obsessive-compulsive neurosis.

Probably, many of us have encountered a problematic situation when unnecessary thoughts, unmotivated experiences, suspicions appear in the head, interfering with a comfortable state of health and life. However, what obsessive-compulsive neurosis actually is and how to eliminate it, is not known to everyone. Perhaps the information presented in this article will seem useful to our readers.

ICD 10 code:

• F42 – Obsessive-compulsive disorders – are characterized by the presence of periodically occurring obsessive thoughts (ideas, images, or impulses that visit the patient from time to time in the form of a stereotype).

Causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder

In most cases, obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs in people with an indecisive and suspicious character. Such people have an initial tendency toward alienation, secrecy, and often “withdraw into themselves,” remaining alone with their problems and experiences.

Patients diagnosed with neurosis most often understand that their thoughts do not coincide with reality, however, they feel a vital need to act only as their thoughts require.

The pathogenesis of neurosis is based on a disorder of the nervous system associated with personality traits. This determines a certain predisposition to pathology. Such characteristic features can be inherited or acquired throughout life. A direct factor that can influence the development of neurosis can be mental trauma.

Additional causes of the disease sometimes include:

• exhaustion of the nervous system;
• prolonged mental or physical fatigue;
• chronic fatigue syndrome;
• depressive syndrome;
• alcohol addiction.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder are constantly haunted by various ideas and fantasies, which are called obsessions in medical circles. No attempts to ignore recurring thoughts or resist their occurrence end successfully - they come to mind again and again, not leaving the person for a second.

The patient may experience periodic awkwardness and tension from pathological mental activity. Over time, he develops a persistent conviction that almost everything in the world is negative, and nothing good can simply happen. Thoughts become increasingly pessimistic, intrusive, and it becomes impossible to get rid of them.

The conclusions of people with neurosis can differ significantly from the reasoning of a healthy person. They are noticeably distorted, which can cause an inadequate reaction in others.

The patient may indulge his thoughts or be afraid of them, which further aggravates the pathology, brings a feeling of discomfort, forcing the person to hide from others in an effort to “sort out” his thoughts alone.

The first signs of the disease can appear at any age, including childhood. The child begins to fantasize, after which he or she brings his or her fantasies to life in the form of fears, imaginary situations, which parents cannot help but notice. For a while, they try to perceive this condition as a game, but then they realize that the child has a problem and it is necessary to fight it.

What are the most characteristic signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder:

• the appearance of recurring and intrusive thoughts or fantasies that cause anxiety (most often these are thoughts about a possible illness, about a possible danger, etc.);
• the emergence of a feeling of anxiety and mental discomfort due to annoying thoughts;
• mental activity begins to develop into real life problems;
• attempts to suppress these thoughts are unsuccessful.

Consequences

If the disease is not treated properly, complications are likely to develop, such as neurotic personality development. Initially, people prone to neuroses have a number of similar psychological characteristics. These include excessive sensitivity of the nervous system, egocentrism, and excessive self-love. The patient allows the disease to completely take over, which negatively affects the quality of his life and makes the person unhappy.

But you shouldn't be afraid of the disease, because with timely diagnosis, neurosis can be successfully cured. In mild cases, you can get by with following a daily routine, alternating rest and light exercise, proper nutrition, and taking sedatives and herbal preparations.

In severe cases, inpatient treatment may be required.

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Diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder

In order to establish a correct diagnosis, the following types of examination are often sufficient:

• patient survey (complaints, assessment of the nature of thinking, leading questions);
• examination of the patient (special attention is paid to the presence of neurological signs, such as sweaty palms, trembling in the fingers, autonomic disorders);
• interviewing close people and relatives of the patient.

If there is a suspicion of organic disorders in the brain, instrumental diagnostic methods such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography may be prescribed.

Differential diagnostics can be carried out if other main types of neurosis are suspected – hysteria, neurasthenia, psychasthenia.

