Patient education is one of the safety measures that healthcare professionals have been applying to manage diseases. The process involves influencing patient behavior and producing changes in skills and attitudes required to maintain and improve health (Başer & Mollaoğlu, 2019). All physicians are responsible for teaching patients, their families, and the community. Consequently, teaching patients on effective management of Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is effective in heightening safety of patients. The purpose of this blog is to increase awareness on the effective of patient education in managing OCD disease.
Signs and Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
People diagnosed with OCD may experience obsession or compulsion. These are the main symptoms that affect a child in adolescent life. For instance, it affects their relationship with others in the school. The obsessions faced by adolescents are repeated thoughts, urges, and mental images that result in anxiety. Common obsession symptoms include fear of germs or contamination, taboo thoughts involving sex, and aggressive thoughts (Martinotti et al., 2021). The adolescents may also experience compulsive behavior like excess cleanliness, compulsive counting, and repeated checking of things. These signs and symptoms make adolescents more preoccupied with tiny things that affect their social relationships with their peers.
Pharmacological Treatments
The clinical approach to these disorders has been gaining more attention recently. This is because of the positive impact that such treatments have on patients. An adolescent diagnosed with OCD needs Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) which will include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to aid in reducing the OCD signs and symptoms (Wu et al., 2021). The SRIs often require high daily doses to treat OCD than the dose taken to treat depression. These drugs take 8-12 weeks to start working. However, some patients may experience more and more rapid improvement.
Non-Pharmacological Treatments
Psychotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for OCD in children and adolescents. Cognitive behavior and interpersonal and psychodynamic therapies are non-pharmacological treatments applied to OCD patients. These therapies help one to develop self-awareness of what one feels and the reasons for feeling that way. Besides, they teach skills in dealing with negative thinking and changing behaviors and attitudes. Three majorly used therapies are always healthy, traditional, and easy to use among the many therapies available (Del Casale et al., 2019). Cognitive-behavioral therapy is physiotherapy that depicts irrational thinking patterns, emotional responses, and behavior thus replacing them with rational patterns. It has become a crucial part of psychology since its formation as a treatment for depression.
Community Resources
OCD in adolescents also affects their relationship with the surrounding community. Adolescents’ growth and development may be affected by age, gender, and culture. On the other hand, neurodevelopment among children is affected by the culture and the social practices adopted in the community (Gröndahl et al., 2019). Motor skills adopt a similar fashion of development in every culture. However, the development of social skills depends on cultural context and norms (Martinotti et al., 2021). A child might be born with an OCD condition, but the power and interaction they find in the community and their culture limit the condition from affecting their lives adversely.
Conclusion
OCD is considered a mental disorder, and its symptoms and severity vary considerably between individuals. Some individuals are severely impaired by their symptoms. For example, they may have special affinities for objects or activities others find unusual. Some individuals with OCD resist more socially appropriate play demonstrations, and it is difficult to engage in social activities. Fortunately, implementing pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches results in effective outcomes.
References
Başer, E., & Mollaoğlu, M. (2019). The effect of a hemodialysis patient education program on fluid control and dietary compliance. Hemodialysis International, 23(3), 392-401.https://doi.org/10.1111/hdi.12744
Del Casale, A., Sorice, S., Padovano, A., Simmaco, M., Ferracuti, S., Lamis, D. A., … & Pompili, M. (2019). Psychopharmacological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Current Neuropharmacology, 17(8), 710-736.Order this paper