In our most recent blog, Laura described what the obsessional part of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is like. She noted that obsessions are worrisome thoughts, images, or urges that pop into peoples’ heads and trigger massive feelings of anxiety, distress, or discomfort. On the other hand, compulsions are the things people do in order to reduce those unpleasant feelings. You could say that people feel compelled to engage in their compulsions, almost as if they have no choice at all in carrying them out. Compulsions take a wide variety of forms but include:
Maybe you’re wondering what makes these ordinary looking behaviors compulsions. Most people do lots of these things don’t they? Yes they do. But two issues make them compulsions rather than ordinary behaviors. First, they are engaged in for the sole purpose of providing some temporary relief from one’s disturbing obsessions. Second, they are engaged in frequently, as in very frequently. It’s not uncommon for people to engage in compulsions for hours each day. Thus, they distract people from getting on with their lives.
Yet people don’t give up their compulsions easily. That’s because compulsions provide so much relief. Here are just a few of the benefits people feel for a short while after engaging in their compulsions:
The problem is that the relief is always fleeting. After engaging in compulsions, folks feel better for minutes or sometimes even hours. But the distressing obsessions always return. And thus, the urge to engage in compulsions continues.
The good news is that OCD doesn’t have to ruin your life. Very effective treatments exist. We’ve noted Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) before, and we will again. Over and over if we must because the message is so important. We almost feel compelled to talk about ERP a lot because it works so well. Furthermore, a disturbingly small percentage of people with OCD receive this treatment by a professional who is experienced and competent in administering it. And ERP often works well enough so that the use of medication can be avoided in many cases. We’ll talk a lot more about ERP, how it’s done, and pitfalls to avoid in future blogs.
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‘… obsessions are worrisome thoughts, images, or urges that pop into peoples’ heads and trigger massive feelings of anxiety, distress, or discomfort. On the other hand, compulsions are the things people do in order to reduce those unpleasant feelings.’
Two questions:
1) You say compulsions are what people do to reduce unpleasant feelings. By these unpleasant feelings, do you mean for them to be the same as those ‘intrusive thoughts’. Are you speaking here about thoughts and feelings in the same sense?
2) is there a purpose to ‘obsessions’ as well, and if so, what are they?
I myself do not have OCD but I have experienced periods of ‘compulsions’ that then went away, and only after the fact was I able to see the connections.
What is the difference between compulsions and addictions?
I don’t mean gambling, and drugs or alcohol, but more other behaviors which are not as clear cut in my mind.
Although they felt like addictions to me, I am not sure if these were compulsions or addictions.
And in my own experience there was definitely no element of choice about them. In once incident, I had to eat so many apples a day, and even went as far as going to the orchard daily and digging the apples out of the snow. In another case it was about buying cars, and even if I had absolutely no prior, or later, (after this stopped from one second to the next) interest in cars at all.
Thanks, kat
@Katrin: Thoughts and feelings are not the same thing. A thought is merely an idea or image about something such as “I need to avoid germs.” Feelings often, but not always, result from thoughts. Thus, if you have the thought “I should avoid germs when I can,” you might “feel” very anxious or worried whenever you have that thought. However, some people might have that same thought and not worry about it very much. Their “feelings” would be less intense. Compulsions can sometimes look a little like addictions in the sense that people feel strongly that they must carry out the actions.
Thank you very much for responding. I get it this morning and was probably just too tired last night. (I really had a hard time getting off the computer because this is all so interesting!)’
Would you then say that having to buy a new car every other day for a month, or so, is a compulsion? It was horrible not to mention very expensive. I would buy the car, bring it home, and then start hating it and becoming ‘allergic’ to it. (in my mind) I would have to immediately get rid of it again, then.
Then one night my business partner took all the money and escaped town never to be seen again. He had also collected all the money from foster care patients who had paid in advance and left them stranded.
Everyone felt so sorry for me, but to my amazement, the moment he was gone I felt great. (didn’t even know I felt badly before) and I never bought another car since and which is over ten years.
Thank you,
KATRIN
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