The neurosis of obsessive thoughts

Probably, many of us faced with a problem situation, when unnecessary thoughts, unmotivated feelings, suspicions, interfering with comfort and life appear in the head. However, what is really a neurosis of obsessive thoughts, and how to eliminate it, is not known to everyone. Perhaps, the information presented in this article will seem useful to our readers.

Code on the ICD 10:

• F42 - Obsessivno-compulsive disorders - characterized by the presence of recurring obsessive thoughts (ideas, images, or motives that from time to time visit the patient in the form of a stereotype).

The reasons for the neurosis of obsessive thoughts

In most cases, the neurosis of obsessive thoughts appears in people with an indecisive and hypochondriac character. Such people have an initial inclination to alienation, secrecy, they often "go into themselves", remaining alone with their problems and experiences.

Patients with diagnosed neurosis most often understand that their thoughts do not coincide with reality, nevertheless, they feel the 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 characteristics can be inherited, or acquired throughout life. An immediate factor that can affect the development of neurosis may be a trauma.

Additional causes of the disease are sometimes:

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

Symptoms of a neurosis of obsessive thoughts

Patients with a neurosis of obsessive thoughts are constantly harassed by various ideas, fantasies, which in medical circles are called obsessions. No attempt to ignore repetitive thoughts, or to resist their occurrence, does not end successfully - they come to mind again and again, without leaving a person for a second.

The patient can feel periodic awkwardness and tension from pathological mental activity. Over time, he has a persistent conviction that practically everything in the world is negative, and nothing good can simply happen. Thoughts are becoming more pessimistic, intrusive, and getting rid of them is impossible.

Inferences of patients with neurosis of people can significantly differ from the reasoning of a healthy person. They are markedly distorted, which can cause an inadequate reaction among others.

The patient can indulge his thoughts, or be afraid of them, which further exacerbates pathology, brings a feeling of discomfort, forcing a person to hide from others in solitary efforts to "sort out" his thoughts.

The first signs of the disease can occur at any age, including in childhood. The child begins to fantasize, after which he embodies his fantasies in life in the form of fears, invented situations, which parents can not ignore. For the time being, they are trying to perceive such a state as a game, but then they realize that the child has a problem, and it is necessary to fight with it.

What signs are most characteristic for the neurosis of obsessive thoughts:

• the emergence of repeated and intrusive thoughts or fantasies that cause anxiety (most often these are thoughts about a possible disease, probable danger, etc.);
• the appearance of a sense of anxiety and mental discomfort due to annoying thoughts;
• mental activity begins to grow into real life problems;
• attempts to suppress these thoughts are not successful.

Effects

If the treatment of the disease is not carried out properly, then complications, for example, neurotic personality formation, are likely to develop. Initially, people prone to neuroses, have a number of similar psychological characteristics. This is an excessive sensitivity of the nervous system, egocentrism, excessive self-love. The patient allows the disease to completely master itself, which negatively affects the quality of his life, and makes a person unhappy.

But do not be afraid of the disease, because with timely diagnosis of neurosis successfully cured. With easy flow, you can do without observing the daily routine, alternating rest and small loads, proper nutrition and intake of sedatives and herbal preparations.

In severe cases, a fixed course of treatment may be required.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

Diagnosis of the neurosis of obsessive thoughts

In order to correctly establish a diagnosis, it is often sufficient for the following types of examination:

• questioning the patient (complaints, assessment of the nature of thinking, suggestive questions);
• examination of the patient (special attention is paid to the presence of neurological signs, such as sweating of the palms, trembling in the fingers of the hands, vegetative disorders);
• interrogation of close people and relatives of the patient.

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

Differential diagnosis can be carried out with suspicion of other basic variants of neurosis - hysteria, neurasthenia, psychasthenia.

In addition to the standard methods of diagnosis, sometimes simple tests are used to determine the state of the human psyche. It is necessary to answer just a few questions, which will allow to judge whether the patient really needs attention of the doctor, and how much the disorders of his nervous system are. The neurosis test of obsessive thoughts helps to conduct a preliminary check on the patient's condition, after which the doctor decides on the feasibility and scheme of further treatment.

1. Do you get annoying, restless, heavy thoughts? If this happens, how often?
   • And - never;
   • B - daily, but less than an hour;
   • B - up to 3 hours during the day;
   • D - up to 8 hours throughout the day;
   • D - more than eight hours a day.
2. Do you feel that the thoughts that visit you prevent you from living fully?
   • A - do not interfere absolutely;
   • B - a little disturb;
   • Yes, they interfere;
   • D - very interfere;
   • D - these thoughts do not give me rest just on a catastrophic scale.
3. Assess the degree of psychological discomfort from the thoughts that you visit?
   • A - I do not feel any discomfort;
   • B - I can feel a little discomfort;
   • B - I feel an average degree of discomfort;
   • D - the discomfort is serious enough;
   • D - these thoughts suppress me as a person.
4. Do you get rid of unpleasant thoughts, not indulging them?
   • And - it is always possible to do this;
   • B - basically, it turns out;
   • B - sometimes it turns out;
   • D - basically, it does not work;
   • D - it turns out very rarely, or does not work at all.
5. Can you control yourself when there are negative intrusive thoughts?
   • A - absolutely control;
   • B - basically I control;
   • B - sometimes I can control;
   • G - I rarely get it;
   • D - never works.
6. How much time during the day do you spend on doing something that your importunate thoughts bring to you?
   • A - I do not do any such actions;
   • B - less than one hour a day;
   • B - up to 3 hours a day;
   • D - up to 8 hours throughout the day;
   • D - more than 8 hours throughout the day.
7. Actions that you commit as a result of intrusive thoughts, prevent you from living?
   • A - absolutely do not interfere;
   • B - a little disturb;
   • B - we can say that they interfere;
   • D - very interfere;
   • D - disturb catastrophically.
8. Do you feel uncomfortable that you have to perform sometimes absurd, but obsessive actions, inspired by your thoughts?
   • A - I do not feel it;
   • B - I feel a little;
   • In - yes, I feel;
   • D - I really feel it;
   • D - this suppresses me as a person.
9. Do you avoid making intrusive actions, inspired by your thoughts?
   • A - It always works;
   • B - basically, it turns out;
   • B - sometimes it turns out;
   • D - basically, it does not work;
   • D - you can say that it never works.
10. Do you control yourself when you have to commit annoying actions and actions?
    • A - absolutely control;
    • B - basically I control;
    • B - sometimes I can control;
    • D is rarely controlled;
    • D - never get control. 
11. And now calculate which answers you have more - A, B, C, D or D:
    • And - most likely, there is no neurosis;
    • B - neurosis is mild;
    • B - neurosis expressed in an average degree;
    • G - one can speak of a severe degree of neurosis;
    • D - the extreme degree of severity.

