OCD
Noah Leonard
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Randy was a fairly average person. He worked as a cook in a fairly popular restaurant in his town most days, and as a bartender on weekends. He also played in a band that had shows once every month or two. Randy was always a careful person and this helped him in his work and helped him generally in life, it never got in the way. But Randy eventually started to notice he had become much more careful. He found himself checking temperatures of meats multiple times before sending the dishes out, even though he knew he checked them before, the chance he misread the thermometer was just too much. He also noticed that when he was bartending he would count things like ice cubes that he put into drinks, or times he shook the drinks. His bar would also have to be spotless, even if the bar was busey.
Luckily the bar he worked at was pretty slow most of the time, and he knew many of the patrons. The restaurant was a different story, It was popular and his constant checking and rechecking got in the way, customers would not get there food in a timely fashion because of his fear their food was not cooked properly. Eventually his superiors started to notice his seeming nervousness and him being overly thorough. They addressed this to him and told him that he didn’t need to check everything over and over, and that his quality was always great. This recent occurrence was bringing the team down because he would lengthen the time it would take for the food to be done. The extreme carefulness also affected him at home, he had a specific order that he had to put his clothes on, for fear of forgetting a critical piece. Eventually Randy realized he needed to get help. He decided to see a therapist twice a week until he started to show signs of improvement, then he would take it down to once a week, then once every two weeks.
When Randy went to see a therapist they told him he had obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD for short. Randy had been having compulsions that restricted his life and started to affect him professionally even. The therapist told Randy that he had to reduce his stress levels, cut out coffee and meditate twice a day. After Randy was less stressed his therapist started to have him slowly change his habits. When he would start to do one of his compulsions, for instance his checking and rechecking of temperatures at his job as a cook, he had to think to himself “I already checked this, it is okay. The customers need their food.” Every time he would notice himself doing this he had to tell himself that, and stop what he was doing. Slowly there was progress with Randy and he started to see that he was thorough enough without rechecking everything. The therapist had Randy write a list of priorities that he had in work and personal life. When he was working at the bar he said that getting customers drinks was a higher priority than cleanliness. So when the bar was busy he needed to stop himself from obsessing over making everything spotless. Over time Randy’s condition started to diminish and he started to get back to his usual self. His professional performance increased again and he was much less anxious.
OCD is a disorder that is quite common. It is anxiety related and is characterized by obsessions or compulsions, these can be things like washing hands, or counting ice cubes. OCD can negatively affect your life to the point you do not even want to leave your house. Randys case was severe, although it could have been much worse for him, it is good that he sought treatment before it got any worse.
Works Cited:
Henkelmann, Katharina. "Case study of severe OCD."Academia.edu. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.academia.edu/1348084/Case_Study_of_Severe_OCD>.
Stumbo Zaimes, Jeanette. "A case study of obsessive compulsive disorder ." Jefferson.edu. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
. "Obsessive compulsive disorder ." Therapy for you. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.therapyforyou.co.uk/About-Therapy-For-You/Case-Studies/OCD.asp&xgt;.
. "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)." Allphsych online. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://allpsych.com/disorders/anxiety/ocd.html>.
"DSM IV Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Criteria ." biologicalunhappiness. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.biologicalunhappiness.com/DSM-OCD.htm>.
"Summary of DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria."intermountainhealthcare. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. < https://intermountainhealthcare.org/ext/Dcmnt?ncid=520221311&tfrm=default>.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Randy was a fairly average person. He worked as a cook in a fairly popular restaurant in his town most days, and as a bartender on weekends. He also played in a band that had shows once every month or two. Randy was always a careful person and this helped him in his work and helped him generally in life, it never got in the way. But Randy eventually started to notice he had become much more careful. He found himself checking temperatures of meats multiple times before sending the dishes out, even though he knew he checked them before, the chance he misread the thermometer was just too much. He also noticed that when he was bartending he would count things like ice cubes that he put into drinks, or times he shook the drinks. His bar would also have to be spotless, even if the bar was busey.
Luckily the bar he worked at was pretty slow most of the time, and he knew many of the patrons. The restaurant was a different story, It was popular and his constant checking and rechecking got in the way, customers would not get there food in a timely fashion because of his fear their food was not cooked properly. Eventually his superiors started to notice his seeming nervousness and him being overly thorough. They addressed this to him and told him that he didn’t need to check everything over and over, and that his quality was always great. This recent occurrence was bringing the team down because he would lengthen the time it would take for the food to be done. The extreme carefulness also affected him at home, he had a specific order that he had to put his clothes on, for fear of forgetting a critical piece. Eventually Randy realized he needed to get help. He decided to see a therapist twice a week until he started to show signs of improvement, then he would take it down to once a week, then once every two weeks.
When Randy went to see a therapist they told him he had obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD for short. Randy had been having compulsions that restricted his life and started to affect him professionally even. The therapist told Randy that he had to reduce his stress levels, cut out coffee and meditate twice a day. After Randy was less stressed his therapist started to have him slowly change his habits. When he would start to do one of his compulsions, for instance his checking and rechecking of temperatures at his job as a cook, he had to think to himself “I already checked this, it is okay. The customers need their food.” Every time he would notice himself doing this he had to tell himself that, and stop what he was doing. Slowly there was progress with Randy and he started to see that he was thorough enough without rechecking everything. The therapist had Randy write a list of priorities that he had in work and personal life. When he was working at the bar he said that getting customers drinks was a higher priority than cleanliness. So when the bar was busy he needed to stop himself from obsessing over making everything spotless. Over time Randy’s condition started to diminish and he started to get back to his usual self. His professional performance increased again and he was much less anxious.
OCD is a disorder that is quite common. It is anxiety related and is characterized by obsessions or compulsions, these can be things like washing hands, or counting ice cubes. OCD can negatively affect your life to the point you do not even want to leave your house. Randys case was severe, although it could have been much worse for him, it is good that he sought treatment before it got any worse.
Works Cited:
Henkelmann, Katharina. "Case study of severe OCD."Academia.edu. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.academia.edu/1348084/Case_Study_of_Severe_OCD>.
Stumbo Zaimes, Jeanette. "A case study of obsessive compulsive disorder ." Jefferson.edu. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
. "Obsessive compulsive disorder ." Therapy for you. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.therapyforyou.co.uk/About-Therapy-For-You/Case-Studies/OCD.asp&xgt;.
. "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)." Allphsych online. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://allpsych.com/disorders/anxiety/ocd.html>.
"DSM IV Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Criteria ." biologicalunhappiness. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. <http://www.biologicalunhappiness.com/DSM-OCD.htm>.
"Summary of DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria."intermountainhealthcare. N.p.. Web. 28 Feb 2013. < https://intermountainhealthcare.org/ext/Dcmnt?ncid=520221311&tfrm=default>.