All about obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

If you suffer from compulsive thoughts and/or perform compulsive actions, you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because thoughts are compulsive, it is called an obsession and when actions are compulsive as well, it is called compulsive. The fact that you suffer from this is very annoying. Someone who is not familiar with it will find it strange, because such a compulsive disorder is difficult to counteract and to stop thinking and acting compulsively.

What are the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder?

The symptoms can be found in both the compulsive thoughts and the compulsive behaviour. Compulsive thoughts are recurring thoughts and they are persistent. Even if you do not want to and try to think of something else, the compulsive thoughts keep recurring. They are usually not useful thoughts either, so that you have something to think about; they are actually thoughts that sometimes frighten you. Think of scary diseases you might catch, making terrible mistakes, being polluted or obsessive thoughts about religion or sex.

Compulsive disorder

Compulsive behavioural disorder involves compulsive actions. Often, these actions stem from compulsive thoughts. It is not about performing an action once, but about repeating it over and over again. Examples are the constant washing of hands, cleaning the house, counting steps or putting objects in a symmetrical position. All these actions are caused by fear. By performing these actions over and over again, you start to think that something you do not want will not happen to you. Compulsive actions do not even have to be performed physically. Often people with compulsive behavioural disorder also carry out actions in their thoughts, such as counting things repeatedly or praying.

What is the cause of obsessive-compulsive behaviour?

The cause of this disorder is not always clearly identifiable. What is known is that heredity can play a role. If parents or someone else in the family suffers from compulsive thoughts and actions, you are also more susceptible. Stress and important events in one's life can also be a trigger, such as the birth of a child or a traumatic event. In the latter case, specific treatment must be given for trauma. The chance of getting rid of the disorder is then greater.

Treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder

There are various types of treatment that can be used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a treatment often chosen. During this treatment, the compulsive thoughts and actions are dealt with directly. This form of treatment is particularly suitable if the disorder is hereditary or has developed over time for no particular reason. When the disorder is caused by a trauma, then you have post-traumatic stress disorder. It is then important to get rid of it by means of trauma treatment. EMDR is the most suitable treatment for this.

How does EMDR therapy work?

With EMDR the traumatic event is central to the therapy. During an EMDR session, you have to retrieve this event in your mind. Because the feelings and thoughts of that moment are also retrieved, this can be quite intense. At the moment you are reliving the event, you are distracted by a hand gesture of the therapist or a sound signal. At that moment you forget the trauma and think about something else. After several times, the trauma can be retrieved and put away emotionally much more easily. In this way, the trauma has been given a place and there is a good chance that compulsive thoughts and actions will diminish or stay away.

With Psylaris, remote EMDR is possible

Because Psylaris wants to make the GGZ easier and above all faster to reach for people who need it, several resources have been developed for easy EMDR treatments. For EMDR-remote Psylaris has developed an online EMDR tool . This is a convenient online platform for the practitioner. It allows the client to follow an EMDR session remotely via video calling. The practitioner has more online options for distraction with various digital distraction tasks.

Also with virtual reality, Psylaris cannot stay behind. Psylaris has developed VR modules for various GGZ treatments, including EMDR-VR. Because the client is in the virtual world, a distraction started by the practitioner will be very intense. Both EMDR-Remote and EMDR-VR are possibilities to give a treatment in a modern way and also in a higher frequency.

EMDR therapy with modern methods

As a developer of modern methods and tools in mental healthcare, Psylaris has also made EMDR easy with modern techniques. Virtual reality, for example, plays an increasingly important role in the GGZ. With EMDR-VR Psylaris has developed a VR module. The module can easily be used by the practitioner and has many distraction possibilities. The client gets a more intense distraction than during a regular treatment. The VR glasses can be used both at home and in the treatment room. This makes both the practitioner and the client more flexible.

If the client is unable to come to the treatment centre, Psylaris uses EMDR-remote to make it possible to receive EMDR treatment at home. EMDR-remote is the online EMDR platform of Psylaris, where the practitioner and the client can conduct an EMDR session via video calling. Again, the practitioner has many possibilities to distract and the client, who is chained to the house, is still being treated.

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