obsession

Psychology

2022

We explain what obsession is and what is its relationship with compulsion. Also, the obsession in children and the scales of the obsessions.

The obsession dislodges with the thought in a conscious way of the subject.

What is obsession?

Obsession is understood in different contexts with different meanings, but they all have the same basis, a subject or repetitive idea. In spite of the view negative that you may have, an obsession can be much more frequent than you can imagine and it is not always a disorder or trouble to be treated, unless it causes problems in some area of ​​the life.

The word obsession has its origin in Latin obsessive, which means "siege." And it basically consists of a disturbance of the mood generated by a consistent, rigid and persistent idea that affects the mind and has various forms of manifestation.

The obsession becomes annoying because it dislodges the thought in a conscious way of the subject and getting rid of him is an arduous task, as he perseveres beyond the will of the person.

Obsession and compulsion

The compulsion causes exhausting emotions like fear or fear.

Obsession has a pathological connotation because it dominates the mind of the person who suffers it, being a force that totally controls them, producing so much anxiety as anguish.

Now, an obsession is almost the same as a compulsion, since both are a combination of ideas or thoughts that end up sowing exhausting emotions in the subjects, such as fear or fear. And although obsession is related to ideas and compulsion to conduct, the first can also be conceived as behavior.

However, we will understand compulsion as, expressly, systematic behaviors that are performed in the form of a ceremony in order to appease obsessions. Therefore, a compulsion cannot exist if there is no obsession.

Obsession in a psychotic context

For those who suffer from the obsession and for those who do not know the subject, it may seem like a behavior almost grating in the crazinessProbably because of this, patients are afraid to consult a specialist, because of the response they may obtain or because of what others say.

But the obsession does not always respond to a psychotic picture, it is often part of the symptoms of various types of disorders such as anxiety or depression.

The most severe cases, such as delirium or hallucinations, do not accompany the common people with obsessions. Brief reactive psychosis is more common in obsessive-compulsive neurosis, caused by impairment due to the presence of it, or a severe intensity of the obsession that ends up generating psychotic symptoms.

Obsession in children

It is in the latency period that you begin to get signs of an obsessive personality.

Piaget is one of the authors of the most iconic development and delivers an important observation regarding the behaviors that a child can perform as a ritual.

It basically consists of the learning in certain evolutionary stages of the human being include repetitive and somewhat obsessive acts, this is because the habits.

It is precisely in the period called "Latency" when you start to get hints of types of personality obsessive. So a detailed evaluation is essential to make an accurate discrimination between "normal" and "abnormal."

Scales of obsessions

These can be present in different degrees and modalities. Recurring thoughts, impulses, or images that:

  • They are experienced as symptoms of a disorder, appearing intrusively and causing anxiety.
  • They are related only to specific events or daily worries of everyday life.
  • They try to ignore or appease with other ideas or behaviors.
  • They are able to recognize the nature of their obsession and do not give it greater importance.

Looks towards Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

There are various authors who provide an explanatory model, but we will point out some of the most important or current, as the case may be:

  • Eysenck. He argued that obsessions arise from the incubation response, which comes as a consequence of frustration at not receiving reward in the face of unconditioned stimuli that cause fear.Therefore, when something does not calm the fear, it can become a recurring and persistent theme or, you can lose interest. But the obsession corresponds to the former. The compulsion would be the mechanism by which the person seeks to calm down and have the illusion of keeping those disturbing ideas under control.
  • Horowitz. He argues that it is common for people to have certain obsessive ideas without these reaching the extreme of being pathological. These are simply thoughts that many individuals share in silence.
  • Rachman and Silva. They add to what Horowitz pointed out that these intrusive ideas correspond to daily harmful ideas, to which the subject has not been able to habituate or adapt, therefore it persists.

Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Currently, certain types of drugs are used depending on the diagnosis.
  • Behavioral. They seek exposure to the stimulus that triggers the obsession in order to achieve, in a therapeutic and later adaptive context, habituation to that element.
  • Organic In "ancient times" this type of treatment consisted of surgery or lobotomy. Currently, certain types of drugs are used, depending on the diagnosis, such as tricyclics (Imipramine or monoamine oxidase inhibitors), which have worked very well, especially when depression has become present. Otherwise, tranquilizers are usually a complement to psychotherapy in situations of overwhelming anxiety.
  • Cognitive. It uses various techniques such as covert awareness in order to treat harmful or destructive habits.
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