OCD AND CLINICAL DEPRESSION (CHAPTER 3)

The fact that most people go through periods of distress at certain times is inevitable. For example, when you are depressed, you feel persistently upset for weeks or even months rather than just for a couple of days. Perhaps, some people tend to view depression as something trivial and not a genuine health condition that they take for granted. This is actually wrong because first of all, it is a real illness with real symptoms which is clearly not a sign of weakness or something you can snap out by pulling yourself together.

Second of all, depression affects people in many different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms. What’s more, there can be physical symptoms too such as feeling constantly tired, bad sleeping pattern, having no appetite or desire, and various ache and pain. The symptoms of depression range from mild to severe. At its mildest, you may feel relentlessly demotivated or less energetic. While at its severe condition (clinical depression), it can make you feel overwhelmingly devastated and cause you to have suicidal thoughts perceiving or thinking that life is no longer worth living.

To begin with, most people experience feelings of stress, anxiety, or low mood during difficult times. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not merely one of the most common psychological disorders, but it is also among the most personally distressing and debilitating. OCD, in addition, can be devastating to interpersonal relationships, leisure activities, school or work life, and to self-satisfaction. And not surprisingly, OCD is commonly associated with depression. Bottom line, OCD is a depressing problem and it might be easy to understand how one could develop clinical depression when your daily life consists of intrusive thoughts and urges to engage in senseless and excessive pattern of behaviours (rituals).

Next, people often have OCD and depression at the same time. Both OCD and major depressive disorder including clinical depression are classified as common mental health disorders which affect millions of Americans each year. For example, people who have OCD are more likely to develop other forms of mental illness and depression is no exception. According to International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), it is estimated that around 25% to 50% of people with OCD in United States meet the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode.

Most people experience the symptoms of OCD first. However, for a small percentage, the two conditions may begin at the same time. OCD is not necessarily part of depression since it is rare for depression symptoms to precede OCD. Because depression often begins after OCD symptoms develop, many researchers conclude that the difficulties of living with OCD can lead to depression symptoms. For this reason, the very nature of repetitive, unwanted, and upsetting thoughts is more than sufficient to inflict the amount of shock, fear, and eventually depression.

Meanwhile, people with depression often ruminate about past mistakes and perceived failures. In 2018 studies, for example, ruminating (thinking the same worrisome, depressing, or negative thoughts over and over) is the key contributor to depression and OCD. Similarly, in a 2017 study, researchers found that having anxious and depressing thoughts was common in people with these two disorders.

OCD and depression can adversely impact your ability to function in a healthy manner. For instance, obsessions affect your state of mind while compulsions can interfere with your schedules. When your relationships, social life, and job performance in school or workplace are affected, you may begin to experience symptoms of depression which can be undoubtedly overwhelming and difficult to manage. After all, the more severe obsessions and compulsions are, the more they impact your daily functioning significantly which can deteriorate the level of your productivity and worsen your depression symptoms.