OCD Depression - Is There a Link Between OCD and Depression? In many different cases, OCD sufferers have been found out to also suffer from depression apart from OCD. While the precise scientific relationship between OCD and depression are yet to be established, most experts agree that people with OCD have higher risk of developing other mental illnesses as well. Major Depressive Disorder has been recorded as the most common companion of OCD. The alarming truth behind this is, when a patient is depressed, his OCD treatment is most likely to fail.
Major depressive disorder is the diagnosis given to a person who suddenly stops to enjoy the activities which he or she used to enjoy doing. This is more than just feeling sad or blue because the disorder can go to terrible extents such as dragging the person to severe melancholy or weariness everyday for at least two weeks straight!
For a minimum of two weeks the person will most likely eat little or worse, refuse to eat resulting to sickness or severe loss of weight. In other cases, the person will indulge to eating too much to a point of gaining much weight in a short span of time. A person suffering from major depressive disorder will either sleep much or sleep less, he or she will feel unless, weak, slow, fidgety or guilty. And in most cases, a sufferer will have recurrent thoughts of suicide and death!
OCD and Depression Examined
Statistically speaking, two in every three OCD sufferers will experience at least an episode of major depression in their entire lifetime. In most cases, the depression occurs after the performance of the ritual is made or curbed. The probable explanation to this is the on-going distress brought about by the pressure from oneself and his environment vis-a-vis his OCD ritual.
Nonetheless, experts continue to argue that the close association between major depressive disorder and OCD can be both due to two factors: (1) biological and (2) psychological. This conclusion is made after it was found out that for both disorders, the same regions in the brain exhibit changes in pattern. Now, it is largely viewed that depression is the brain's response to the disturbing need to do certain obsessions and compulsions.
It is very important to establish the causes of an OCD sufferer's depressive behavior to better help his recovery from his OCD. Severe depressions are likely to interfere with treatments available today for OCD. When an OCD therapist is well aware of the condition of the sufferer, i.e. his depressive behavior, then he or she will be able to tailor-fit a program or a therapy specifically designed to meet the needs of the sufferer's condition.
Therapies such as exposure and response prevention, alongside with hypnosis are amongst the most common therapist severely hampered in effectivity due to depression. However, effectiveness of medications and drugs such SSRIs are found to be unaffected by depression. In cases when depression is present, this kind of treatment is used. Resource Exposure and Response Prevention | Intensive Outpatient Program