# OCD and superstitious rituals



## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

A thought just came to me while thinking about how some people begin displaying OCD symptoms after traumatizing events, a common example being someone who checks all the locks 5 times before bed after having a nasty break in.

An adaption to survival in many animals, humans included, is the development of rituals; repeating the same action over and over in the hopes of getting a desired result. Many times these rituals are pure superstition, meaning that it's performance has no influence on the outcome.

Skinner experimented with some pigeons, he put each one in a box with a dispenser that spit out food every 15 seconds, nothing the pigeons did could effect this. Despite that, each pigeon developed unique habits, rituals, that it would do believing that it made the food appear.

Article: http://vidallena.org/skinpal.htm

Why is this? The pigeons' rituals were reinforced because the food appeared when the performed it. The pigeon assumes that it's ritual makes the food appear; but we know that the ritual and food have no connection.

How dose this relate to the person who was robbed and checks the locks 5 times? Simple; they began the ritual of checking the lock 5 times to prevent another robbery, and since another robbery did not occur, the ritual was seen as a success by the brain thus reinforcing it. The reality is, the success had nothing to do with checking the locks 5 times, because only 1 check would be needed to confirm them as locked, and the odds of robber trying to break in every night are non-existent.

If a person terrified of vampires used vampire replant spray every night before bed that behavior would reinforced because the vampires can never come, do to them not existing.

The ritual is performed and the desired result happens which reinforces the ritual, but the result was going to happen regardless of the ritual making it a superstition.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

This is really not the same as true OCD. Conditioning an animal is far different from an individual have a compulsion to check, but more importantly, compulsions to handwash, go back to see if they ran someone over in the road, or the "original OCD" -- scrupulosity. A friend of mine has this.

Her compulsion was to pray, cross herself 100 times a day and she has tremendous anxiety if she doesn't do things. She also had intrusive blasphemous thoughts.

This is an illness. There is no real logic behind it. In some children it comes on after a particular strain of strep infection -- see PANDAS.

OCD is an anxiety disorder. The "theme" of the anxiety often has no rhyme nor reason to it. Some respond very well to treatment, others don't. It is also inherited. My friend's mother was extremely anxious. There were 3 sisters in the family. My friend and one sister developed serious OCD (of different kinds), the 3rd has no mental disorder at all.

Superstition is common among many people. And yes, people can get conditioned and can get into habits and routines. This is not a debilitating condition which can take up HOURS of your day. Make you lose your job, your family, etc.

And DP/DR is not OCD. Some who have early intervention with anxiety and DP/DR can indeed get a handle on the anxiety and subsequently avoid the DP/DR returning. You can have OCD AND DP/DR. And you can obsess over things. These are also not the specific definition of OCD -- that is terrible anxiety of intrusive illogical thoughts (I ran over someone with my car), a COMPULSION to go back to see if one has run over someone with their car which temporarily relieves the anxiety, leaving the scene, then coming back over and over and over again.

This can happen if someone NEVER ran down anyone or anything with their car. And checking and contamination fears, etc. occur without a specific trigger. Children have OCD.

Also, re: checking a door after you have been assaulted. That is BASED in reality and would be a sign of PTSD or acute stress.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

Every culture has superstitions as well. As I understand them, they are a means of "controlling life" which we cannot control. It gives us a false sense of control.

So many stereotypes -- don't walk under a ladder, don't break a mirror, it's bad luck, toss salt over your shoulder, blow on dice to get a good roll, touching a rabbit's foot for "good luck." And people even wear their favorite shoes, or underwear, or hat when they go to a sports game -- as it is "lucky." All of this is normal, this is not pathological and is not disruptive to the individual's life.

Anything that seriously affections social or occupational functioning ... that is a disorder.


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## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

the point I'm trying to make is that I see a lot of people on here complaining about having some sort of OCD, but in some cases it could simply be this innate ritual forming mechanism being overactive in response to high stress or anxiety or whatever.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

Pyrite said:


> the point I'm trying to make is that I see a lot of people on here complaining about having some sort of OCD, but in some cases it could simply be this innate ritual forming mechanism being overactive in response to high stress or anxiety or whatever.


Oh, fair enough. Then we agree.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

But I would disagree that a particular event dictates the theme of the OCD ritual.
For instance someone doesn't have to have their house broken into to develop checking the doors in their house.

Oh, and checking the doors wouldn't be the only checking they would do.

Some people will have to count to 50 over and over, maybe 20 times before they sharpen a pencil. Makes no sense, they know it makes no sense, but feel they MUST do it or something bad will happen.

SSRIs can actually calm this behavior. Then CBT is very effective.


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## missjess (Jun 1, 2012)

I believe OCD can be purely a chemical/brain problem but it can also be a conditioned illness

I myself believe I was born to be slightly ocd, like when I was younger I would always have a but of a twitch and I remember when my mum would drive the car with me in if I used to squeeze my muscles everytime we went over a bump and I couldn't stop myself.

I had trouble falling asleep and I always had a very active and excited mind. I believe excess glutamate is responsible for OCD because wen I went on lamictal it was like I felt normal and didn't feel the need to do these weird things anymore and my mind didn't feel overly excited and on edge like it usually does


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## micah.gingerich (Dec 27, 2014)

Why do you talk like what you say is absolute fact dreamer? Your speaking on mental illness as if everything your saying is completely proven.. I've heard some doctors say that all mental disorders may be a firm of ptsd.... it's great you give advice but try to not make it sound like what your saying is set in stone because it's simply not... mental disorders are constantly changing and open to interpretation and that should always be the undertone of how you post a message on here... it comes off like it can only be the way you say it is which means your probably quite frightened deep down... just keep that in mind because the posts you made here are a bit scary


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

micah.gingerich said:


> Why do you talk like what you say is absolute fact dreamer? Your speaking on mental illness as if everything your saying is completely proven.. I've heard some doctors say that all mental disorders may be a firm of ptsd.... it's great you give advice but try to not make it sound like what your saying is set in stone because it's simply not... mental disorders are constantly changing and open to interpretation and that should always be the undertone of how you post a message on here... it comes off like it can only be the way you say it is which means your probably quite frightened deep down... just keep that in mind because the posts you made here are a bit scary


I speak from experience, from interaction with mentally ill individuals, research, talking with my own doctors.
I am 55. I have had DP/DR since a child. I also have friends who have all sorts of problems or whose kids or siblings or parents have problems.

I am a mental health advocatem and volunteer for the local National Alliance on Mental Illness:

See my my website (in my signature)
See: http://www.nami.org

http://www.activeminds.org

http://www. bringchange2mind.org

Pubmed articles
Google Scholar articles

I attend conferences, classes, etc.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

Merck Manual summary of OCD:

http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric_disorders/obsessive-compulsive_and_related_disorders/obsessive-compulsive_disorder_ocd.html?qt=obsessive%20compulsive%20disorder&alt=sh

What is interesting is that OCD is on the spectrum with tic disorders and Tourettes. OCD can also come on in children who have a particular type of strep throat. Google PANDAS. Also, don't quote me, but if you have a close family membere with OCD your chances of having OCD are 25%. There is a genetic component.

It is known that schizophrenia, bipolar, schizoaffective, and clinical depression are without doubt medical/neurological disorders. OCD, anxiety, etc. are also viewed as medical. Both nature and nurture contribute to the development of any mental disorder, or really any disorder for that matter.


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