I agree with Mary's comments on OCD. It is not primarily a behavioral
problem and is a hereditary, neurological, brain chemical related illness. I
have watched one of my clients try to be "cured" by behavioral therapy alone
at great emotional cost to her. She is now treated with medication. I can
only imagine what she must have gone through before being diagnosed and
treated.
About 45 years ago there were lobotomies done to try to treat the condition
(at great "cost" as well)!!! Thank goodness for SSRIs!

A book called "Kissing Doorknobs" by Terry Spencer Hesser is an excellent
book about a person dealing with OCD.
There are varying symptoms and degrees of severity of symptoms, and many
people are able to hide their symptoms. Chances are that many of us know
someone with symptoms. When the symptoms interfere with the person's life
they (or someone who loves them) seeks help. Stress or "traumatic events"
can sometimes trigger the symptoms, but are not the root cause. Without
proper treatment people with OCD can be more prone to depression...and the
risk with untreated depression is suicide.

Here is a question for anyone who might be able to offer some advice:
My client has OCD, asthma and overactive bladder syndrome. She is on
fluoxetine, singular, bactrim, and detrol. She has no children. She is young
and single and came to me looking for advice regarding birth control.
She can not take BCP's to prevent pregnancy due to the bactrim. Bactrim
seems to be the only antibiotic that keeps her recurrent UTIs under control.
What form of birth control should she use and if she does become pregnant
while on her current medications, what are the implications for her, for the
unborn child and for lactation????
Beth

> OCD is NOT primarily a behavioral problem. The "root" of it is not
> something that happened to one as a child or a traumatic event. It is most
> likely, a hereditary, neurological, brain chemical related illness. It can
> no better be "cured" with behavioral therapy alone than diabetes can be!
> OCD is no less a physical illness than diabetes or a broken leg...
>  Psychological treatment can be a helpful adjunct to drug treatment to
help
> an OCD sufferer deal with her symptoms, but without the reversion to
normal
> brain chemistry that the SSRIs provide, most never have more than mimimal
> relief from their symptoms. SSRIs are NOT "happy pills" if your brain
> chemistry is already normal, they will not make one "happy" or high. If
> one's neurochemistry is abnormal, as in OCD, these drugs can help correct
a
> defect and help one live a normal, successful life...
> Mary

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