Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be described as a pattern of unwanted, intrusive thoughts called “obsessions” and the repeated use of behaviors meant to neutralize distress from the obsessive thought called “compulsions.” OCD affects people of all ages, ethnicities, and types. A person with OCD spends a great deal of time having obsessive thoughts, engaging in compulsive behaviors or rituals, and experiencing intense levels of distress. Unfortunately, OCD is misdiagnosed at an alarming rate. In fact, it takes most individuals an average of 14 to 17 years to receive a formal diagnosis of OCD. Most physicians, therapists, and counselors have not been trained to detect many subtypes and themes that commonly occur in OCD. Reclaim Wellness Group is home to several licensed therapists in Louisville KY who are widely considered by colleagues and patients alike to be OCD and anxiety specialists for their extensive experience, training, and contributions to the current body of clinical literature.

understanding OCD in Louisville KY

Most people reached their current understanding of OCD through television, movies, and media reports. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry often portrays what it’s really like to have OCD inaccurately and unfairly. People are led to believe that OCD is about fearing germs, excessive hand-washing, or straightening up pillows on a couch or stationary on a desk. The term “OCD” is often used as an adjective. For example, people say things like, “I’m so ‘OCD’ about my closet,” or “My girlfriend is so ‘OCD’ about loading the dishwasher.”

OCD is not an adjective, an expression, a figure of speech, a synonym for being picky, or always about germs and tidiness. In fact, it is a debilitating condition that greatly impairs a sufferer’s social, occupational, and academic functioning. While all human beings experience the occasional unwanted or strange thought from time to time, those thoughts usually come and go without much disruption. When a person with OCD has unwanted thoughts, it triggers intense anxiety and distress often followed by urges to neutralize their distress via compulsive behaviors and rituals. OCD sufferers often report that they are aware that obsessive thoughts and compulsions are irrational, and that having this awareness is part of what makes them feel so upset, ashamed, and exhausted.

Most individuals with OCD do not realize that they have a treatable condition, and that there are short-term treatment approaches designed to arm them with the skills they need to experience long-term recovery. The OCD specialists at Reclaim Wellness Group are trained to teach those skills and connect sufferers to a supportive community they never knew existed.

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