”I wash my hands countless times every day, and I have to wash everything I touch!” “I spray disinfectant at home every day, and my family members say that I have obsessive-compulsive disorder, and I am a little skeptical.”…During the epidemic, you ever You are accused of obsessive-compulsive disorder or others have obsessive-compulsive disorder, but are you really obsessive-compulsive disorder? Wu Hao, a psychologist at Guangzhou Huakang Hospital, explained that if you simply wash your hands repeatedly to achieve the purpose of disinfection and do not cause any impact on your daily life, it is only a “compulsive phenomenon”, not an “obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
There is a difference between obsessive-compulsive disorder and compulsive behavior
Wu Hao pointed out that obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental illness mainly manifested by obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions. It is mainly the obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions that the patient cannot control at all, which causes his psychological discomfort (anxiety and depression), and seriously affects his work, life, diet, physical condition, etc.
Compulsive behavior is something that everyone will experience more or less. It has a short duration, does not cause serious anxiety and other emotional disorders, does not affect normal life, and is a normal performance. Therefore, when judging abnormal psychology, the duration of related behavior and psychology is also an important consideration. Generally, the duration of more than 3 months will be considered for related pathological diagnosis.
2 standard test for obsessive-compulsive disorder
Wu Hao said that although he feels that his studies and work are not affected, he is still worried that his behavior or thinking is inappropriate or inappropriate. Then he can be tested by the following criteria:
First, whether the behavior has practical functions. For example, the current epidemic has not been resolved. Disease control experts have repeatedly recommended that frequent hand washing and hygiene are extremely necessary. Hand sanitizer consumes more than before. At the same time, more attention is paid to the health of family members. Behaviors such as active temperature measurement are normal and basically in line with the outside world. The environment demands and achieves certain realistic functions.
Second, whether the behavior and thinking are effective. In order to prevent family members from being infected, it is effective to require relatives who return home from the outside to change their clothes and take a bath. If you are still uneasy, you should be disinfected. However, simply thinking that exercise can enhance resistance without taking any protective measures is not effective in isolating external viruses.
Self-regulation is important
Try to understand and accept your repetitive thinking or behavior. Understand the meaning of certain repetitive behaviors to yourself, and deeply understand what you care about, such as health, life, and family companionship. We advocate: conform to nature, do what is right, and live in harmony with repeated behaviors.
Avoid excessive information to increase anxiety. Follow authoritative news sparingly, and receive no more than 40% of information related to the epidemic every day. On the one hand, it is normal to tell yourself that it is normal to be worried; on the other hand, actively adjust the time spent with excessive information.
Rationally assess the risk of infection. You can record your worries with pen and paper, and discuss with family and friends whether such worries are reasonable and whether the current family measures are effective.
Divert attention. By devoting yourself to events that interest you, you can increase your positive emotions and your sense of personal strength to reduce unnecessary repetitive behaviors and thoughts.
Actively learn some mental training methods. For example, in the mindfulness training that we pushed earlier, in the practice, we keep our attention above the current internal or external experience, and don’t make any judgments about it, so that our hearts can get along with ourselves.
Finally, Wu Hao emphasized that in fact, most people are just compulsive phenomena, which are normal behaviors. Correctly distinguishing “obsessive-compulsive phenomena” and “obsessive-compulsive disorder” can enable everyone to better understand and understand patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, so that real patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder can receive effective treatment. If continuously disinfecting the home during the epidemic period can bring psychological safety, there is no need to worry too much. But if it seriously affects your emotions, life, and even self-identity, you must seek medical attention in time.
