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Potential Causes of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

It is not known exactly why people develop OCD. There are rare research reports that OCD may develop subsequent to another general medical problem, such as a brain injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, Parkinson's disease, or drug abuse.[1] However, these observations do not prove an association between these medical problems and OCD. Common stressful events such as financial or housing problems do not cause OCD, but they can make OCD symptoms worse.[1][2]

OCD is thought to have a genetic link; it is more common in identical twins than in fraternal twins, and is more common in close relatives of afflicted patients.[3] Studies suggest that at least one chemical messenger in the brain, serotonin, may be associated with OCD.[4][5][6]

"I don't know what caused my OCD to start, but it progressed so fast and began to affect every aspect of my life that I needed to seek help. When I was little and I had these tendencies, people thought it was 'cute' — but either they didn't see my inner struggle, or they didn't want to see it.

I'm not sure what caused my OCD, but in all honestly I'm not sure I would want my OCD to be cured 100% because this is what keeps me in control of myself and feel less anxious."

- Amanda O.

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References:

Get More Information on OCD

  1. ^ American Psychiatric Association; Koran LM, et al. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007;164(suppl):1-56.
  2. ^ Cromer KR, et al. An investigation of traumatic life events and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behavior Research and Therapy. 2007;45(7):1683-91.
  3. ^ American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed, text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
  4. ^ Reimold M, et al. Reduced availability of serotonin transporters in obsessive-compulsive disorder correlates with symptom severity — a [(11)C]DASB PET study. Journal of Neural Transmission. 2007;114:1603-9.
  5. ^ Baca-Garcia E, et al. Association between obsessive-compulsive disorder and a variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism in intron 2 of the serotonin transporter gene. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. 2007;31:416-20.
  6. ^ Luvox® CR package insert.

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