How Can OCD be treated?
The treatments for OCD vary even more than the behaviors with which it is associated. Because OCD is often linked with depression, many people respond to anti-depressants, more specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac (fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline). Other medications that have proven effective include clomipramine, fluvoxamine and paroxetine–drugs known to psychiatrists as “tricyclics”. These drugs are all linked to the functionality of serotonin, further implicating this neurotransmitter’s role in the development of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A form of behavioral therapy known as “exposure and response prevention” has also proven effective in the treatment of OCD. The patient is exposed to anxiety-producing circumstances in a controlled environment, beginning with situations they may consider low stress (like touching a doorknob that other people have touched) and working their way up to higher stress situations (sharing food from the same pl
