PSYC 3406 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Acute Stress Reaction

• School: Northeastern University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3406
• Professor: Ann Blumer

Document Summary

Essential features: recurrent obsessions or recurrent compulsions. These often occur together, but only one is needed for diagnosis: obsessions: Persistent unwanted thoughts/ideas/impulses or images that seem to invade a person"s consciousness: compulsions: Repetitive and rigid behaviors or mental acts that people feel they must perform to prevent or reduce anxiety. Diagnosis is called for when symptoms: feel excessive or unreasonable, cause great distress, take up much time (1 hr+/day, interfere with daily functions. Classi ed as an anxiety disorder because obsessions cause anxiety, while compulsions are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety. Date: 2/22/16: anxiety increases if obsessions/compulsions are resisted. Between 1% and 2% of us population suffer from ocd in a given year; 3% over a lifetime: equally common in men and women, more than 40% seek treatment. Obsessions (cont. : thoughts that feel both intrusive and foreign-not under one"s control and not the kinds of thoughts one would expect to have. Doubts- did i leave the stove on? etc.