Relationship Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms and Treatment
The importance of relationships in one’s health and happiness cannot be overstated. Strong, loving relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners can help you feel more connected, strengthen your immune system, and reduce stress.
Intimate relationships may be some of a person’s most essential connections. A romantic relationship generally entails emotional and physical intimacy, as well as a strong bond between two people. Living together, getting married, and having children are all common obligations in relationships.
Many people are unsure about intimate relationships and have reservations about them. When your concerns and uneasiness about a romantic connection become overwhelming and impair the relationship, then you must consider the relationship OCD.
WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP OCD?
Relationship OCD (ROCD) is an obsessive-compulsive condition that affects relationships. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental condition characterized by unpleasant, recurring impulses (obsessions) and involuntary rituals or actions (compulsions) in response to those ideas.
Relationship OCD is characterized by anxieties and uncertainties regarding one’s relationship, which is usually intimate or romantic. Intrusive thoughts, anxieties, and worry about whether their partner is right for them, whether they are attracted to their spouse or their partner is attracted to them, and deep uncertainty about whether they need to quit their relationship.
SIGN AND SYMPTOMS
When a person has relationship OCD, they have crushing questions about their partners. The sign and symptoms associated with relationship OCD challenges an individual’s ability to think and deeply affects his or her sentiments related to their life partners and makes them worried about things like: are we supposed to be together? Am I good enough? Do I care for them or do they care about me?
Following are the signs and symptoms for relationship OCD:
- Thoughts concerning your relationship or your partner that are bothering you
- Always questioning whether or if your lover truly loves you
- Concern for your partner’s pleasure
- Putting too much emphasis on weaknesses. ROCD might lead to a fixation on a defect in your partner’s looks or attitude. Even though the problem appears little, you may find it difficult to dismiss it. For instance, your companion may chew food loudly, which irritates you. If you have relationship OCD, you might be concerned that this is an indication that your relationship isn’t a good fit.
- You may keep looking for confirmation that your partnership is the correct one. You might inquire about your relationship with friends, relatives, or others. You may also ask your partner to say “I love you” or whether everything is well regularly.
- It’s typical to have fleeting thoughts of abandoning your lover or cheating on them. You may obsess about such desires if you have relationship OCD, even if you don’t want to act on them. If you have these desires, you may begin to doubt your devotion to your relationship.
- It may be difficult to enjoy sex with your partner if you have relationship OCD. Your obsessive thoughts may cause you to be less engaged during sexual action.
- Distracted and unable to concentrate owing to unwanted thoughts about your relationship
CAUSES
Relationship anxiety affects the majority of people at some point in their lives. People with relationship OCD, on the other hand, may suffer from it considerably and more intensely. Although a variety of factors may have an influence, the actual causes of relationship OCD remain unknown. The following factors can enhance a person’s chance of getting OCD:
- Changes in brain activity in certain locations
- Close-knit relationships have a lot of problems.
- Abuse in the past
- The sorrow of a loved one
- Tragedy or trauma
- Unpredicted life fluctuations
- Change of serotonin level in the brain
HOW OCD AFFECTS RELATIONSHIPS?
There are many distinct varieties of OCD, and each one has a different impact on a person’s relationships. Someone with contamination OCD may avoid sexual activity for fear of genital herpes, someone with “Just Right” OCD may feel compelled to lock the garage door several times until it seems completely secure. However, regardless of a person’s causes and symptoms, the impact of OCD on relationships is huge. When one person’s life becomes extremely difficult to manage, it becomes difficult for the other too.
ASKING FOR REASSURANCE
Everybody requires comfort from time to time, but those with OCD have a constant and obsessive need for it. You may find yourself repeatedly asking if your partner still loves you or if the bathroom is clean and so on. This can develop low self-esteem and embarrassment, and even then, you may not trust your partner when they provide you with the assurance you want! Furthermore, if your partner no longer wants to offer you the comfort you want, they may exhibit displeasure or generate conflict in your relationship.
AVOIDING REGULAR ROUTINE CHORES
If you have OCD, it’s common to feel powerless in circumstances that trigger your irrational thoughts and compulsions. Because of their phobia of germs, some people find it difficult to enter a grocery shop. Others are afraid of knives due to OCD and prefer to have someone else cut all the vegetables. It’s difficult enough to feel incapable of performing seemingly simple chores. However, seeing your partner take on those activities that you avoided might make you feel uncomfortable or incompetent. You could be unsure whether or not you should repent, or if doing so would only add to your partner’s workload. It appears to be a fault state for both you and your companion.
HOW TO TREAT OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER?
If you suspect you might have relationship OCD, talk to your doctor about how to deal with your symptoms. The inability to develop and sustain a romantic connection is linked to the intensity of OCD symptoms. Effectively treating your symptoms is a vital step towards a good relationship. Psychotherapy, medicine, or a mix of the two may be used to treat relationship OCD:
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Lack of self-esteem, trouble being assertive, bad social skills, and a lack of self-confidence may be inhibiting your ability to develop or maintain a decent, long-term relationship. Psychotherapy can give a valuable foundation for working on these issues.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), especially with, Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, are effectively used to treat relationship OCD. Patients who receive Mindful-Based CBT learn that they are not alone in having intrusive thoughts. Individuals learn that intrusive thoughts have no influence over them and that responding to them with compulsive activities gives their thoughts sufficient efficacy and credibility, as well as strengthening and reinforcing their fears and obsessions. When paired with ERP, mindfulness-based CBT is a very successful OCD therapy.
MEDICATION
Your medical physician may also prescribe drugs to assist you to manage your OCD symptoms. Antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a kind of medication that can be administered. According to research, SSRIs are the most effective and the best medicines for treating OCD.
VERDICT
Relationship OCD is a type of medical health disorder that not only interrupts you in your normal chores and routines but dilates and constricts all of your relationships may they be intimate or with your family or friends. The regular disturbing obsessions and compulsions not only disturb the ones around you but make your life hell filled with pits and bumps. It is highly important to know that treatments are available for all types of OCD and the more you learn about your obsessions and compulsions the more easily you can manage your symptoms and build a stronger, more stable, and secure relationship.