Aging Hands Can Reveal Your Mental State!

If your home has recently become the only place where you feel comfortable, if you become tense whenever you feel you cannot control life outside your home, and if you constantly worry about cleanliness even when touching items that family members have touched at home, pay attention; you may have started developing obsessions…

We spoke with specialists from the Psychiatry Department of Hisar Hospital Intercontinental about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, known colloquially as “obsession illness”... The specialists, who stated that obsessive thoughts and the compulsive behaviors aimed at neutralizing them appear as altered forms of anxiety, said: ‘The person sees these persistent thoughts as products of their own mind, but the thoughts have a mystical quality and the behaviors have a ritualistic aspect. Rarely is there any awareness; most patients find their obsessive thoughts and behaviors “exaggerated” or “absurd.”’

If You Clean More Than Necessary, Pay Attention!

Obsessions can occur in many different forms, either separately or together. The most common obsessions are contamination-pollution obsessions. There is a fear that objects, environments or people are dirty, and that upon contact this dirt or germ may spread to oneself and loved ones. In contamination-pollution obsessions, the hands play a key role, because we come into contact with the outside world and other people most often with our hands. On the other hand, our hands are always in plain sight. For those with this type of obsession, hand hygiene, the length of the fingernails, and how clean others keep their hands are of great importance. People with contamination and pollution obsessions compulsively clean, wash, or avoid situations they believe will relieve distressing thoughts; in public places, they avoid touching shared items such as doors, chairs, pens, money, in short, anything touched by many hands. When they are forced to touch them, they want to clean their hands with a cologne-soaked tissue or by washing them. Life outside the home is unpredictable because it cannot be controlled, so they feel most at ease at home. They try to adapt both the home and family members to their own cleaning requirements. For some, the cleaning obsession becomes unbearable. They require anyone who comes home from outside to go straight to the bathroom and put their clothes into the washing machine. They cannot tolerate the slightest clutter or crumb in the house. They often clean to the point of exhausting themselves. “Hygienic” substances such as liquid soap, laundry detergent and dish soap are used in excessive amounts. Clothes and bed linens are washed frequently. Because they are constantly in contact with water and chemicals, eczema, cracking, wear and wrinkling may be seen on the hands. In short, the hands of people with this disorder age quickly. When obsessions are severe, sometimes the person becomes unable to do anything other than cleaning.

Are You Overly Cautious? Are You a Control Freak?

Doubt and inability to be certain are among the other common obsessions. To relieve the distress this causes, door locks, the stove and windows are checked over and over. Some patients strive to keep everything in their living space symmetrical or within an order they have set. Sometimes the hoarding behavior, referred to as compulsive hoarding, can go to extremes.

Everyone Has Obsessions; What Matters Is Not Getting Stuck on Them!

Most of us have obsessions of varying frequency and intensity, big and small. However, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder struggle with these obsessions and become exhausted. They overvalue their obsessions. As the disease progresses, they spend the whole day occupied with these thoughts and behaviors without having time for anything else. Very often, the form of a task takes precedence over its function. For example, for someone with contamination obsessions, washing their hands a specific number of times takes precedence over cleaning their hands. Or for someone who thinks that the prayer they performed was not formally correct, the form takes precedence over the act of worship. Some obsessions can be so unusual and private that a person may feel ashamed or hesitant to talk about them. Because of such obsessions, they may morally judge and blame themselves. Sometimes these obsessions slow patients down so much that they cannot find time for their other responsibilities (obsessional slowness). The patient may be criticized at work or at home by those around them. Without realizing it, patients tend to pass their obsessions on to other people. This causes problems in close relationships. Obsessive-compulsive disorder may be accompanied by depression, tic disorders, eating disorders, kleptomania, and hypochondriasis (being preoccupied with having an illness). As with many other psychiatric conditions, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are criticized and condemned by their relatives. There is a widespread belief that their obsessions are self-created and can be overcome through willpower.

Do You Have an Obsessive Personality?

Obsessive personalities (when not at the level of illness) are generally perfectionistic, detail-oriented, orderly, frugal and stubborn. They do not compromise on their principles. They appear serious and mature. They are dignified and proud, and do not want to be criticized for their work. They fear making mistakes and enjoy giving criticism. These traits play an important role both in career choice and in professional life. However, when the illness is severe, it impairs social and occupational functioning, and then treatment is required. It is a mental illness that requires patience and time to treat. Recovery is slow. In treatment, the goal should be set as reducing obsessions sufficiently, rather than eliminating them completely. In addition to medication treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy methods are indispensable for long-term recovery.