Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a complicated mental health disorder that develops in a number of stages and can worsen if you do not notice. Oftentimes, the earlier stages of OCD include intrusive thoughts and low-level compulsions while the last stage of OCD can be very debilitating.
Compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts may have taken over unpredictable life resulting in emotional, social and physical distress. To better understand the final stage of OCD, it is beneficial to understand the decline of its severity and the need to get help.
In this blog post, we will discuss what the final stage is, the symptoms of the last stage and why early treatment is so important.
What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that involves obsessions, intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges, that cause great anxiety and compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that you feel manage to do in order to reduce that anxiety.
Although having occasional obsessive thoughts or engaging in repetitive behaviors is common, a person with OCD is attached to those thoughts or behaviors completely which is exhausting to their daily lives.
A person with OCD can be centered around a number of different themes such as fear of contamination, needing things to be balanced and orderly, taboo thoughts or fears about harming themselves or someone else, etc. Remember that OCD is not a character flaw or a simple habit, but a serious condition which often requires outside help.
An Overview of the Stages of OCD Development
Though OCD does not progress through well-defined stages like grief, the number of mental health practitioners, and even individuals with OCD, have noted a pattern to OCD’s development. In general, this can be broken down into a series of definable stages: i.e.
(1) Subclinical Stage, where intrusive thoughts are mild and have minimal interference.
(2) Recognition Stage, when individuals can recognize that these thoughts and behaviors are abnormal.
(3) Resistance Stage, where the person will actively try to avoid or resist the symptoms.
(4) Entrenchment Stage, where compulsions become more severe.
This can then lead to an Exhaustion Stage or emotional state of burnout, followed by the Surrender or Acceptance Stage, when the person must make a critical decision point regarding more entrenchment and/or seeking help.
Finally comes the Management or Recovery Stage, which is when the individual has learned methods to not only deal with the symptoms of OCD but significantly lessen its impact. As with all stages, the speed at which individuals can move through them or get stuck in them will vary based on a number of factors such as genetics, environment, access to care, and resilience.
What is the last stage of OCD?
1. Elevated OCD Level
When left untreated, OCD in some people can reach an extreme and severely impaired and the final stage characterized by OCD reaches a high level in which obsessions and compulsions are present in every aspect of a person’s life.
- A person can become completely impaired in their functioning and unable to do work, study, carry on relationships, or care for oneself.
- Over time, individuals may begin to merge their identity with the intrusive OCD thoughts in which they believe the thoughts and experiences are central to who they are in their identity.
- Corresponding feelings of hopelessness may develop, and additional conditions of depression and suicidal thoughts can arise.
- OCD can come to consume the person’s sense of self, time, and relationships, compulsive behaviors can take hours each day, and anxiety can become constant.
However, while at this extreme, it does not mean recovery is impossible; it simply requires immediate and intense treatment, for example CBT, ERP and sometimes medications.
2. Recovery of OCD
On the bright side, the “last stage” of OCD signifies a transition period into management or recovery stage.
- During this time, the person has come to understand that OCD is a mental disorder and not a flaw of their character, and they have developed ways to manage and cope with their compulsions, frequently through some sort of therapy, such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), where the individual is able to understand uncertainties.
As a result, they will gradually regain their ability to function, which means returning to work or school, relationships, and being able to fully live once again.
This stage is the empowerment stage, the education stage, the freedom stage; there is somewhat of a treatment but means to live in a world where OCD becomes manageable.
Indication That You are in Final Stage of OCD: Recovery
There are a few signs that someone may have entered the management or recovery phase of OCD.
- Compulsions, if present, do not take hours each day. Intrusive thoughts are allowed to exist and are not reacted to with a ritual.
- People experience more tolerance for anxiety, and consider it to be temporary and tolerable, instead of being distressing.
- People are also able to return to living normal lives, and enjoy work, relationships, hobbies, and self-care.
- They express increasing confidence to engage in potentially anxiety-producing situations, and to see anxiety or a relapse as a temporary and manageable setback rather than a significant or total failure.
- People also engage in healthy coping skills, such as mindfulness, ERP techniques, and positive support networks, instead of compulsive rituals.
Although continued therapy often remains warranted, people often become used to applying strategies consistent with therapy on their own in order to maintain improvements.
Possible Treatment to Reach the Last Stage of OCD: Recovery
Achieving the final stage of OCD treatment does not occur all at once, it is a combination of consistent professional therapy, some self-help, and a healthy lifestyle.
- The most effective therapy continues to be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), specifically Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
- Medication is also prescribed frequently, often SSRIs such as fluoxetine, sertraline, and fluvoxamine, to help manage OCD symptoms.
- Self-help consists of things like mindfulness, psychoeducation, and support groups, that help people understand and respond to their condition more positively.
Building a healthy lifestyle with good sleep, regular exercise, healthy eating, and stress management ultimately supports recovery. Checking in regularly with your trusted OCD therapist in NYC also helps sustain progress and modify recommendations as needed.
Conclusion
The final stage of OCD is less about eliminating OCD completely, and more about taking back control, and living freely with OCD as it exists.
- The final stage is about getting to a point where you/generally speak, OCD does not control your life, relationships or happiness.
- As you might imagine, getting to the final stage requires bravery and a lot of motivation, and often a lot of help.
- With OCD therapy in NYC and committed to guidance and lifestyle choices through the process to the final stage.
The final stage of OCD can be your reality where it no longer is the main character, but instead simply background noise that you know how to deal with.
References
- Huatuco, Palacios. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – StatPearls.” NCBI, 24 February 2024, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553162/
- “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) – Symptoms and causes.” Mayo Clinic, 21 December 2023, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432
- Gragnani, A., Zaccari, V., Femia, G., Pellegrini, V., Tenore, K., Fadda, S., Luppino, O. I., Basile, B., Cosentino, T., Perdighe, C., Romano, G., Saliani, A. M., & Mancini, F. (2022). Cognitive–Behavioral Treatment of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: The Results of a Naturalistic Outcomes Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(10), 2762. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11102762
- Fontenelle, L. F., & Yücel, M. (2019). A Clinical Staging Model for Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Is It Ready for Prime Time? EClinicalMedicine, 7, 65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.01.014
