What Is OCD Treatment?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD for short, is a type of mental health disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are invasive thought patterns. The compulsions are the behaviors a person engages in to alleviate the distress they feel due to the obsessions. It’s an unfortunately common joke in society that people who are particular, detail-oriented, or have a penchant for perfectionism are OCD. Joking in this way distracts from the very real challenges people with diagnosed OCD face and the treatment they need to manage their disorder.

Learn more about what OCD treatment is like in California by calling Oceanfront Recovery at 877.296.7477 today. We can help you or a loved one manage the symptoms of OCD so that you can live a fulfilling life.

What Is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health disorder wherein people face obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions can be thoughts, images, or impulses, depending on how OCD shows up in someone’s life. Taken individually, these thoughts, images, or impulses may not be clearly problematic. But what makes them obsessions is the fact that they recur and are accompanied by significant negative emotions.

These obsessions lead to compulsions, which are the repetitive behaviors someone engages in to try to neutralize their obsessions. Here’s one common example of how obsessions and compulsions play off each other. One of the most common obsessions is related to contamination. People with this obsession may fear germs or dirt to an inordinate degree. They suffer recurring thoughts about coming into contact with germs that cause physical and emotional distress. As a result, their compulsion may be excessive hand washing or house cleaning taken to an extreme level.

OCD can take many other forms. It is also important to remember that people with OCD tend to recognize their obsessions are not fully grounded in reality. Their inability to control obsessive thoughts or the attendant compulsions is part of what makes this a mental health disorder. The answer to OCD is not to try forcing a certain way of thinking or behaving. Rather, the answer is high-quality OCD treatment from a trusted provider like Oceanfront Recovery.

What Is OCD Treatment?

OCD treatment is any type of formal intervention meant to alleviate the symptoms someone is experiencing as a result of their OCD. Oftentimes, OCD treatment is a combination of behavioral therapy and medication. One of the best types of therapy for OCD is exposure and response prevention (ERP), a subtype of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Matching ERP with a medication in the serotonin reuptake inhibitor family tends to produce the best results.

So what is OCD treatment using ERP like? Under direction from a licensed therapist, ERP helps clients confront their obsessions (the exposure piece) without resorting to their compulsions (the response piece). OCD treatment retrains the brain over a period of time so that a person no longer feels stuck in the inevitable call-and-response cycle of their obsessions and compulsions.

The ERP process tends to go something like this:

• The client experiences an initial increase in anxiety from exposure
• The client begins to understand their obsessions cannot hurt them and that they can be made safe and manageable
• The client feels less anxiety over time as they stop fighting the obsessions
• The client reaches habituation, which is the state where they no longer resort to compulsive behavior
• The client understands their fears are unlikely to come true
• The client recognizes how to manage fear and risk in their everyday lives

Access High-Quality OCD Treatment at Oceanfront Recovery

Our OCD treatment is safe, effective, and affordable. Learn how you or a loved one can benefit from the OCD treatment options available at Oceanfront Recovery by contacting us at 877.296.7477. We are here to help.