Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about obsessive-compulsive disorder.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero-definals.com slash OCD or in the CAM section of the Zero Definals Pediatrics book.

So let's get straight into it.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions.

Obsessions are unwanted and uncontrolled thoughts and intrusive images that the person finds very difficult to ignore.

Examples of this are an overwhelming fear of contamination with dirt or germs,

or violent or explicit images that keep appearing in their mind.

Compulsions are repetitive actions that the person feels they must do which generate anxiety if they're not done.

Often these compulsions are a way for the person to handle their obsessions. For example, they may

check that all the electrical equipment in the house is turned off in order to settle the anxiety

generated by obsessing that the house will

burn down. This is a normal behavior but in OCD the person may check that every plug in the

house is turned off 10 times before they're able to go to sleep or leave the house. There's a cycle

in OCD. The obsessions lead to anxiety, which lead to the

compulsive behaviors, which lead to temporarily improving the anxiety. Shortly after the

temporary improvement in anxiety, the obsession reappears, which leads to further anxiety and further compulsive

behavior, which only gives them a temporary relief. This cycle continues and each time gets more

ingrained in the person's behavior. Without doing the compulsions, the person feels they

cannot get relief from their anxiety. The obsessions

and compulsions are present on a daily basis and are not something the person will enjoy doing or

do willingly. They impact other areas of life such as their social life or their other

interests. Let's talk about the associations. OCD is strongly related to other

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