In addition to standard diagnostic methods, simple tests are sometimes used to determine a person's mental state. It is necessary to answer only a few questions, which will allow one to judge whether the patient really requires a doctor's attention and how severe the disorders of his nervous system are. A test for obsessive-compulsive disorder helps to conduct a preliminary examination of the patient's condition, after which the doctor decides on the advisability and scheme of further treatment.

1. Do you have intrusive, disturbing, heavy thoughts? If so, how often?
   • A - never;
   • B – daily, but less than an hour;
   • B – up to 3 hours during the day;
   • G – up to 8 hours during the day;
   • D – more than eight hours a day.
2. Do you feel that the thoughts that visit you prevent you from living a full life?
   • A – do not interfere at all;
   • B – a little bit of a hindrance;
   • B - yes, they do interfere;
   • G - they interfere a lot;
   • D - these thoughts haunt me on a catastrophic scale.
3. Rate the level of psychological discomfort from the thoughts that visit you?
   • A – I don’t feel any discomfort;
   • B – I may experience slight discomfort;
   • B – I feel moderate discomfort;
   • G – the discomfort is quite severe;
   • D - these thoughts suppress me as a person.
4. Are you able to push away unpleasant thoughts without indulging in them?
   • A – it is always possible to do this;
   • B - basically, it works;
   • B – sometimes it works;
   • G - mostly doesn't work;
   • D – it happens very rarely, or it doesn’t happen at all.
5. Can you control yourself when negative intrusive thoughts arise?
   • A – absolutely in control;
   • B – mostly control;
   • B – sometimes I can control;
   • G – I rarely succeed in this;
   • D - never works.
6. How much time during the day do you spend doing things that trigger your intrusive thoughts?
   • A – I do not perform any such actions;
   • B – less than one hour a day;
   • B – up to 3 hours a day;
   • G – up to 8 hours during the day;
   • D – more than 8 hours during the day.
7. Are the actions you take as a result of intrusive thoughts interfering with your life?
   • A – absolutely no interference;
   • B – a little bit of a hindrance;
   • B – we can say that they interfere;
   • G - they interfere a lot;
   • D - interfere catastrophically.
8. Do you feel uncomfortable when you have to do sometimes ridiculous but obsessive actions inspired by your thoughts?
   • A - I don't feel it;
   • B - I feel a little;
   • B - yes, I feel it;
   • G - I really feel it;
   • D - it depresses me as a person.
9. Are you able to avoid taking invasive actions inspired by your thoughts?
   • A - It always works;
   • B - basically, it works;
   • B – sometimes it works;
   • G - mostly doesn't work;
   • D – you could say that it never works out.
10. Do you control yourself when you have to perform annoying actions and deeds?
    • A – absolutely in control;
    • B – mostly control;
    • B – sometimes I can control;
    • G – rarely manages to control;
    • D - never manages to control.
11. Now count which answers you have more of – A, B, C, D or E:
    • A – most likely, there is no neurosis;
    • B – neurosis is expressed to a mild degree;
    • B – neurosis is expressed to a moderate degree;
    • G – we can talk about a severe degree of neurosis;
    • D – extreme severity.

It should be noted that even at a moderate level of disorder, the intervention of a psychotherapist is necessary.

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Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Treatment of this neurosis is a complex problem, which is extremely difficult to solve with medication alone. Psychotherapy is of primary importance in this matter. A specialist will help eliminate neurotic signs that make the life of the patient and his environment unbearable, and will also instill self-control skills and understanding of reality, which will help to avoid recurrence of the disorder in the future.

During the course of treatment, the patient must learn to identify and accurately express their feelings, recognize the negative consequences of what they have experienced, increase their self-esteem, and perceive themselves and the world around them in positive colors.

Everything we have just listed is not an easy task, but it is absolutely necessary to overcome them on the path to recovery.

