What is a way that obsessions and compulsions are related?

Question

is it because compultions help people control their obsessions

[this is a takehome test, not hw, so dont get on my case]

Answer 1

When someone is "obsessed" with something, they can't stop thinking about it. A "compulsion" is the action related to the obsession; the act of doing it. For example, one may obsess over the possibility that the stove was left on and the great tragedies that could come from that. The compusive part drives the person to go check it and turn it off 5x, for example.

Answer 2

they seem very similar....but i think an obsession is the negative part of the situation..and the compulsion is more a personal action. Like for example when you are obsessed with something you think about it all the time....and a compulsion is if you want something like a certain material thing there is no way of stopping how you can get it. I really am kind of baffled by this but that is how good old psychology is .....a very open field with alot of twists in it...so maybe you can say an obsession is the more mental side and the compulsion is more the physical action....

Answer 3

Obsessions are thoughts and compulsions are behaviors. So, first comes the obsessive thoughts and then the person follows with compulsive behaviors. For example, one thinks that he/she has to keep a body part clean at all times. This gradually becomes an obsessive thought which leads to repeatedly washing this part of the body.

Answer 4

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or "rituals") which attempt to neutralize the obsessions. Thus it is an anxiety disorder. It is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten most disabling illnesses in terms of lost income and diminished quality of life.

The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause (see also "anal-retentive"). Such casual references should not be confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder; see clinomorphism. It is also important to distinguish OCD from other types of anxiety, including the routine tension and stress that appear throughout life. A person who shows signs of infatuation or fixation with a subject/object, or displays traits such as perfectionism, does not necessarily have OCD, a specific and well-defined condition.

To be diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, one must have either obsessions or compulsions alone, or obsessions and compulsions, according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria.


Obsessions are defined by:

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.
The tendency to haggle over small details that the viewer is unable to fix or change in any way. This begins a mental pre-occupation with that which is inevitable.



Compulsions are defined by:

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive.

Answer 5

Obsessive/Compulsive disorder says it all; they are strongly related.