The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the issue of anxiety are two distinctive issues concerning the mental health of an individual. The reason that most people consider both to be the same is due to the presence of the fact that the feeling of anxiety is a common characteristic of OCD, followed by the occurrence of repeated activity in order to cope or ease the feeling of anxiety in the individual. The issue of anxiety can sometimes be self-treatable in an individual. However, the condition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder does require proper attention with OCD therapy and counselling as part of its treatment, along with psychotropic medication.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Symptoms, Causes & Nursing Diagnosis for OCD

OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a mental health disorder indicated by repeated patterns of activities. These can be daily tasks in order to cope with the feeling of anxiety due to an unwanted thought, fear, or any image or urge making an individual anxious, guilty, embarrassed, or in any way uncomfortable. These feelings are referred to as obsessions, which might result in anxiety or any discomforting feeling. That leads to a repeating behavior or what we can commonly call compulsions.

Cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in an Individual

While the exact cause of OCD is not has been determined yet, a variety of factors can be responsible for leading to this situation. These can be external factors like a person’s surroundings, any trauma or any tragic incident leaving an impression on an individual, or even drug abuse. Other internal factors can be a person's body or brain functioning, autoimmune disorder, or even genetics. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine what causes OCD in a person.

Common symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder indicating the requirement of Nursing Diagnosis for OCD in an individual include:

• Recurring thoughts in an individual causing the feeling of anxiety or distress.
• Repeated activities or unusual behaviors as a result to deal with anxiety or stressful feelings.
• Dramatic increase or decrease in the individual performance in their work.
• Social anxiety or panic.

The presence of any of the symptoms can indicate the requirement of diagnosis for OCD through a mental health expert like a therapist or even a psychiatrist. The reason for that is If it might not be OCD, the given symptoms are an indication of any mental health in an individual.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling that has arisen in an individual as a result of fear due to upcoming events. The triggering cause of anxiety can be a fear of a threatening event or worry related to an upcoming event. The feeling of anxiety is different from fear as it is just a symptom of it, and the former does have a tendency to affect the individual both on a mental and a physical level.

The most common symptom can be fear, along with many others that have been listed below:

• Nervousness and Irritation.
• The feeling of dread and panic. 
• Being exhausted constantly.
• Fatigue and Insomnia. 

The situation of anxiety can be self-treatable sometimes. However, in case of repeated events, it does require assistance from the mental health expert, and it might be just a symptom of other mental health conditions. The consequences of anxiety can be severe and long-term effects on an individual.

How Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Are Different

The feeling of anxiety is only a common symptom in the case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Many times, a person cannot determine the situation of OCD, opting for anxiety self-treatment ignoring the requirement of expert assistance. Therefore, anyone going through any issues related to mental health or even their family should be able to distinguish these two conditions. Following are some of the major differences between Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

• Obsession: The major difference through which one determines the existence of OCD is the feeling that creates anxiety or triggers any kind of feeling in them. To explain it more simply, anxiety can be a feeling of fear or stress in an individual due to upcoming events or any particular situation in which they are. On the other hand, OCD involves Obsession, which can be any thought, fear, mental image guilt, or embarrassment triggering a situation of discomfort, fear, or, most commonly, anxiety.
• Compulsions: Another major highlighting difference is the occurrence of repeated behavior or activities. These are a result of managing the situation of fear and anxiety arising in a person due to obsessions. While a person with anxiety cannot handle upcoming events or situations, it leads to other symptoms like insomnia, fatigue, and many others; in the case of OCD, the person tries to come up with the feeling of fear while engaging in a repeating behavior or activities. While anxiety self-treatment can be helpful in overcoming many symptoms, they are ineffective towards compulsive behavior.
• Person Response: Anxiety is a response to upcoming events, subconsciously considering it as physical threats and preparing for it. However, obsessions are majorly due to a person’s imaginative fears or even some past events the feeling of which to overcome can get a person engaged in repetitive behavior or activities. Anxiety will come and go, but the feeling of obsessions will be recurring, leading to compulsions. The only way to help with these compulsions by seeking OCD Therapy and Counselling such as CBT, where the main aim is to reduce these symptoms to a minimum.

Other Mental Health Issues leading to a situation of Anxiety in a person

Another reason to understand the difference is that Anxiety is not a symptom of OCD but many mental health issues can be indicated by a feeling of anxiety in a person. Other serious mental health concerns comprising anxiety as their highlighting symptoms are:

• Schizophrenia
• Personality Disorders
• Depression
• Substance Abuse is characterized by compulsive behavior.

OCD Therapy and Counselling : Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

After the diagnosis of OCD, the first line of treatment that can be recommended by any expert is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy followed by Psychotropic Medications. Different approaches can be used to treat the situation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in an individual. These include therapies and counselling, among which the common ones are listed below:

• Exposure and Response Prevention: This therapy is considered the best treatment for anxiety and OCD in any individual. Under this approach, a person is exposed to a certain situation to trigger a stimulus. The major intention is to minimize the feeling of fear in a person. 
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Under this, the major intent is to increase the person's ability to cope. That can be with the feeling of fear or changes in their surroundings. On the other hand, a person is helped to deal with their past issues and accept them along with their surroundings as what they are. 
• Inference-Based Therapy: This therapy is specifically modeled to treat the issue of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Under this approach, a common belief is that obsessions are a result of a person’s imagination. There, the person tries to replace their surrounding situation with their imagination. This can be a totally different situation, like daydreaming. Or, it can be any modification in their real situation to determine the worst-case scenario. Under this, a person is helped to trust their surroundings, come back to their senses, and possibly detect the moment that triggers the person going to their imaginative thoughts.

Summing It Up

The situation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder requires proper treatment under the supervision of a mental health expert. Here, we have experts specifically trained to treat someone with a particular mental health condition. Common helps include OCD treatment, help with depression, and the best treatment for anxiety. You can easily book your session through the contact details listed below. Also, based on your preference, you can either book an online session or an offline session. While the majority of the issues can be addressed through online therapy, depending on the severity, there might also be a requirement for a physical visit.

Also Read: Panic Attack vs Anxiety Attack

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