Dealing with OCD: A Cursory Examination of Treatment Options

Of all the anxiety-based mental health disorders, OCD a.k.a. obsessive compulsive disorder, ranks right up there. Millions of people around the world have been diagnosed with OCD and treatments will vary from one patient to the next. Oftentimes, this disorder gets overlooked because somebody who is particular about doing things a certain way is characterized as pedantic, meticulous, quirky, or simply strange. People with the actual disorder known as OCD have a tough time dealing with day-to-day issues in real life.

OCD is first and foremost a brain disorder. It is not something that people imagine, it is the thought processes themselves that are improperly wired, resulting in severe anxiety. This manifests in ‘thoughts and deeds’. OCD disorders can have an outsized impact on stress levels and actions. With OCD, cleanliness is often a major issue, yet it is impossible to ever clean enough to satisfy somebody with OCD. This self-fulfilling monster of a disorder spirals into a negative vortex with every action that is taken. The treatment for OCD naturally varies from one person to the next, based on severity. Whatever the specific OCD strain, one intractable reality remains throughout – that of obsessive thoughts. The patient suffering from the illness does not desire these intrusive thoughts to pervade every conceivable aspect of their day-to-day life, but these thoughts often do.

Treating OCD with Deep TMS, SSRIs and TCAs, and Deep TMS

The compulsive element of OCD is another characteristic of this disorder along with the obsessive element. The obsessive component relates to thoughts and the compulsive component relates to the actions taken to calm those thoughts. In fact, the thoughts often create more uncertainty as the person begins to doubt whether the action was performed in a satisfactory way, if at all. Several forms of OCD have been identified in the literature including excoriation, hoarding, trichotillomania, and others. The specific OCD ailment must be treated accordingly.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment with deep TMS has proven to be exceptionally effective over time. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) utilizes cutting-edge technology by way of magnetic fields to regulate brain activity in the troubled parts of the brain. OCD treatment with TMS is fully approved by the FDA as a viable treatment regimen, particularly when OCD sufferers do not respond well to SSRIs or TCAs and therapy.

The medical device used to treat OCD comes replete with H-Coil proprietary technology inside a helmet which then produces magnetic pulses to disrupt and reconfigure the neural activity in the brain. There are no long-term side-effects with deep TMS and no pain, since it is a non-invasive treatment regimen. Typical treatment protocols suggest 30 – 45 minute sessions, 5 times a week for 4-6 weeks. The vast majority of patients report significant improvements in their condition, while a large number of patients report remission of many worrisome board processes.

Generally, OCD is treatable by way of medication and therapy, and also through medical device treatment options. A popular medical approach to treating OCD includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclics. This includes options like Paxil, Zoloft, Luvox, Clomipramine and the like. Naturally, there are side effects when taking antidepressant medication such as these, particularly sexual dysfunction, nausea, or weight gain. Always weigh your options and their side effects with OCD treaments.