Understanding OCD through American and Scottish Perspectives - Abnormal Psychology [GLE Group D]

DSM-5 Diagnosis : Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both.  Obsessions are defined by (1) and (2): Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive, unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress. The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion). Compulsions are defined by (1) and (2): Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to the 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

Symptom Presentation In the above clip from the American television series Glee (double click to view), main character Emma Pilsbury spends 48 minutes disinfecting a chair before sitting down to discuss her OCD with a therapist. This is an example of her compulsion for cleaning, presumably as a way to reduce stress/anxiety caused by her obsession with cleanliness. This germaphobe model of OCD is common in western media but only truthfully represents some portion of real life individuals with OCD. Real compulsions vary between individuals and can include counting, checking, or simple repetitive actions. Real obsessions are also not limited only to cleanliness. “The Big Bang Theory”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrzUsHNGZHc . In these scenes there are multiple short clips of “The Big Bang Theory”, here one of the main characters whose name is Sheldon displays a knocking ritual in many scenes on the American television show. He has to knock three times, say the person