Almost everyone worries about the safety of themselves and their loved ones from time to time, or dislikes feeling out of control for an extended period. But when the worries you feel or other thoughts you have are obsessive, they can quickly become debilitating and interfere with your ability to participate at work, school, with friends and family, and in daily activities.
Aware Behavioral Health treats obsessive-compulsive disorder in Dallas. Dr. Sehdev and his team understand how intrusive the unwanted thoughts from OCD can be. Our Dallas OCD treatment is focused on giving you control over your thoughts and compulsions, all in a supportive environment with the latest medications, therapy, and other treatments. Call us at 888-677-4562 to find out more about our OCD treatments.
Why Get Treatment for OCD
OCD can cause you to have obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions are uncontrollable thoughts or urges that are often uncomfortable on their own, while the inability to rationalize them away gives you additional stress. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that you feel like you must do, often to relieve – at least temporarily – an obsessive thought.
While everyone can experience thoughts that cause fear or have ritual behaviors, people with OCD cannot control thoughts and behavior even if they know the behaviors are excessive. Additionally, these symptoms are so excessive that you will spend more than 1 hour per day thinking or acting on OCD, which can make it impossible to get through your regular day.
The obsessions and compulsions of OCD can present in a variety of different ways, although some of the most common types of OCD include:
- Fear of Dirt or Illness – Many people with OCD have obsessive fears about germs and bacteria making them or their family sick. Associated compulsions may involve frequent hand washing, excessive grooming, household cleaning, and avoiding leaving the home or going to certain places for fear of germs.
- Ritual Checking – Compulsions that may be experienced with or without obsessive thoughts include checks, such as checking the door is locked or making sure stoves and appliances are off. The compulsion often necessitates performing these checks multiple times.
- Repeated Behaviors or Thoughts – Repeating actions or thought processes to avoid something bad happening can be a symptom of OCD. There may be a “good” number of times you have to do an action or have a thought, or you may experience an unconscious physical or mental tic.
- Fear of Harming Others – A common form of OCD involves being afraid of causing harm to loved ones or strangers. You may be preoccupied with mental images of death or illness, feel guilty about such thoughts, and go out of your way to carefully avoid causing any harm.
- Religious Obsession – The basis of OCD can be religion, especially if you are a spiritual person. Obsessive thoughts may involve worry about offending God or moral debates before you can proceed with a decision. Compulsions can include praying a certain amount of times.
- Unwanted Sexual Thoughts – Obsessive sexual thoughts can include fantasies that are innappropriate or harmful, or aggressive urges. These thoughts can be intense enough that you worry about hurting someone else.
Symptoms of OCD can increase and decrease throughout your life, and can happen at any age. If you have thoughts that cause you severe anxiety, Dr. Sehdev will work with you to consider if an OCD diagnosis can help us make a treatment plan that meets your needs.
Talk Therapy and Psychiatric Medication for OCD
Dr. Sehdev has expertise in treating every type of anxiety disorder, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, using an approach that puts you first. We start by understanding your lifestyle and experiences, including those that relate to OCD and those that are separate. We want an entire picture of our patients in order to provide the best mental health services in Dallas.
Once we understand the challenges you are facing due to OCD or other mental health conditions, we create a tailored treatment plan that may use:
- Anxiety Medication – As an anxiety disorder, many of the obsessive thoughts caused by OCD will lead to worry or fear. Dr. Sehdev may prescribe medication to regulate thoughts and emotions to give you back control over intrusive thoughts.
- Psychotherapy – Talking through the ideas and compulsions you experience can give you insight that helps you manage your OCD. Forms of psychotherapy like CBT can also teach coping mechanisms when you have an urge to act on a compulsive behavior.
- Other Types of Treatment – From teaching life skills to our innovative TMS treatments, Aware Behavioral Health has the solutions to assist with any case of OCD, even when previous treatments have been ineffective.
Your treatment plan will reduce anxiety, as well as symptoms of depression and other disorders that can occur as part of OCD. We will also get to the root cause of your OCD to stop obsessive thoughts, keep yourself from needing to act on compulsions, and generally feel more secure and comfortable.
What Makes Aware Behavioral Health the Leading Dallas Psychiatrist
OCD may never go away completely, and can be something you deal with at different times throughout your life. This is why it is so important to have a licensed psychiatrist in Dallas who can help you keep urges and anxiety-inducing thoughts under control for good.
Dr. Sehdev provides personable support to teens and adults in Dallas, Fort Worth, Bedford, and the surrounding area. Our virtual telepsychiatry appointments make it possible to get the help you need to manage your OCD. Contact us today or send a message through the online form to schedule an appointment.