All the perfumes of Arabia..!.!.!.......

Repeated washing with all the perfumes of Arabia could not convince Lady Macbeth that her hands were clean. This is the plight of patients with Obsessive compulsive disorder.
Ms. R k was a 27 year old home maker, living with her family. For the past few years she has been bothered by inability to control some behaviors. It started as her concern that her hand and the household dishes were not clean. She will spend a lot of time washing them. Often her hands would wrinkle. Her fingers started to swell beneath the nails due to infection. Relatives could persuade her to stop only with great difficulty. When she closes the doors at night she will repeatedly check whether the doors are locked properly. Later she also had difficulty to go out. When she meets other males she fears that she has an urge to look at their genital areas. She is embarrassed whether others will notice her eye moving to their waist and below. Because of this she seldom goes out. Of late she has developed another problem. When she attempts to pray in her prayer room, she can't look at the images of male Gods displayed there. If she looks at them, she starts having sexual thoughts involving the God and her. She is terribly guilty and wept while narrating this latest trouble.
This lady is suffering from Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD). The repeated thoughts occurring against her will, which she cannot dismiss away or suppress are called obsessions. The repeated senseless actions - washing and checking again and again - are called compulsions. Attempts to control these obsessions and compulsions result in severe anxiety. Hence OCD is classified as an anxiety disorder.
Earlier this disorder was thought to be rare, but recent evidence shows that it is much more common. It has a genetic component like many other mental disorders. The exact cause is still unknown. It is shown that there is excess activity of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in some parts of the brain in this condition. Hence drug treatment is targeted at this. Drugs used for this condition are called Serotonin Specific Re uptake Inhibitors. These drugs are also having antidepressant action.
Psychological methods of treatment is also effective. Cognitive and behavioral techniques (for example - exposure and response prevention discussed in the post on anxiety disorders)are found to be useful.
But majority of patients need combination of both these methods. Drugs reduce the symptoms. Behavioral techniques help to reduce relapses after drugs are stopped.