An 18 year old male had a severe dislike for touching door knobs. He feared contamination and spent hours washing his hands if he had to open a door at his office. He spent more than 3-4 hours taking a shower and spent a lot of time cleaning surfaces after "incidental contaminations". Eventually, he stopped waking up in the morning as it was not worth the effort. Identify the disorder, he is suffering from:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Obsessive-Compulsive and Related disorders.
Option (1) Obsessive-Compulsive and Related disorders. — Correct. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder are unable to control their preoccupation with specific ideas (obsession) or to stop themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act (compulsion), and this affects their ability to carry out normal activities. Many compulsions deal with counting, checking, touching and washing. The young man cannot stop thinking about contamination, washes his hands for hours, showers for 3-4 hours and keeps cleaning surfaces, until even getting up in the morning seems not worth the effort.
Option (2) Depressive Disorders. — Incorrect. Major depressive disorder is a period of depressed mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in most activities. His giving up on mornings comes from the exhausting rituals, while the core of his problem is the fear of contamination and the washing.
Option (3) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. — Incorrect. PTSD follows a traumatic event such as a disaster, a bomb blast or a war, with recurrent dreams and flashbacks. No such event is described.
Option (4) Somatic Symptom disorder. — Incorrect. In somatic symptom disorder a person has persistent body-related symptoms and keeps worrying about them and visiting doctors. He has no bodily complaint.
NCERT (2025-26): “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders … Have you ever noticed someone washing their hands everytime they touch something, or washing even things like coins, or stepping only within the patterns on the floor or road while walking? People affected by obsessivecompulsive disorder are unable to control their preoccupation with specific ideas or are unable to prevent themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act or series of acts that affect their ability to carry out normal activities. Obsessive behaviour is the inability to stop thinking about a particular idea or topic. The person involved, often finds these thoughts to be unpleasant and shameful. Compulsive behaviour is the need to perform certain behaviours over and over again. Many compulsions deal with counting, ordering, checking, touching and washing.…” |