Aum Gung Ganapathaye Namah

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa

Homage to The Blessed One, Accomplished and Fully Enlightened

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

OCD

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

A Collection of Articles, Notes and References

Reference Chapter 1

(Revised: Wednesday, January 12, 2005)

References Edited By

Praise the Buddha

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

- William Shakespeare

Copyright © 2002-2010 Praise the Buddha

The following educational writings are STRICTLY for academic research purposes ONLY.

Should NOT be used for commercial, political or any other purposes.

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8 "... Freely you received, freely give”.

            - Matthew 10:8 :: New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

Contents

Color Code

A Brief Word on Copyright

References

Educational Copy of Some of the References

 

Color Code

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Color Code                                                               Identification

 

Main Title                                                                  Color: Pink

Sub Title                                                                   Color: Rose

Minor Title                                                                Color: Gray – 50%

 

Collected Article Author                                       Color: Lime

Date of Article                                                          Color: Light Orange

Collected Article                                                      Color: Sea Green

Collected Sub-notes                                              Color: Indigo

 

Personal Notes                                                       Color: Black

Personal Comments                                             Color: Brown

Personal Sub-notes                                              Color: Blue - Gray

 

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Orange

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Lavender

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Aqua

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Pale Blue

 

Personal Notes Highlight                                     Color: Gold

Personal Notes Highlight                                     Color: Tan

 

HTML                                                                         Color: Blue

Vocabulary                                                               Color: Violet

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A Brief Word on Copyright

Many of the articles whose educational copies are given below are copyrighted by their respective authors as well as the respective publishers. Some contain messages of warning, as follows:

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited

without the written consent of “so and so”.

According to the concept of “fair use” in US copyright Law,

The reproduction, redistribution and/or exploitation of any materials and/or content (data, text, images, marks or logos) for personal or commercial gain is not permitted. Provided the source is cited, personal, educational and non-commercial use (as defined by fair use in US copyright law) is permitted.

Moreover,

  • This is a religious educational website.
    • In the name of the Lord, with the invisible Lord as the witness.
  • No commercial/business/political use of the following material.
  • Just like student notes for research purposes, the writings of the other children of the Lord, are given as it is, with student highlights and coloring. Proper respects and due referencing are attributed to the relevant authors/publishers.

I believe that satisfies the conditions for copyright and non-plagiarism.

  • Also, from observation, any material published on the internet naturally gets read/copied even if conditions are maintained. If somebody is too strict with copyright and hold on to knowledge, then it is better not to publish “openly” onto the internet or put the article under “pay to refer” scheme.
  • I came across the articles “freely”. So I re-publish them freely with added student notes and review with due referencing to the parent link, without any personal monetary gain. My purpose is only to educate other children of the Lord on certain concepts, which I believe are beneficial for “Oneness”.

 

References

Some of the links may not be active due to various reasons, like removal of the concerned information from the source database. So an educational copy is also provided, along with the link.

If the link is active, do cross-check/validate/confirm the educational copy of the article provided along.

  1. If the link is not active, then try to procure a hard copy of the article, if possible, based on the reference citation provided, from a nearest library or where-ever, for cross-checking/validation/confirmation.

 

Branigin, William. (Tuesday, November 12, 2002) A World of Endless Ritual, Paralyzing Anxiety. USA: Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40846-2002Nov11.html

Devout Catholics show symptoms of compulsive disorder. (Wednesday, May 29, 2002) UK: Ananova.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_597876.html?menu=

 

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Educational Copy of Some of the References

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

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Reference.

Branigin, William. (Tuesday, November 12, 2002) A World of Endless Ritual, Paralyzing Anxiety. USA: Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40846-2002Nov11.html

 

A World of Endless Ritual, Paralyzing Anxiety

Fairfax City Woman's Ordeal Illustrates Snares of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

 

By William Branigin

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 12, 2002; Page B03

 

The air in Martha Miner's one-bedroom apartment is thick with Lysol. The chemicals catch in the back of the throat as you step into the living room, past the plastic bags filled with her clothing, laundry and trash.

