Speaking from experience, I would say that the average uncomplicated case of OCD takes from about six to twelve months to be successfully completed. If symptoms are severe, if the person works at a slow pace, or if other problems are also present, it can take longer.
OCD causes intense urges to complete a task or perform a ritual. For those who have the condition, obsessions and compulsions can begin to rule their life. Some common rituals might include repeated hand washing, checking (and rechecking) that doors are locked, or uncontrollably repeating a phrase or prayer.
During times of high stress, an individual will experience a worsening of obsessive-compulsive behaviors while during times of reduced stress, an individual may return to a baseline or even think their OCD has gone away altogether.
While many people with OCD are able to manage their symptoms and live normal lives, OCD can sometimes flare up due to increased stress or anxiety.
You might have periods of little to no symptoms mixed with times of increased or new symptoms. You might have a flare-up of OCD in some of the following situations: Unexpected life changes, like losing your job, moving, or a breakup. Drug and alcohol abuse could worsen your symptoms.
Many things can trigger an increase in OCD symptoms whether that's hormones (puberty, pregnancy, post-partum, menopause), increased stress and pressure to perform (in college, at a new school, in a new job) or something entirely different.
OCD symptoms can worsen if left untreated. Likewise, stress and other mental health symptoms like trauma, anxiety, and themes of perfectionism, can aggravate OCD. Sometimes, symptoms may worsen dramatically and suddenly, but it's more likely for them to escalate gradually.
OCD obsessions are repeated, persistent and unwanted thoughts, urges or images that are intrusive and cause distress or anxiety. You might try to ignore them or get rid of them by performing a compulsive behavior or ritual.
Stressful Life Events
Like with most other anxiety disorders, periods of high stress can bring out symptoms because as you start to feel overwhelmed, you resort to the unhelpful coping mechanisms you have learned (such as avoidance or compulsions). This can lead to a return, or a worsening, of OCD symptoms.
Encourage Treatment
The most critical step in helping someone with OCD is encouring them to seek treatment and ensuring they follow through to the end. This may mean helping them find a qualified mental health professional, accompanying them to therapy appointments, or helping them stick to medication.
Previously thought to be rare, OCD is reported to occur in 1-3% of people. It is the fourth most common mental illness after phobias, substance abuse, and major depression. OCD has peaks of onset at two different life phases: pre-adolescence and early adulthood.
Symptoms of OCD may come and go, ease over time, or worsen. People with OCD may try to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their obsessions, or they may use alcohol or drugs to calm themselves.
Why do symptoms go and come back in the first place? It has long since been recognized that OCD symptoms can intensify under times of heightened emotional stress, situational stressors, and major life events.
While medication and therapy are the first-line treatment options, there are strategies you can use on your own to manage OCD. Manage stress: High-stress levels can worsen OCD thoughts and behaviors. Relaxation strategies that relieve stress can help, such as mindfulness, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation.
For people who have experienced trauma, encountering triggers can make OCD symptoms worse. Often, the things that trigger their obsessions are related to their past trauma, and can be very difficult to avoid—moreover, in people with OCD this avoidance can be compulsive, making one's fears worse and worse over time.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), and behaviors that drive them to do something over and over (compulsions). Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts.
Magnesium plays a key role in balancing mood and relaxation, and its deficiencies are linked with depression. Thanks to its calming effect, magnesium is nicknamed nature's tranquilizer. This is also the reason magnesium supplements can help those with OCD manage the condition.
Ongoing anxiety or stress, or being part of a stressful event like a car accident or starting a new job, could trigger OCD or make it worse. Pregnancy or giving birth can sometimes trigger perinatal OCD.
OCD can also worsen from traumatic events, such as death, severe injury, or sexual violence. Most people are not at their best when they don't feel well. Whether it is from a serious illness or a common cold, OCD symptoms can worsen when someone is sick.
Total severity scores are usually assumed to indicate the following levels of OCD: subclinical (0–7), mild (8–15), moderate (16–23), severe (24–31) and extremely severe (32–40).