As in the case of any mental illness, the exact causes of OCD have not yet been discovered. Medical studies try to outline some connection between different types of factors.
It is believed that the disease is a combination of multiple factors like genetics, neurological, cognitive and even some environmental factors.
Each one contributes, in a smaller or larger percentage, to the development of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Every patient with OCD may have a different story related to how the illness began. So, each case has to be thoroughly studied before knowing how to approach the case.
The background of the patient, his health status and the events throughout his life have a share in such medical diagnosis.
The most frequent causes of OCD:
Perhaps one of the most important causes of OCD is related to the biological part. The brain of an OCD patient is different from a normal brain, comparing the elements consisting of the brain. The differences can be recognized, but it is not sure exactly how they can develop OCD.
It is believed that it has a close connection to the part of the brain that govern our primitive behavior. Actions like sexuality, aggression, or the excretions of the body. It seems like somewhere on the way, on the circuit of the brain telling us what action to take according to the present situation, something goes wrong.
So, a typical behavior you will have after visiting a bathroom, is to wash your hands to get protection against germs. After you complete washing your hands, your brain records the action and will tell you that you can move on to the next matter.
Well, in the case of an OCD sufferer, the brain will malfunction on the moment when he needs to move on. He will wash the hands, but the brain will fail to record this action so he will be receiving continuous commands to keep washing his hands.
Serotonin and the hSERT gene are also important factors in OCD. They have a crucial role in transmitting messages throughout the brain. Serotonin is a chemical substance found naturally in the brain, carrying messages around and taking care of feelings of anxiety, memory processes or sleep.
The hSERT gene is responsible for serotonin transportation. Another job of this gene is to gather all the extra serotonin, left after a nerve splits it towards the next cell that comes up.
In the case of OCD, these genes usually work too fast, and they collect almost the entire quantity of serotonin, leaving none to carry the message to the next brain cell.
Other potential causes of OCD:
Life experiences can also be a trigger for this illness. If a person learns a negative pattern of their thoughts, the phenomenon can expand into a vortex called OCD. Everybody has intrusive and negative thoughts from time to time. Even you experienced some. But you understood the nature of the thought and moved forward.
People with OCD tend to misinterpret this type of ideas. They believe they are imperative and have the tendency to offer them a great deal of attention, which usually leads to deviant behavior.
Environmental factors like parenting or stress have little evidence that they may trigger OCD. Although the way a person interacts during childhood, or any experience that one may encounter during young ages, can cause some states of anxiety.
Stress is often a cause for intense anxiety and, if left untreated or neglected for an extended period, the anxiety can transform into OCD symptoms.
So if you even feel you’re being pulled down by an amount of stress and anxiety you find difficult to manage on your own, it is advisable to seek the support of a specialist.
