50-year-old Uncle Xu recently came to Kangning Hospital affiliated to Ningbo University to see a doctor, but he was often dragged to the garbage room by Dr. Zhang Zongfeng from the early intervention department to sort the garbage in full swing. Uncle Xu sighed: "The ** disease of more than 30 years has improved a lot. "What's going on?
Afraid of getting dirty, "don't dare" to turn off the faucet after taking a bath.
Uncle Xu was sent to the hospital because of his "cleanliness habit", and he himself realized: "I can't do it without seeing a doctor." The job is gone, the social interaction is gone, and it is painful to be seen as a monster. ”
How serious is Uncle Xu's "cleanliness"?
The couple lives, and the monthly water bill is as high as about 3,000 yuan. His wife said: "He takes a bath for more than two hours every day, and he feels that he is the cleanest in the world." I'm afraid of getting dirty, I don't dare to turn off the faucet, I'm afraid that the faucet will stain myself, so I'm waiting to turn it off. If I'm not at home, he won't turn off the faucet all day. ”
Because of the fear of getting dirty, he didn't dare to stretch his two arms, and habitually held his hands in front of his chest. Usually, after taking a shower, I sit on the bed with my hands on my chest. After a long time, Uncle Xu's muscles also stiffened and deformed.
Because I am afraid of getting dirty, I dare not touch the button of the elevator, I dare not take public transportation, I can't accept outsiders to take my own car, and I can't eat outside ......This has made it difficult for Uncle Xu and his family to live a normal life, and Uncle Xu has to leave his favorite job and stay at home for a long time.
During the medical history, Zhang Zongfeng learned that Uncle Xu's ** - when he was 18 years old, Uncle Xu had been infected with ** disease, and it took about half a year to recover. After that, he paid special attention to hygiene, and his "cleanliness habit" became more and more serious.
Finally, after relevant examinations and inquiries, Uncle Xu was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Cleanliness is not the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
According to reports, obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by repeated and persistent obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The patient knows that these thoughts and actions are meaningless, and has a strong desire to get rid of them, but they cannot control them. Among them, about 80% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder have polluting obsessive thoughts, which are manifested as fear of dirt and viruses, which leads to secondary compulsive behaviors, such as frequent hand washing and bathing. Uncle Xu is in this situation.
Uncle Xu and his family care, is this the "cleanliness habit" often said?
The doctor explained that this was not the case. Cleanliness and obsessive-compulsive disorder are very different.
Specifically, almost everyone has compulsive behaviors, such as determining if the door is closed and the gas stove is turned off when leaving the house. Generally, once or twice is sufficient. This is not obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The main criterion for judging whether it is obsessive-compulsive disorder is to see whether it affects social functioning and whether it causes pain to the patient himself. The so-called "cleanliness" is just that the general population is more fond of cleanliness. For example, you may take a shower for a longer period of time than others. However, people who are obsessed with cleanliness will not take a few hours a day to take a shower like an obsessive-compulsive person like Uncle Xu, will not take a good shower for fear of the faucet staining themselves and will not turn off the faucet, and will not be miserable because of their thinking and behavior and affect their work and life.
The doctor accompanied him to divide the garbage in the garbage room.
Zhang Zongfeng formulated a personalized plan for Uncle Xu, including medicine, physics, psychology, etc. In psychology, exposure response prevention training is mainly adopted, which is a psychological method with strong evidence-based medical evidence. This is also why, after a period of time, Zhang Zongfeng and Uncle Xu's wife accompanied Uncle Xu to the garbage room, and several large garbage cans contained a large amount of garbage generated that day. At the door of the garbage room, Uncle Xu's facial expression froze, and he kept retreating. Zhang Zongfeng grabbed Uncle Xu's hand and insisted on walking inside, encouraging him to face it: "You have been haunted by this disease for more than 30 years, don't you want to get rid of it?" Be brave, I'll be with you. "Don't worry, you won't be infected." ”
Each time, Zhang Zongfeng accompanied Uncle Xu to sort garbage for an hour, and he has practiced it 5 times.
Uncle Xu's "daily homework" also includes turning on and off the faucet in the ward every day, and after turning it on, he can't wash his hands.
With the advancement of **, Uncle Xu's situation is gradually improving.
He has a variety of "additional assignments" - changing garbage bags for the public trash cans in the ward every day. When you're done, you don't have to change your clothes and sit back on your bed right away.
Zhang Zongfeng explained: "Exposure ** is actually to infinitely amplify obsessive thoughts, allowing patients to face what they are afraid of. For example, Uncle Xu realized that he was afraid of being dirty, essentially because he was afraid of being infected again or other serious diseases. When fear and anxiety reach the peak, they will fall downward, so as to achieve the best effect. ”
She also emphasized that exposure** needs to be carried out after scientific assessment and full preparation by professionals, and the degree and intensity of exposure should be grasped in the process. In this way, we can not only achieve the best goal, but also avoid the parties from being subjected to excessive psychological impact.
Pay attention when dedicating an hour a day to performing compulsive behaviors.
The reporter learned that obsessive-compulsive disorder is very common, and it also brings great pain and burden to patients and families. Unfortunately, statistically, only one-third of OCD patients seek **. It can take a long time from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis, usually up to 17 years.
Zhang Zongfeng reminded that when compulsive behaviors continue to appear, such as spending an hour or more every day to carry out compulsive behaviors, and have affected normal life, it is necessary to pay enough attention. It is best to seek medical attention and professional help in a timely manner.
*: Ningbo Evening News.