How to Deal with OCD - Part1

Host: We are going to discuss what is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Dr. Les Lanet. Dr. Les Lanet: Hi. This is a common condition, it is not -- and sometimes it is hidden, there are married couples for example where spouse doesn’t realize for years that his or her spouse suffers from this. Host: Are people born with Obsessive Compulsive Disorders? Dr. Les Lanet: Well, there is evidence of genetic contribution to it so and this is of course true with a lot of illnesses. So in essence they maybe born with some previous position. Host: How would you define, when we use the term -- what is in your eyes, from a psychiatrist point of view Obsessive compulsive disorder, we all are a little obsessive at times. Dr. Les Lanet: It is an excellent question because of that kind of thing. We usually were at compulsion in a lot of ways that are kind of sloppy, for example compulsive gambler is a term but that's not a true compulsion this is what a true compulsion is, a true compulsion is a behavior or a thinking pattern that is intended to neutralize some danger. So I have a patient who has to have his towels pretty lined up just even and he says he feels like his family is going to die if he doesn’t do it, that's a, compulsion. Compulsive liars so to speak or compulsive gamblers are not doing their “compulsion” because of danger, they are doing it for some game. Obviously gambling is supposed to give you a win, hands and a win and of course a lair gets some advantages if he can pull off his lie and so it is repetitive and that's why the term is used, the term compulsive is used but it is not a compulsion. A compulsion as I said is an effort to neutralize a danger. People who go around the house and check locks and the gas are doing the compulsion. Now we don’t call it Obsessive Compulsive Disorder though unless it causes significant distress in the family. So something do do these things, before they go to sleep the check their house, it is a compulsion but if it is not causing impairment we don’t consider it a disorder. There is another condition that's related that I want to explain and that's obsessive compulsive personality and that I think is best illustrated by the Odd Couple. Those of you who remember the characters Felix and Oscar. Oscar was the slob and Felix was the neat freak. Now Felix the neat freak did not suffer from his neatness and his cleanliness, Oscar did, he was driving Oscar crazy and vice versa. Oscar's sloppiness drove Felix off the wall but, talking about Felix the neat freak, the compulsive one, he didn’t have Obsessive Compulsive disorder he was not impairing his life, he was just annoying Oscar but he could go work and he wasn’t spending hours doing rituals. Often we use the criteria of least an hour a day if the person is involved in a compulsion for the diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. So obsessive compulsive personalities don’t suffer, they just feel better doing these things. Host: Are there any known causes for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Dr. Les Lanet: Well the Streptococcal Infection can -- Host: Might be, but we are not sure. Dr. Les Lanet: It is known to contribute in some cases to an exacerbation of symptoms, probably genetic causes. Host: Is there any good treatment for Obsessive compulsive disorder? Dr. Les Lanet: Yeah, there is medicine and there is non medication and and they are both effective. I will give you a quick example, I saw a girl who was about 8 years old and her brothers were four. Anything that her brother touched now became contaminated and she would not touch it, she would not go into the bathroom that he had got into until her mother went in and cleaned it. Now this was a big problem, the family was being sort of held hostage by the little girl’s OCD. What I did and this is a dramatic and very quick story, I told mom and dad to bring in a pair of their son’s underpants and I brought the kid in and I sat and we had his underpants, she squirmed and was very uncomfortable but by the end of the session she was okay and after that she could -- (Audio ends abruptly)