Coping with OCD during the Pandemic
Every time you come home, you need to wash your hands to relieve yourself of possibly contracting COVID-19 from your hands. You always have disinfectant wipes on hand because the take-out food you got needs to be wiped down so that your food does not get you sick. In today’s altered world, it is evident that society is revolving around two words: Coronavirus and pandemic. With this new illness being spread so easily and killing hundreds of thousands of people, everyone is taking the utmost precautions to ensure themselves and those around them do not fall victims to this unknown virus. However, what has this pandemic done to us mentally? We all have been heightening our hygiene routines, but has this been helping our brains?
People associate our new tendencies with those suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, otherwise known as OCD. According to the Assistant Director of Columbia University’s Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders in Westchester Rachel Ginsberg, this mental illness causes people to demonstrate obsessions, compulsions or both. In this case, the obsessions are defined as repetitive and unnecessary thoughts, images, or impulses that elevates a person’s anxiety. As a result of this increased anxiety, some of these obsessions result in compulsions, which are ritualized behaviors both mentally and physically designed to relieve these obsessions.
Specifically, in regards to the ongoing pandemic, some of these obsessions and compulsions include excessive cleaning and handwashing in order for the person to “feel clean” or “just right,” alleviating them temporarily from their fears. These people also might demonstrate their OCD tendencies by performing activities in a specific fashion so that they are not as nervous of being contaminated or contracting COVID-19. Another common example is obsessing over updated guidelines and feeling the need to find out new information and fact-check it excessively. But if most people are appearing to display this behavior, does that mean all of us have OCD?
Not necessarily. According to Stony Brook University Medicine, OCD has a heavier emphasis on the brain’s predisposed composition rather than the person’s environment. To put it simply, people who biologically and genetically are more likely to have OCD, the symptoms they are exhibiting now in the midst of this pandemic can increase their chances of fully developing OCD later. Meanwhile, once normalcy is reestablished, people who don’t have this biological component will begin to turn away from these symptoms because the environmental stressor that was causing the symptoms is diminished.
So what can we do in the meantime to help alleviate these tendencies and help those who already have a formal diagnosis with OCD? The most important tip is that people demonstrate effective balancing and flexibility to help themselves and others. Stony Brook University Medicine and Dr. Ginsberg also suggest the following:
Use this pandemic as a time for sharing and validation.
Try not to condone OCD symptoms.
Understand that kids with OCD tend to be fixated on rules.
For children with OCD, establish connections between their fears and events that others may not make.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle by having structure throughout the day in addition to getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising.
Practice meditation.
Designate family meetings to discuss COVID-19.
Be mindful of your own reactions.
Show compassion but also set boundaries and limits.
Focus more on staying connected to those you love and less on needing to know the latest information on COVID-19. To achieve this, it might be necessary to know when to shift the daily conversation and other habits to a more productive and healthy lifestyle.
If you believe that you or someone has OCD affecting daily life, seek out immediate professional help. Below are also listed sources for additional information and contact to assist you or someone you love throughout these times: