It is estimated that millions of people in the U.S. suffer from imaginary illnesses, including a rise in recent years in food intolerances. Are we really a nation of hypochondriacs? The "worried well," it would ...  Read more... »

A condition resembling OCD has been recognized for more than 300 years. Each stage in the history of OCD has been influenced by the intellectual and scientific climate of the period. Early theories regarding the ...  Read more... »

Clinical and animal research sponsored by NIMH and other scientific organizations has provided information leading to both pharmacologic and behavioral treatments that can benefit the person with OCD. A combination of the two therapies often ...  Read more... »

Most people have heard of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). It is the condition Jack Nicholson's character has in the movie "As Good as it Gets." It's been featured on television programs such as 60 Minutes, Dateline ...  Read more... »

The modern era in the pharmacotherapy of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) began in the late 1960s with the observation that clomipramine, not other tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine (Tofranil), was effective in treating OCD. Clomipramine is ...  Read more... »

OCD affects not only the sufferer but the whole family. The family often has a difficult time accepting the fact that the person with OCD cannot stop the distressing behavior. Family members may show their ...  Read more... »

What is the difference between the ruminations of depression and the obsessions of OCD? Morbid preoccupations (sometimes called ruminations) of depression can be mislabeled as obsessional thinking. The depressed patient typically dwells on matters that are ...  Read more... »

Some conditions have been referred to as Obsessive-Compulsive (OC) Spectrum Disorders on the basis of clinical similarities to OCD (i.e., recurrent disturbing ideas or irresistible urges), higher-than-expected co-occurrence with OCD, and favorable response to SRIs ...  Read more... »

Prior to the late 1960s, OCD was generally considered unresponsive to a range of conventional therapies. Traditional talk therapy based on psychoanalytic principles was rarely successful in reducing the severity of obsessions or compulsions. Understanding ...  Read more... »

New research has found that certain antidepressants work well to reduce symptoms of compulsive hoarding. It's very common to have a collection of some kind — acquiring and retaining nonessential objects is nearly universal and found ...  Read more... »

Writing on an eating disorders message board, Kristi (not her real name) gives a compelling account of another addiction: Last night I went to three different stores and spent several hundred dollars in, oh, an hour ...  Read more... »

Anxiety disorders come in many varieties. Descriptions of some of the most common disorders follow: Generalized Anxiety Disorder: GAD is characterized by persistent anxiety unrelated to a specific event. People suffering from GAD cannot help worrying ...  Read more... »

Anxiety is a normal feeling of uneasiness, concern and apprehension that, when carried to an extreme, can become worry or outright terror. Some amount of anxiety and worrying is a normal and necessary part of life. ...  Read more... »

How common is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? Until recently, OCD was considered a rare ailment. Findings from a large survey suggest that 2 to 3 percent of the population (roughly five million Americans) may suffer from OCD ...  Read more... »

The modern era in the pharmacotherapy of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) began in the late 1960s with the observation that clomipramine, not other tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine (Tofranil), was effective in treating OCD. Clomipramine is ...  Read more... »