LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

Learning and Behavior: The Affects of OCD

Adam B. Boelter
Salt Lake Community College

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

After trying for a week to change a certain type of behavior that I resemble it
became very evident to me that change isnt always easy. This made me open up my eyes
to those people who really struggle with certain disorders and other life changing
illnesses. Its something that unless you experience it first hand, its hard to understand.
So for a week I tried to refrain from what my wife calls OCD like behavior. ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder according to Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, and Nock (2014) is when
repetitive, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ritualistic behaviors (compulsions)
designed to fend off those thoughts interfere significantly with an individuals
functioning.
This is something that happens to me a lot. I know that doctors, psychiatrists, and
other counselors will tell you to stay away from diagnosing yourself with a certain
disorder but as I have researched and educated myself more about OCD it is something
very common and that a lot of Americans struggle from each day. I am not diagnosing
myself with OCD however but here are some of my OCD like traits that I tried to
change during this weeklong study.
Before bed each night I have to do a thorough clean of the house. Clothes cant
be hanging on a chair in the kitchen, all of the blankets have to be folded and put away,
the bathroom has to be in order with no messes (toothbrush on the charger, towels hung
up in their correct way and making sure that there arent any hair brushes or other items
on the counter that shouldnt be there. And the very last thing I do before going to bed is
making sure that my alarm is set properly, just to name a few. You might think that by
just setting it once and double-checking it would be good enough but not for me. I have
to set my alarm. Turn it off, turn it on again, set two more alarms (just to be safe) and

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

then close my alarm application on my phone. I then proceed to open and close, open
and then close my alarm app. anywhere from seven to nine times before I can accept that
my alarm is set and that it will actually go off in the morning when I want it to. These
things I consider to be a waste of time for the most part, which is why I decided to try this
experiment.
The first couple of days I almost went ballistic. My mind was racing, I felt more
stressed than usual and felt as if I were behind on every task that I had to accomplish
during the week. Schacter et als (2014) say anxiety plays a role in this disorder because
the obsessive thoughts typically produce anxiety and the compulsive behaviors are
performed to reduce it. I was always feeling an extreme amount of disorganization. At
work the papers on my desk had to be set in a certain way and my truck always had to be
completely spotless and the gas tank could never reach below half. If this wasnt the case
I felt like the world was going to crumble and that I couldnt focus or get anything done
in a productive manner.
As the week went on I came to realize that checking the kitchen, bathroom, and
my phone multiple times a night was something that was controlling me (National
Institute of Mental Health, 2010). I was wasting many hours of my life by performing
such activities constantly. Sure, some of the things obsessive behaviors could be
considered to be good. It made it so that I always had a clean house, work space and
truck but was it really worth it? My wife gets tired of my behavior some nights because
she has different things for us to do or sometimes just wants to relax, but these OCD like
behaviors prohibits us to do certain things at certain times. But bless her heart she is

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

always willing to help clean or just let me do my thing so that once its all done I can
finally relax.
Although 28% of adults in the United States report experiencing obsessions or
compulsions at some point in their lives, only 2% will develop actual OCD. (Schecter et
al, 2014). I am almost certain that I am not part of the 2% that actually have OCD but I
am not completely sure what triggered or started me to do or carry out these certain
actions each day. According to WebMD, OCD can be genetic and passed on from
generation to generation. There are some environmental factors that contribute to the
causes of OCD such as abuse, changes in living situations, illness, the death of a loved
one, work or school related changes or problems, as well as relationship concerns. But
no one is 100% certain as to why this disorder occurs or what actually causes it.
;

It can be very tricky to diagnose OCD because its not like you can take a blood
sample of someone and have it either test positive or negative for OCD. A doctor bases
his or her diagnosis on an assessment of the patient's symptoms, including how much
time the person spends performing his or her ritual behaviors (WebMD). Although most
doctors perform very similar assessments and tests it still can make things difficult
because not every doctor thinks exactly the same and not every doctor does the same
types of assessments to diagnose OCD making it hard to treat in some cases. But
according to WebMD, the two most common ways to treat OCD is by Cognitive
Behavioral therapy: The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to teach people with
OCD to confront their fears and reduce anxiety without performing the ritual behaviors
(called exposure therapy or exposure and response prevention therapy). Therapy also
focuses on reducing the exaggerated or catastrophic thinking that often occurs in people

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

with OCD. And the second is by antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) like Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft, may be helpful in treating OCD. Older
drugs -- tricyclic antidepressants like Anafranil -- might also be used. Some atypical
antipsychotics, such as Risperdal or Abilify, also have been shown to have value for OCD
either when used alone or in combination with an SSRI.
One of the biggest things that helped me throughout this experiment was the help
of my wife and others around me. If they helped to keep things clean and straight it
helped tremendously. As for the alarm, I couldnt really find anything that really made an
impact or made things easier to go to bed. But one thing that definitely helped that I tried
doing throughout the entire week was writing things down. Writing down my thoughts,
what I had to do each day, and what I had to do during the entire week. This seemed to
make the biggest difference. It helped me to not get as anxious knowing that I had a plan
and that everything would be just fine, that I would get everything done that I needed to
in a timely manner without feeling completed overloaded. By conducting my experiment
over the course of a week it helped me to understand that there are people willing to help
you. If you sit down and analyze your life and look at whats really important and how
you can change your behavior to accommodate different things, you can do it. The mind
is very powerful and anything can be done! Trust in yourself and in the process and
everything will work out. It was a really cool experiment that is helping me to not
waste as much time on the littlest things that dont have a whole lot of relevance in
living a happy life.
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LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR: THE AFFECTS OF OCD

References

Article Title: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Website URL:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorderocd/index.shtml
Article Title: OCD in Children and Adults: Symptoms, Causes, and More Website Title:
WebMD URL: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/obsessive-compulsivedisorder
Article Title: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Anxiety and Depression
Association of America, ADAA Website Title: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. URL:
http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd
Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner, Matthew K. Nock (2014).
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Trapped in a Loop. Psychology, Third Edition.
Pages 598-599.