of control over your life. This happens to those people for whom things outside the home are not going as smoothly as they would like. This behavior is typical of soft and weak-willed people.
• Mental problems - neurosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis.
• Heredity. The cause is observed in 60% of people suffering from this disorder.
• Having suffered serious illnesses, infections, impaired kidney function - all this leads to intoxication of the body.
• Many women have developed a mania for cleanliness and order for the reason that men value such zeal for cleanliness.
• Increased instinct of self-preservation. Such people see dirt everywhere.
• Autonomic nervous system disorder.

Reasons for development

Among the reasons for the development of obsessive-compulsive neurosis are usually cited stressful situations and overwork, but obsessive-compulsive disorder does not occur in all people who find themselves in a difficult life situation. What actually provokes the development of obsessive states has not yet been precisely established, but there are several hypotheses regarding the occurrence of OCD:

1. Hereditary and genetic factors. Researchers have identified a pattern between the tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder neurosis and unfavorable heredity. Approximately every fifth patient with OCD has relatives with mental disorders. The risk of developing this pathology increases in persons whose parents abused alcoholic beverages, suffered from a tuberculous form of meningitis, and also suffered from migraine attacks or epilepsy. In addition, obsessive-compulsive disorder may occur due to genetic mutations.
2. A fairly large number of people (approximately 75%) suffering from obsessive-compulsive neurosis have other mental illnesses. The most likely accompaniments of OCD include bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety neurosis, phobias and obsessive fears, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and eating disorders.
3. Anatomical features can also provoke obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Biological reasons also include a malfunction in some parts of the brain and the autonomic nervous system. Scientists have drawn attention to the fact that in most cases, with obsessive-compulsive neurosis, there is a pathological inertia in the excitation of the nervous system, accompanied by lability in the inhibition of ongoing processes. OCD can occur against the background of various dysfunctions of the neurotransmitter system. Neurotic level disorders arise due to a failure in the production and metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. There is also a version about the relationship between the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder neurosis and streptococcal infection. People who have had this infection have antibodies in their bodies that destroy not only harmful bacteria, but also the body’s own tissues (PANDAS syndrome). As a result of these processes, the tissues of the basal ganglia can be damaged, which can lead to the development of OCD.
4. Constitutional-typological factors include special character traits (anancaste). Most patients are prone to constant doubts and are very cautious and cautious. Such people are very concerned about the details of what is happening, they are prone to perfectionism. Ananscasts are conscientious and very diligent people who strive to scrupulously fulfill their obligations, but the desire for perfection very often prevents them from completing the work they have started on time. The desire to achieve high results at work does not allow for the establishment of full-fledged friendships, and also greatly interferes with personal life. In addition, people with this type of character are very stubborn; they almost never compromise.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder should begin with identifying the causes of the disorder. Only after this will a treatment regimen be drawn up and, if necessary, medication prescribed.

Behavior correction

If you are afraid of germs, you are haunted by a constant desire to clean the house, then use the following methods to combat the phobia:

• If you're worried about getting your hands dirty, touch the doorknob and don't wash your hands afterwards.
• Train yourself to clean the house once a week.
• Take the bed linen and throw it on the floor, after a while put it back, sleep on this linen for a week without washing it.
• Learn relaxation techniques. Find yourself a hobby.
• Psychoanalysis. The goal of the psychotherapist is to identify the traumatic situation and displace it from the patient’s life.
• Hypnosuggestive therapy is a combination of hypnosis and suggestion. The patient is put into hypnosis and the correct behavior patterns are suggested.
• Group therapy. In a group format, it is easier for people to cope with their problem, because they are united by the desire to overcome obsessive states collectively.

Therapists provide treatment using obsessive-compulsive disorder techniques.