 

Boxes and bags in the dining area overflow with legal papers, junk mail, old newspapers and her deceased mother's possessions. A table against the wall is covered with magazines in neat stacks. Miner says she is unable to put them away, or even go through them to throw some out.

 

The 47-year-old Fairfax City resident is afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, a mental illness that she says keeps her from holding a job and now has her on the verge of eviction.

 

Hers is a world wrapped in anxiety. She fears coming into contact with germs and being in crowded places. She obsesses over getting rid of something she might need and feels compelled to perform certain rituals before leaving home.

 

"Sometimes I can't even open the door to go out," said Miner, a slight woman with reddish-brown hair and round glasses. "I don't know why. Maybe it's the fear of going out into the open."

 

Now she faces a new struggle as she tries to get help. She was fired from her job as a legal secretary recently because of problems related to her condition. As a result, she lost her health insurance. Locally, community mental health programs are being cut back sharply, have long waiting lists and lack specialized help for OCD patients anyway, advocates say. Miner is applying for federal disability benefits, but she fears being turned down because of a lack of understanding about her illness.

 

"I'm worried that the people making the decisions are not really educated about OCD," she said.

 

Her disorder is one of the most common mental illnesses -- afflicting up to 3 percent of the U.S. population -- and one of the least recognized. According to the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Connecticut, people with the disorder on average see three to four doctors and spend at least nine years seeking treatment before they receive a correct diagnosis. It takes an average of 17 years to obtain appropriate treatment, the foundation says.

 

"Many people have obsessive-compulsive behaviors that don't interfere with their lives and might even help them in their work," said Richard C. Baither, a psychologist who treats OCD patients in Fairfax. Such people can be exceptionally well organized and meticulous. But others, he said, are so restricted by the disorder that they are "pretty much house-bound," requiring two to 12 hours a day to complete all their rituals. This "certainly can make people nonfunctional."

 

One of the worst cases he has seen was that of a man who collected 10 years' worth of his stools in jars in his Fairfax house because he feared that flushing them would contaminate other people.

 

Fear of harming others is a common obsession among people known as "checkers," OCD sufferers who, for example, repeatedly drive around the block or stop and check under their cars to make sure they haven't run over someone. Others with the disorder include "hoarders," who collect things compulsively; "orderers," who might spend hours arranging their belongings; "counters," who are obsessed with certain numbers or with counting everything; and "washers," who endlessly wash and rinse their hands.

 

OCD is believed to be caused by a chemical imbalance that short-circuits information processing in the brain and has been described as a case of "mental hiccups" that won't go away. The condition, which may be hereditary, is related to "tic disorders" such as Tourette's syndrome, but is distinct from psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

 

Unlike those with delusional mental illnesses, people with OCD are generally aware of their condition, although they may be unable to do anything about it. Antidepressant drugs can mitigate some obsessive-compulsive behaviors but usually do not eliminate them.

 

Even if Miner could get into a local mental health program, "it's very hard to find therapy that's specific to that disorder," said Diane Yolton, secretary of the Northern Virginia Mental Health Consumers Association.

 

In addition to her fear of germs and her compulsive hand-washing, Miner is plagued by an obsessive need to arrange her belongings before leaving home, which made her chronically late for work. Since losing her job as a legal secretary at a Fairfax law firm in September, she has been struggling to make ends meet.

 

Medication she began taking in April "takes the edge off" some of her symptoms, but it makes her sleepy, contributing to her problems at work, she said.

 

At home, simple tasks are an ordeal. She could put some of her belongings in a storage area in her apartment complex, she said, but doesn't feel the area is clean enough. She has to clean the building's washing machines and spray them with disinfectant before using them. She relies on a friend to take out the trash.

 

Her various fears are "all connected," Miner said. "It's an invisible, powerful thing."

 

The disorder contributed to the breakup of her marriage in 1988, leaving her alone to raise a son who is now 23. But her toughest setback came in 1994 when she lost custody of a daughter by another relationship. She had put the girl in foster care during a particularly difficult bout with her disorder. A court battle ensued when Miner tried to get her daughter back, and a Fairfax judge ended up terminating her parental rights.

 

"She turned 10 in September of this year," Miner said of her daughter. "I think she has been adopted."