Medicines are not always used for treatment, but they are used quite often. The main medications for eliminating the disorder are antidepressants, which are known for their anti-obsessive properties, as well as anxiolytics (the so-called anti-anxiety drugs). Mostly, drugs that are quite strong in action are used:

• products based on chlordiazepoxide (Elenium, Napoton);
• Diazepam (Relanium, Seduxen or Sibazon);
• Phenazepam.

In case of neurosis, the dosages of drugs are prescribed strictly individually: as a rule, they are slightly higher than those for neurasthenia.

Also, a good effect was obtained when using the medications Alprazolam, Frontin, Kassadan, Neurol, Zoldak, Alproks.

Folk remedies

Herbal treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis cannot be the main one, however, at the initial mild stage, such recipes can alleviate the symptoms of the disease:

• Grind a clove of garlic into a pulp, add it to 250 ml of warm milk, mix. Drink on an empty stomach in the morning, about half an hour before meals. This recipe helps eliminate irritability and nervous tension;
• to calm the nervous system, take 200 ml of fresh milk and dissolve 20-25 drops of valerian root tincture in it. Mix and drink 1/3 three times a day;
• It is useful to take relaxing medicinal baths every other day. Pour a decoction of valerian rhizomes into the bath with water (2 liters of boiling water per glass of raw material). The water in the bath should be approximately equal to body temperature;
• If intrusive thoughts visit you at night, it is recommended to inhale a pharmacy tincture of valerian and lavender oil before going to bed. You can put a linen bag filled with a mixture of medicinal plants, such as motherwort, valerian root, hop cones, etc., under your pillow.

During treatment, you should stick to a daily routine, avoid overwork, rest more, and walk in the fresh air. Physical exercise and water sports are encouraged. A trip to the sea or the mountains helps well.

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Homeopathy

Along with drug and psychotherapeutic treatment, you can use harmless homeopathic remedies, which usually do not cause allergies, side effects and drug addiction. Such drugs do not suppress, but normalize the functioning of the brain, but they should be selected individually at a reception with a homeopathic specialist.

Selective use of the following homeopathic remedies is suggested:

• ignatia;
• mosquito;
• lachesis;
• platinum;
• argentum;
• cocculus;
• chamomile;
• thuja;
• nuxa;
• pulsatilla;
• anacardium, etc.

The homeopathic method of treating obsessive-compulsive neurosis should be combined with auxiliary methods: hirudotherapy, color therapy, acupuncture, etc.

Prevention

How can you avoid the development of the disease and prevent the emergence of intrusive and unpleasant thoughts?

• Think less about the past, and try to live today and now, think positively about the future, dream, fantasize, do everything possible to make the next day better.
• Don't worry about trifles, avoid stress, scandals, quarrels.
• Maintain positive emotions in yourself, rejoice more often, smile, control your emotional state.
• Try to spend time communicating with others, make friends, find common interests. However, your social circle should not be a burden to you.
• You should not consume alcoholic beverages or other substances to prevent neurosis – this is unwise.
• Often obsessive thoughts arise from inaction and boredom - get busy, find a hobby or activity you enjoy, relax properly and usefully.
• Play sports - it will not only improve your physical performance, but also strengthen your mental health.
• Fight your fears, be strong.
• Remember that all our thoughts materialize, so think only about good things.

Forecast

The results of the psychotherapeutic complex treatment are favorable in most cases, however, there are known cases of repeated relapses of the disease.

Neuroses in childhood and adolescence are the most difficult to treat.

The effectiveness of treatment depends on many aspects:

• depending on the type of nervous system of the patient;
• from the extent of damage to the nervous system by traumatic factors;
• from the total number of neurological problems in the patient;
• on how much the patient himself wants to get rid of the problem;
• from the duration of the course of treatment and the effectiveness of the measures taken.

With the right treatment and elimination of the causes of the disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder gradually disappears: the symptoms disappear and the patient recovers.

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