It should be noted that even with an average degree of frustration, the intervention of the therapist is necessary.

[8], [9], [10], [11]

Treatment of the neurosis of obsessive thoughts

Treatment of this neurosis is a complex problem, which is extremely difficult to solve with the use of medicines alone. The main significance in this matter is psychotherapy. The specialist will help to eliminate neurotic signs that make the patient's life and his environment unbearable, and also instill skills of self-control and understanding of reality, which in future will avoid the re-development of the violation.

Throughout the treatment course, the patient must learn to define and express exactly his feelings, to realize the negative consequences of the experience, to increase his self-esteem, to perceive himself and the world around in positive colors.

All that we have just listed is not an easy task, but they must be overcome on the road to recovery.

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

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

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

Also a good effect was obtained with the use of medicines Alprazolam, Frontin, Kassadan, Neuro, Zoldak, Alprox.

Alternative treatment

Treatment of herbs neurosis obsessive thoughts can not be the main, but with an initial mild degree and such recipes can alleviate the symptoms of the disease:

• we rub into a slurry a garlic clove, add it in 250 ml of heated milk, mix it. We drink on an empty stomach since morning, about half an hour before a meal. Such a recipe helps to eliminate irritability and nervous tension;
• for calming the nervous system, we take 200 ml of fresh milk and soluble in it 20-25 drops of tincture of valerian root. Mix and drink 1/3 three times a day;
• it is useful to conduct relaxing medicinal baths, every other day. Pour in a bath of water broth of rhizomes of valerian (on a glass of raw material 2 liters of boiling water). The water in the bathroom should roughly correspond to body temperature;
• if bothersome thoughts are visited at night, it is recommended to inhale the pharmacy tincture of valerian and lavender oil before bedtime. Under the pillow, you can put a linen bag filled with a mixture of medicinal plants, for example, motherwort, valerian root, cones of hops, etc.

During treatment should adhere to the regime of the day, avoid overwork, rest more, walk in the fresh air. Physical education, water sports are welcome. A trip to the sea or to the mountains helps a lot.

[12], [13], [14], [15]

Homeopathy

Simultaneously with medicamentous and psychotherapeutic treatment, harmless homeopathic remedies can be used, which usually do not cause allergies, side effects and drug dependence. Such drugs do not oppress, but normalize the work of the brain, but they should be selected individually at a reception with a homeopath specialist.

It is intended selective use of such homeopathic remedies:

• ignition;
• mosquito;
• lachesis;
• platinum;
• argentum;
• cocculus;
• chamomile;
• thui;
• nuks;
• pulsatyls;
• an an acardium and so forth.

The homeopathic way of treating the neurosis of obsessive thoughts should be combined with auxiliary methods: hirudotherapy, color treatment, acupuncture, etc.

Prevention

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

• Less to think about the past, but to try to live today and now, think positively about the future, dream, fantasize, do everything possible to make the future day better.
• Do not worry about trifles, avoid stress, scandals, quarrels.
• Maintain positive emotions, often rejoice, smile, control your emotional state.
• Try to give time to communicate with others, make friends, find common interests. However, the circle of your communication should not strain you.
• Do not use alcoholic beverages and other substances for the prevention of neurosis - this is unreasonable.
• Often obsessive thoughts arise from inaction and boredom - take care of business, find a hobby or occupation to your liking, rest properly and with benefit.
• Go in for sports - it will improve not only your physical performance, but also strengthen moral health.
• Fight with your fears, be strong.
• Remember that all our thoughts - materialize, so think only of the good.

Forecast

The result of the psychotherapeutic complex treatment performed in most cases is favorable, however, cases and repeated relapses of the disease are known.

The most difficult to treat neuroses in childhood and adolescence.

The effectiveness of treatment depends on many aspects:

• from a variety of the nervous system of the patient;
• on the magnitude of damage to the nervous system by traumatic factors;
• of the total number of neurological problems in the patient;
• how much the patient wants to get rid of the problem;
• of the duration of treatment and the effectiveness of ongoing activities.

With properly selected treatment and elimination of the causes of the disease, the neurosis of obsessive thoughts gradually goes to "no": the symptoms disappear and the patient recovers.

[16], [17]