What about OCD would make you disabled?

Question

I don't know too much about OCD so help me out!

I have a very good friend who has a relative with OCD. This person has been declared disabled and receives payments from the government. In my experience people with OCD just have some bad, annoying habits....i've never heard of something so severe to get govt. payments.

My friend's relative does not leave the house at all. When I ask my friend what's wrong with his relative he gets all quiet and avoids the subject. He says he doesn't want people thinking bad things about his relative. I mean...this is a VERY close friend of mine and he tells me everything....except this. It makes me think it's pretty severe or gross or something.

Anybody out there with OCD experience take a guess at what could be wrong? I am so curious.

Answer 1

http://www.ocfoundation.org/ states:

Worries, doubts, superstitious beliefs all are common in everyday life. However, when they become so excessive such as hours of hand washing or make no sense at all such as driving around and around the block to check that an accident didn't occur then a diagnosis of OCD is made. In OCD, it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go. People with OCD often say the symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won't go away. OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not your fault or the result of a "weak" or unstable personality.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/HealthInformation/ocdmenu.cfm states:

The course of the disease is quite varied. Symptoms may come and go, ease over time, or get worse. If OCD becomes severe, it can keep a person from working or carrying out normal responsibilities at home. People with OCD may try to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their obsessions, or they may use alcohol or drugs to calm themselves.

http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Illnesses/Obsessive_Complusive_Disorder_(OCD).htm states:

What is Obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessions are intrusive, irrational thoughts -- unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in a person's mind. Again and again, the person experiences disturbing thoughts, such as "My hands must be contaminated; I must wash them"; "I may have left the gas stove on"; "I am going to injure my child." On one level, the sufferer knows these obsessive thoughts are irrational. But on another level, he or she fears these thoughts might be true. Trying to avoid such thoughts creates great anxiety.

Compulsions are repetitive rituals such as handwashing, counting, checking, hoarding, or arranging. An individual repeats these actions, perhaps feeling momentary relief, but without feeling satisfaction or a sense of completion. People with OCD feel they must perform these compulsive rituals or something bad will happen.

Most people at one time or another experience obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors. Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life.

OCD is often described as "a disease of doubt." Sufferers experience "pathological doubt" because they are unable to distinguish between what is possible, what is probable, and what is unlikely to happen.

Answer 2

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an out of control idea that a person must listen too. It is often linked to fears and doubts. For example, a person can become so afraid that germs will kill them if they leave the house that they never will. You cannot reason this or tell the person to just not do that, their brain is hardwired to be this way, forever.

Your friends fears are fully justified. People discriminate against people with mental illness and make them outcasts. You should tell your friend that you respect him and would never judge him or his family for any form of illness. Then I suggest you learn all you can about this an other mental illnesses. Mental illness is the most discriminated factor now in society. This has to change, and only people like you who ask and gain the truth can change it. Take care and this is a good place to start learning:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCD

Answer 3

OCD isn't necessarily physically debilitating, but it can be extremely emotionally and mentally debilitating. OCD isn't just about "bad, annoying habits" or about being a perfectionist (if that were the case, everybody would be diagnosed). People with OCD are prone to certain behavior that at many times they cannot control. An extreme fear of germs, for example, can be classified under OCD. People with OCD typically cannot function normally without performing the behavior in question.

Read more about OCD at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive_Compulsive_Disorder

Answer 4

Well, I have OCD and I've never heard of it being that severe, but I guess it's possible.
I have slightly severe OCD attacks, and a serious fear, but it doesnt make me disabled, just a bit paranoid.
Maybe there's something else going on with that relative that your friend doesnt want to talk about. Chances are it isnt just OCD, but it may be a serious and abnormally severe case.

Answer 5

OCD are very limiting. The "habits" control peoples actions and for some this means controlling every aspect of their lives. Some people only suffer mildly and their condition is only seen as annoying or anti-social displaying "habits" such as taking a persons dinner plate away because it is dirty regardless of whether the person has finished eating or not.

Other sufferers find that they are unable to function in society and therefore unable to get a job and financially support themselves.

Answer 6

I've known people with OCD and, like you said, it's mostly just annoying habits.

However, I can see it manifesting itself into something dangerous. What was that movie with Julia Roberts, Sleeping With the Enemy, right? I could see someone getting to that point, but that would make the individual more of a danger than disabled.

The thing is, there's medication for it. So it should give the person somewhat of a normal life. At least enough to keep them off the disabled list.

Answer 7

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder, more specifically, an anxiety disorder. OCD is manifested in a variety of forms, but is most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive (repetitive, distressing, intrusive) thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or rituals) which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.

Answer 8

You cannot talk an OCD patient out of the illness. It cannot be "snapped out of", argued, reasoned, prayed, meditated, exercised, willed or wished away, any more than tuberculosis can be wished away. It's a specific disease that requires specific treatment. The irrational fears (obsessions) and endless rituals (compulsions) that completely took over my existence years ago make me every bit as disabled as a person using a wheelchair; just in a different way. They are handicapped by lack of mobility, I'm handicapped by overpowering fear

Answer 9

Sometimes a person with OCD is so controlled by a particular behavior that they can't help themselves. Something might trigger their OCD and make it difficult for them to perform their work. There's so many different behaviors/severities of OCD that it'd be hard to say which particular one is disabling.

Answer 10

OCD is actually in the Listings for Social Security law. I help people get Social Security, so this is my experience. I don't know someone that just has OCD that doesn't have other mental illnesses.