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Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by bpizzi on Thursday August 09, 2018 @02:43AM (#17722079)
Thanks for sharing. The complexities of the human brain will never cease to amaze me. There should be a way, in all this neuronal maze, to escape those compulsions, but I bet it's really well hidden.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by 193 on Thursday August 09, 2018 @02:53AM (#17722113)
Well, one way out is behavioral therapy.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a form of anxiety disorder. You are afraid of something (sickness, death, loosing control) - then you get obsessive about it and then you do some compulsive action to mentally ease that thought/anxiety.

But now you have "learned" to behave in a certain way to feel better. And you are weighting the triggering thought as more important by giving that much attention to it. This is resulting in a self-enforcing feedback loop in the end.

Behavioral therapy is a way to "unlearn" this behavior. Mostly by working against the initial anxiety. If you are unconcerned/neutral/bored of something, you cannot gain that much obsessive/compulsive momentum.

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by inertiatic on Thursday August 09, 2018 @04:07AM (#17722413)
Unless you pull a logical trick to reduce every discomfort to fear, I don't agree that everyone that suffers from OCD is afraid of something and anxious about it.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by 193 on Thursday August 09, 2018 @04:43AM (#17722561)
I don't think that fear and anxiety are exactly the same thing. (fear being a very basic response to a very concrete (perceived) threat, while anxiety is more diffuse, constant, covering larger timeframes)

Assuming we are talking about the same thing (anxiety), why do you think that not everyone suffering from OCD has that as the cause? What other types do you know of? It is possible that I was focusing too much on intrusive thoughts and related issue, but my current understanding is that the OCD mechanism described above is the same for any type of OCD and that it is by definition an anxiety disorder.

The discomfort you are describing could be the same thing as the anxiety I was speaking of, although discomfort is maybe not intense enough to describe the internal experience of the disorder.

As always: these things are distributed on a spectrum with better/worse days and cases between people. It only becomes a disorder if you suffer from it on a regular basis in some phase of your life.

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by coldtea on Thursday August 09, 2018 @02:37PM (#17727104)
>I don't think that fear and anxiety are exactly the same thing. (fear being a very basic response to a very concrete (perceived) threat, while anxiety is more diffuse, constant, covering larger timeframes)

That could just be a historical product of the English language. Other languages don't necessarily discriminate this way between fear and anxiety.

E.g. we can equally talk about someone "fearing" they have forgot the stove open or "being anxious" about it in this here parts.

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by fatbird on Thursday August 09, 2018 @11:12AM (#17724838)
What 193 is describing isn't a conversion of discomfort to fear, it's an a-rational pattern of behaviour that's independent of discomfort or fear.

Orwell talked about reinforcing effects: "A man may drink because he is failing, then become all the more a failure because he drinks." OCD as a form of anxiety is about a sufferer having taught themselves to behaviourally self-medicate. And just like most forms of addictive self-medication, it becomes a reinforcing effect that's somewhat independent of any real objective cause.

CBT and other behavioural approaches to therapy try (with measurable success) to interrupt that self-reinforcing behavioural effect. Many here are talking about somewhat obsessively checking things, and they're describing it perfectly: "did I check? I'll check again just to make sure", which grants a moment of relief from the anxiety; give it a few minutes, and the anxiety returns, forcing another hit of reassurance to be sought. OCD is an extreme form of addiction to this cycle.

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by SketchySeaBeast on Thursday August 09, 2018 @10:39AM (#17724561)
Traditionally the DSM categorized OCD as an anxiety disorder - apparently now it's categorized in the larger envelope "neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders", which anxiety falls under as well. There's certainly an anxiety element, as it causes a great deal of distress to fail to follow the behavior.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by coldtea on Thursday August 09, 2018 @02:34PM (#17727081)
>Unless you pull a logical trick to reduce every discomfort to fear

In OCD there's no external discomfort (like having your hand touch a stove or having a headache).

So it can very well be all about fear and anxiety in general without having to "reduce every discomfort to fear".

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by 56chan4 on Thursday August 09, 2018 @05:02AM (#17722633)
I would want to measure dietary Taurine levels in the body for a start. Experiments consuming 3g/day have shown no side effects, but your main source is limited to energy drinks so you have to contend with caffeine, and Taurine does not last long in the body (can start to be expelled in urine within 10mins), much like many of the water soluble chemicals classed as vitamins or minerals. Cooking actually destroys it from organ meats and some scientific studies have shown a link between vegetarianism and a variety of mental health issues including OCD. You wont find any substantial levels of Taurine in vegetables, but you will in raw liver, kidneys and brains. From my own experience, 3 or 4 Redbulls a day (1g of Taurine per can) can change many repetitive behaviours. Taurine also has many other positive effects on the body like including VO2 max, improving cholesterol profiles, improving bile acid patterns, reducing depression, improving sleep, improving memory, reducing atherosclerosis, reducing fatty liver disease, reversing some types of cataracts, reducing stones especially in women, to name some of the observed scientific improvements to human health. Its probably why its now added to formula milk for babies since the 80's (but at levels lower than breast milk) and has subsequently improved their cognitive abilities.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by TheSpiceIsLife on Thursday August 09, 2018 @06:27AM (#17722975)
> From my own experience, 3 or 4 Redbulls a day

This seems like an incredibly bad idea. You would be far better off using taurine powder.

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by zamber on Thursday August 09, 2018 @11:25AM (#17724970)
> some scientific studies have shown a link between vegetarianism and a variety of mental health issues including OCD

Could you provide links or keywords? My close family went full-vegan ~ 2y ago and I'm worried they may be doing themselves more harm than good.

If taurine is a start, then all other microelements are the continuation? Studies for taurine would also be helpful.

Is this a troll given the username?

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by zhte415 on Thursday August 09, 2018 @12:13PM (#17725487)
If Taurine doesn't last long in the body yet has these wonderful effects, could you provide references?
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by goldfeld on Thursday August 09, 2018 @10:05AM (#17724267)
I think you could lose hair faster that way, but it's just a hunch.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by Chazprime on Thursday August 09, 2018 @05:57AM (#17722862)
Ironic, in this case, as taurine was once extracted from bull semen.
Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by 1996 on Thursday August 09, 2018 @02:50PM (#17727248)
so what if it is good for the health?

I do not ask how hot dogs are made, and I care even less for things I take for my health

Re:The terrible 'what if': how OCD makes every day a matter ... by Chazprime on Thursday August 09, 2018 @10:25PM (#17730237)
It’s ironic when the author describes a fear of food contamination by semen, that possible relief might come in the form of bull semen, that’s all.