We all had a concern that disrupted our thinking and disrupted our normal lives, concerns affect our work tasks and influence our attention during a conversation or while watching a movie, after all, is it a concern or an obsession?
The problems that arise occupy our thinking and push us to seek an effective solution that will end our concerns. There are people who care more than usual about things that don’t deserve as much attention or distress. When a problem ceases to be normal, and becomes a disease, how do we know that we have crossed the line of concern and that feeling has become an obsession?
- There are different pathologies categorized as anxiety disorders.
- And they are related to the form.
- Amount or intensity of anxiety experienced or the reason for this concern.
- We are talking about generalized anxiety.
- Phobias.
- Social phobia or post-traumatic stress disorder.
But if there is a pathology characterized by the obsessions that flood the minds of those who suffer from it is the obsessive-compulsive disorder, which has been separated from anxiety disorders in the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The difference between an episode of normal anxiety and an “obsessive” period, or a specific obsession, must be very clear. The following can help you identify an obsession:
If your answer is yes to any of these questions, it is recommended to seek professional help to investigate and analyze the problem, the fundamental differences are that obsessions appear unintentionally, interfere with our thinking, cause discomfort, occupy much of the day and, in some cases, force them to perform actions and “rituals” (compulsions) to try to reduce the anxiety associated.
Although these are very heterogeneous thought cycles that are expressed in different ways, there are typical objects of obsession, here are some of the most common obsessions:
All obsessions have one thing in common, because they are intrusive, recurrent and persistent thoughts, perceived as repugnant or meaningless.
In many cases, obsessions accompany compulsions to reduce induced anxiety, sometimes coercion is apparently unrelated to obsession, or the intensity with which it is performed does not correspond to reality, just as there are typical obsessions, there are also typical compulsions. As:
Although compulsions can reduce anxiety for a short time, the effect is not lasting and then you must continue to repeat the rituals, even if it does not bring any form of satisfaction, pleasure conveys a false and brief sense of control over obsessions invading thought.
An expert in the field, Judith L
Obsessions decreased in a large percentage of people, although in others the effect was zero. Today SSRS antidepressants are used, which have fewer side effects and have the same goal, although the choice of medication may vary.
As a psychological therapy, there is the Exposure with Prevention of Responses (EPR) which consists of facing the object of obsession with imagination or directly, avoiding rituals and compulsions. These treatments are considered effective and, if combined, can have a very positive response, assuming relief from the great suffering experienced by people under an obsession.