Far Beyond Everyday Superstitions Essay -- Obseessive Compulsive Disor

Far Beyond Everyday Superstitions Each day my grandfather has an impulse to touch his shoulder, then his nose, and after these actions are accomplished he touches his ear. He does these actions each and every time he says hello to a human being. It is as if he is a coach on the third-base line signaling a runner to steal home. He doesn’t know why he does these actions; he just does. He has on obvious reason and trys not to do them, but each time they come back. My grandfather feels ashamed of his actions and does not want anyone to know of them. He has other impulses as well. He turns off light switches with his thumb, only his thumb. My grandfather was diagnosed with the Obsessive-Compulsive disorder twenty years ago. The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a strange and frightening sickness of ritual. This disease is far more common than most people would ever imagine. About one in fifty Americans have this disorder, as many as five million (11/28, http://www.zoloft.com/index.asp?pageid=14&o=060110000000GO). It is most common between the ages of 18 through 54 to be diagnosed. Typically one third of adult cases however, begin at adolescence. It is cruel because the victims of this disease know of their strange behavior and try to make it stop, but cannot. It is as though their brain is stuck on a particular thought or urge and can not let it go. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is different from the everyday superstitions that most people seem to have. For instance, many people believe in lucky numbers, knocking on wood, or keeping umbrellas closed in the house. These habits are different from the disorder for these Kreftmeyer 2 patients cannot put these actions out of their minds (Rapoport, 2). This disorder should be... ...cans need to become more aware of how its effects to ones life, due to the surprisingly high number of people that have symptoms of it. Psychiatrists are still experimenting with different combinations of medications and therapies for which will eventually help the victims even more. It is a disorder that many need to be informed about. Works Cited Coon, Dennis. Introduction to Psychology. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1998. Dumont, Raeann. The Sky Is Falling. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1996. Pharmacotherapy. National Institute of Mental Health. 30 November 2001. Rapoport, Judith. The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing. New York: E.P. Dutton Inc. 1989. Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive- Compulsive Foundation. 28 November 2001. Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Zoloft. 28 November 2001.