Vital TMS Therapy & Mental Health Services
OCD Therapy Clinic located in Washington, DC.
OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) can be so disruptive and distressing that you could find it a battle to get through each day. Many patients who have OCD benefit from treatments like therapy and medication, but these aren’t always effective. If your treatment for OCD isn’t helping, Vital TMS Therapy located in Washington DC offers an alternative solution. TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) is a safe, painless, totally noninvasive treatment that uses magnetic energy to adjust your brain chemistry. To find out more about the benefits of TMS for OCD, call Vital TMS Therapy today, or request an appointment online.
OCD Q & A
What is OCD?
OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) is a mental health condition that can seriously interfere with your daily life and cause intense psychological distress.
When you have OCD, you become obsessed with ideas or thoughts that you can’t control. They’re usually unpleasant or disturbing, which drives you to look for ways to reduce their power over you.
As a result, you develop rituals or repetitive behaviors in an effort to cope. These rituals can end up taking over your life, though, because you can’t proceed with your day until you complete the necessary routines.
Most people who have OCD have both obsessions and compulsions, but it’s not unknown for some people to have one without the other.
You might feel compelled to wash your hands for eight minutes every hour or count the number of lamp posts on your journey to work.
Some compulsions take up a great deal of time and energy, and some can be harmful. Constant hand-washing, for instance, can leave your hands raw and bloody.
Unfortunately, compulsions don’t help with obsessions as much as you hope and end up being just as damaging. If you find yourself becoming obsessed or develop these kinds of ritual behaviors, the team at Vital TMS Therapy can help.
What are the symptoms of OCD?
Symptoms of OCD tend to appear gradually, and you might not realize at first how much of your time and attention is taken up by them. It’s often the people around you — friends, family, and co-workers — who notice before you do that there’s something wrong.
Obsessions could focus on any kind of unpleasant image or unshakeable belief. Common examples include fear of things like germs and infection, or an inability to tolerate disorder. You might keep thinking about carrying out acts of violence that seem quite alien to you but are nonetheless compelling.
Religious ideas and other beliefs, for example, phenomena such as alien abduction, can become obsessions. Or you might have unwelcome ideas or images in your head related to sexual acts.
These obsessions cause extreme psychological discomfort and fear. They can also lead to physical reactions like having a panic attack if you encounter a stressful situation related to your obsession; for instance, if you’re obsessed with germs, being close to a dirty garbage can would be intolerable.
Compulsions are the behaviors you carry out to try and manage the stress of living with obsessions. You might also believe that if you don’t carry out your rituals, there’ll be terrible consequences.
Some common types of compulsions involve acts like:
- Washing
- Cleaning
- Checking
- Counting
- Tidying
How is OCD treated?
Initial treatments for OCD involve antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and ERP (exposure and response prevention therapy) are particularly effective.
If these treatments aren’t helping or you’re looking for an alternative to taking medication, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could be a valid option. TMS uses safe, noninvasive, and painless magnetic waves to reduce the symptoms of OCD.
Find out more by calling Vital TMS Therapy today or request an appointment online.
