At Rise Center for OCD and Anxiety, we specialize in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders, and other related conditions.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions that are time-consuming, cause significant distress, and substantially get in the way in one or more areas of life. Obsessions involve having intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, sensations, or urges, and as a result make a person feel anxious or distressed. Individuals who have OCD often have difficulty ignoring these thoughts and sensations. As a result, those with OCD engage in compulsions, which are ritualistic or repetitive behaviors that include observable, subtle, and mental actions, all done in an attempt to alleviate or get rid of the distress they feel. Compulsions are typically very difficult for people with OCD to resist. There are many types of OCD themes and most relate to having doubt, uncertainty, or a lack of control. Symptoms typically focus on the core characteristics of your identity, such as being conscientious, loving, authentic, and honest, among many others. They can present as fears about death and illness related to you or your loved ones, blasphemous thoughts or doubts about your faith, worries about intentional or accidental harm to yourself or others, skepticism about your sexual orientation or gender identity, intrusive images of incest or pedophilia, the need to be perfect, feeling “not just right,” and analyzing your romantic relationship. Although that is a long list, it is not exhaustive because OCD can focus on anything that is important to you. 

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Individuals who struggle with GAD may consider themselves to be “worry warts,” as they experience substantial worry about multiple issues. Typical topics of worry include health, finances, work, and family, which occupy the person’s mind most of the time. Other symptoms include restlessness, trouble sleeping, muscle tension, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and gastrointestinal problems.

Panic Disorder

Panic attacks are intense periods of physical symptoms (e.g. rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, sweating, or derealization) and fear (e.g. of “going crazy” or dying) that start abruptly and peak quickly. Panic attacks are common experiences among individuals with and without anxiety disorders; however, there is typically an easily identified cue that triggered the episode. For a person who develops panic disorder, these attacks seem to come out-of-the-blue when the person is not otherwise anxious. They become preoccupied with the fear that they may have more panic attacks and often change their behaviors to avoid potential triggers.

Specific Phobias

Specific phobias are strong fear reactions to common places, situations, or objects, despite knowing they are objectively safe. There are several types of specific phobias, including animal type (e.g. dogs, spiders, snakes), natural environment type (e.g. heights, water), situational type (e.g. flying, driving, elevators), blood-injection-injury type (e.g. blood, medical procedures), and other types (e.g. vomiting, choking).

Social Anxiety Disorder

People with social anxiety disorder fear embarrassment and the judgment of others to such a degree that it impairs their ability to to interact with friends and family and succeed at work. They often avoid a wide range of social interactions such as calling people on the phone, asking questions, and eating in public.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Individuals who struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) are preoccupied by one or more perceived defects in their appearance. They often spend hours every day engaging in behaviors to correct or mask their flaws, check their appearance, compare themselves to others, and seek out reassurance. They avoid situations where others might negatively judge their appearance and struggle with shame, disgust, depression, and anxiety.

Hoarding Disorder

Someone with Hoarding Disorder has difficulty parting with possessions that are no longer useful to them. The decision making process about which items to keep, throw out, recycle, or give away is often very distressing, so avoiding these decisions is often preferred. Unfortunately, that often results in their home becoming very cluttered, even to the extent where they cannot use their living spaces in the way they want. Additionally, many individuals find it very hard to turn down free things or resist the urge to purchase items at a good price. This can contribute to the clutter as well. The accumulation of clutter interferes with things like relationships, social activity, work, and even health and safety.

Body-Focused Repetitive Disorders

Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) and excoriation (skin picking) disorder are examples of body-focused repetitive disorders. A person who struggles with one of these conditions engages in repetitive grooming behaviors that are difficult for the person to stop and result in damage to the body.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Illness anxiety disorder (also known as health anxiety and hypochondriasis) is the extreme fear of becoming ill. This is related to excessive concern with and monitoring of physical symptoms resulting in compulsive checking, researching, and contacting health professionals. Illness anxiety disorder can make it difficult to perform important tasks and enjoy life due to the distraction of health-related worries.

If you would like to learn more, contact Rise Center for OCD and Anxiety or schedule a phone consultation today.