Who has not ever gone back to the car to check that she had locked it properly? Or who hasn't hit the car lock button several times to make sure it was locked? And it is that at some point or another we all have doubts about whether we have done something in particular or not and it arises that urgent need to check that everything is correct, especially when our security.
The fact of checking per se is not bad or strange, but what would happen if this prevented us from developing our daily skills normally? We could speak in this case of verification TOC, one of the most frequent. The €80 of people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has checking as a compulsion.
If you want to know more about this disorder, in this Psychology-Online article we will talk about the Verification OCD: what is it, symptoms and treatment. Keep reading!
Index
- What is Check TOC
- Checking OCD Symptoms
- Checking OCD Treatment
What is Check TOC.
The obsessive compulsive disorder
In the specific case of checking OCD, we are talking about a compulsion where the characteristic overt behavior is need to check anything. What you want to check will depend on the obsession in question. The obsession of thought usually has the main axis in the fear of losing control, to avoid fires, fear that a loved one will die, fear that their belongings will be taken away, etc.
Features of Check TOC
To determine that we are dealing with a case of verification OCD, the obsession must have the following characteristics:
- Persistent: is repeated. The thought should not be punctual, since we can all have it at some point.
- Resistant: the person does things to not have those kinds of thoughts again.
- passive exposure: They appear in your head. The person experiences them as their own and meaningless.
- Egodystonic: generate discomfort and create interference in the life of the subject.
In addition to the presence of the obsession, if the person suffers from checking OCD they will also have compulsions, all those repetitive overt behaviors as stereotypes or covert (mental) that in themselves are not pleasant, nor do they give rise to any useful activity.
In cases of checking OCD, there will not always be a realistic or logical connection, ie the known irrationality and resistance is present, which can lead to stress relief. Therefore, compulsions prevent the discomfort of obsession with short-term efficacy.
Symptoms of checking OCD.
How do I know if I have Verification OCD? Among the types of OCD, the main symptom that revolves around it is the feeling of control and need for constant checking, but there are also other ways in which it manifests. Next, we will see the main symptoms of checking OCD:
- Avoidance and self-imposed restrictions.
- Search for tranquility.
- cognitive rituals.
- Attention to negative information.
- hopelessness and concern.
- Rumination.
- High levels of physiological activation.
- Changes in bodily functions.
- Sleep disorders.
- Appearance of anxiety symptoms.
- Appearance of depressive symptoms.
- Discomfort.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol, sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic drugs.
- feeling of guilt and pathological feelings of responsibility.
Verification OCD treatment.
If you're wondering how to cure check OCD, many authors, including versions prior to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)[1], understand obsessive-compulsive disorder as a type of anxiety disorder. For this reason, we find so many similarities in their treatments, being the cognitive approaches of cognitive behavioral therapy those that have been shown to be more effective.
On the one hand, to overcome the verification TOC, it is usually accompanied by the cognitive-behavioral therapy with psychoactive drugs. The most commonly used are clomipramine, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine.
Another type of proof-of-concept OCD treatment that is showing efficacy is Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Some experts speak of applying it to the basal nuclei or of fiber bundles connected to them and others, however, state that greater efficacy is achieved when applied to the subthalamic nucleus. A positive point of this therapy is that it is reversible.
Psychosurgeries to treat verification OCD
In addition, other therapies, increasingly in disuse, have been used for the treatment of verification OCD, which could call the attention of more than one:
- Cingulotomy: surgical destruction of specific fiber bundles in the subcortical area of the frontal lobe, with positive results and a reasonable success rate.
- capsulotomy: another surgical operation in which a region of the cingulate fasciculus is destroyed.
These processes are irreversible, so they should only be used as a last resort, since adverse side effects may appear such as difficulty planning behaviors, apathy or difficulty inhibiting responses that are not socially accepted. Find out more about the apathy: meaning, symptoms and how to overcome it in this article.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Verification OCD: what is it, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
References
- American psychiatric association, (2014). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM – 5. Madrid Spain. Pan American Medical Publishing.
Bibliography
- Belloch, A., Sandin, B., Ramos, F., (2009). Manual of psychopathology, volume II. Madrid. McGraw Hill / Interamericana de España, S.A.U.
- Carlson, N. R. (2014). physiology of behavior. Madrid. Pearson Education, S.A.
- Labrador, f. J., (ed.) (2008). Behavior modification techniques. Madrid. Pyramid.
