Eating Disorders & Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

The Purpose of This Section:

is to help make others aware of the connection being discovered between Eating Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. As this page progresses, you will find many interesting links, articles and information concerning the suspected relationship between these two disorders. If you have information you would like to have included here, PLEASE, e-mail me. I will gratefully look over the information and post it as applicable. Thanks! ~Wen

The following information has been reproduced with permission from a pamphlet from the MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF LICKING COUNTY

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD),one of the anxiety disorders, is a potentially disabling condition that can persist throughout a person's life. The individual who suffers from OCD becomes trapped in a pattern of repetitive thought and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but are extremely difficult to overcome.

A National Institute of Mental Health Survey showed that OCD affects more than 2% of the population, meaning that OCD is more common than such severe mental illnesses as panic disorder, schizophrenia or bipolar disorders.

A person with OCD has obsessive and compulsive behaviors that are extreme enough to interfere with everyday life

Growing evidence shows that biological factors are a primary contributor to the disorder. The fact that OCD patients respond well to specific medications that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin suggests the disorder has a neurobiological basis. For that reason, OCD is no longer attributed to attitudes learned in childhood. Tomography scanner studies of the brain of a person with OCD suggest an increased glucose metabolism in the region of the brain called the frontal cortex.

Symptoms of OCD are seen in association with some other neurological disorders, such as Tourette's Syndrome - an illness characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations - and Trichotillomania - the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes and eyebrows.

Both pharmacologic and behavioral treatments can benefit the person with OCD.

THE MAJORITY of those who experience OCD will be able to function well both in their work and in their social lives

Eating Disorders

It is estimated that some 8 million Americans are affected by the insidious eating disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge-Eating.

Thousands of lives are claimed annually

These disorders are accompanied by a variety of changes in the areas of behavior, thought, perception, mood, and social interaction

The focus of treatment is twofold: 1.) weight restoration, and 2.) psychological restoration.

There is no single event or factor that causes an eating disorder, but most professionals agree that dieting precedes the onset of an eating disorder. It is important to note that most individuals who diet *DO NOT* develop full-blown eating disorders. Researchers have identified certain risk factors - genetic, biological, psychological, personality, social-cultural and familiar - that MAY contribute to the onset of an eating disorder.

Early Intervention is the best predictor of a good prognosis.

Eating Disorders & Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Support Group

Sponsored by: Mental Health Association of Licking County, Newark, Ohio
When: 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Place: Mental Health Association: 65 Messimer Drive, Newark, Oh
Contact: Joyce Williams, RN or Sharon Plikerd
(614) 522-1341
This is a free support group, open to those with Eating Disorders and/or OCD, as well as their family, friends, and those who are supporting them. For more information, please feel free to contact the number above.

This Page Added on: 08/09/2002