Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not well known by youths.
Actually, only 16% of them had their own opinion of this disorder. Most
of the kids answered that people who suffered from OCD were scared of
everything. We asked Audrey Bertrand, doctoral student under the
supervision of Dr. Kieron O’Connor at the Fernand-Seguin Research Center
to enlighten us on this disorder unknown by adolescents.
First of all, it is false to believe that people who suffer from OCD are
afraid of everything. These individuals have specific debilitating
obsessions and compulsions that are not generalized. Obsessions are
recurrent thoughts or images that are uncontrollable. For example, it
can be obsessions of contamination, symmetry or death. These are often
paired with compulsions, which are actions or behaviors to counter the
obsessions. The compulsions appear to be washing of hands very often,
organizing objects in a symmetrical manner or constantly repeating a
sentence related to the obsession.
It is interesting to note that the age of onset for the first symptoms
is between 6 and 15 for boys and 20 to 29 for women. Furthermore, OCD
affects about 2% of youths, and so, is less frequent than depression and
substance abuse. This may explain why children know less about this
disorder.
To conclude, many mental health disorders start during adolescence or at
the beginning of adulthood. This is why it is important for kids and
their relatives to know and understand the different mental health
disorders. After analyzing all the answers of the adolescents, we
observed, at least in part, that some aspects of disorders remain
unknown. In order to quickly detect the emergence of the first symptoms
and to be able to receive the appropriate medical or psychological
treatment, it is important to demystify and destigmatize mental health
disorders. Above all, do not forget that you are not alone; mental
health disorders touch 20 % of the population. Do not hesitate to talk
about it.