 

The loss is a source of endless sorrow -- but one that Miner chooses not to forget. On the door of her refrigerator, whose contents she arranges obsessively so that nothing touches, is a picture of the girl when she was about 2.

 

In Miner's bedroom, a few feet from her bed, stands an empty white crib.

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Points.

obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, a mental illness

  • very hard to find therapy

obsessive-compulsive behaviors

  • keeps … from holding a job
  • fears … being in crowded places
  • the verge of eviction
  • the breakup of … marriage
  • pretty much house-bound
  • make people nonfunctional

Thoughts

  • all connected
  • It's an invisible, powerful thing.

 

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Reference

Devout Catholics show symptoms of compulsive disorder. (Wednesday, May 29, 2002) UK: Ananova.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_597876.html?menu=

 

Ananova:  

 

Devout Catholics show symptoms of compulsive disorder

 

A new study claims devout Catholics are more likely to show symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

It compared nuns and priests with committed lay Catholics and others with virtually no religious involvement.

 

Volunteers were asked to list symptoms like intrusive mental images and worries.

 

Researchers from the University of Parma in Italy found the more devout Catholics reported the more severe symptoms.

 

But they admit the study doesn't prove religious devotion in early life causes symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

Claudio Sica and his team say it's equally likely people with those character traits feel more drawn to religion and devote themselves to God.

 

Patients with OCD can become convinced that everything around them is dirty. In extreme cases, sufferers spend up to eight hours a day cleaning.

 

The results of the Italian study support the theory that a God-fearing upbringing may contribute to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

Lynne Drummond, a psychiatrist at St George's Hospital, London, says many OCD patients say they had a strict upbringing where actions were either right or wrong.

 

Other theories on possible causes include a link to genes, head injuries and emotional trauma. The results of the Italian study are reported in New Scientist.

 

Story filed: 19:00 Wednesday 29th May 2002

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Personal Review

The Oneness. The One God. All One. Any religious practice, when it goes beyond a certain level, you come across this “natural” attitude. Naturally it calls for more solitude and seclusion with less dealing with others. More spiritual practice. Advanced lamas, monks, priests are always “locked up” within monasteries or places of worship, where their physical movement is restricted to within the walls of the inner temple, where public access is less. From one side of the logic pendulum, it is to further their spirituality. Concentrated environment. From the other side, reduce destructive harm to the outer environment. The tendency to “nullify” is more in such people. From the article on Father Sudac,

 

People with "special gifts" need to be "kept in line," lest they "fall prey to distraction." This was very important…

(Reference: Jacobson, Mark. (Monday, May 13, 2002) Sudac the Mysterious. New York, USA: New York Magazine.)

 

The more one deals with outer environment, the more distraction, the more diluted the personal environment, less concentration.

The less one deals with outer environment, the less distraction, the less diluted the personal environment, more concentration.

If you ponder over this purity factor that comes as it is from excessive devotion, a clue to the concept of the ancient Indian tradition of “untouchability” opens up.

An excessively devout celibate.

Slowly the level of devotion spreads to others.

Many become celibates and cultivate excessive devotion to the Lord.

Anything outside the group becomes “dirty”.

The group becomes a whole class of orthodox “priests”, celibates on the path of the Lord.

 

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Published on internet: Saturday, December 07, 2002

Revised: Wednesday, January 12, 2005

 

Information on the web site is given in good faith about a certain spiritual way of life, irrespective of any specific religion, in the belief that the information is not misused, misjudged or misunderstood. Persons using this information for whatever purpose must rely on their own skill, intelligence and judgment in its application. The webmaster does not accept any liability for harm or damage resulting from advice given in good faith on this website.

 

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“Thou belongest to That Which Is Undying, and not merely to time alone,” murmured the Sphinx, breaking its muteness at last. “Thou art eternal, and not merely of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be killed, cannot die. It waits, shroud-wrapped, in thy heart, as I waited, sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself, O mortal! For there is One within thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the bar and bears witness that there IS a God!

(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962) A Search in Secret Egypt. (17th Impression) London, UK: Rider & Company. Page: 35.)

Amen

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