Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Are You at Risk?


Postpartum Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Are You at Risk?A new Northwestern Medicine® study found that women who have recently given birth have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population.

Are you constantly ridden by:  
  • Fear of injuring the baby
  • Worry about germs
  • Concern about dirt followed by compulsions to check that you did not "make a mistake"
  • The baby's crib side is properly latched
  • Bottles are properly sterilized
  • Worry about falling down the stairs with the baby
  • The baby would fall out of bed
  • Thought of harming the baby

 

 

These are symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in postpartum mothers who would otherwise functioning normally. Although these symptoms improve over a period of six months, but can prove a difficult phase for a new mother.

Researchers believe OCD occurs after a woman gives birth because of a change in brain chemicals that regulate social behaviors. "It can paralyze the person with anxiety and various types of rituals that can take up most of their way of everyday life."

How to cope with Postpartum OCD

Postpartum Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Are You at Risk?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is primarily triggered by stress, according to research. Thus, stressful situations, such as pregnancy and the postpartum period, may exacerbate or predispose women to OCD.

  • Channelize Your time and energy: Things might seem impossible, but try and plan your day and activities. Try to stay organized. Make a list of daily tasks, so that some tasks are completed. Pat your back, dear mother! 

  • Exercise: Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment that helps to control OCD symptoms by refocusing your mind when obsessive thoughts and compulsions arise. Although it might prove challenging but, try to get 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity on most days. Aerobic exercise relieves tension and stress, boosts physical and mental energy, and enhances well-being through the release of endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals.

  • Take a Healthy Diet: Start your day with a healthy breakfast, and continue with frequent small meals throughout the day. Going too long without eating leads to low blood sugar, which can make you feel more anxious. Eat plenty of complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Complex carbs stabilize blood sugar, boost serotonin, a neurotransmitter with calming effects.

  • Practice Relaxation: Try stress management techniques like meditation, muscle relaxation, deep breathing, yoga or tai chi. Pranayama or the manipulation of breath can also increase the production of melatonin. Some of the breathing techniques, alternate nostril breathing in particular, send electrical impulses through the brain which in turn can alter physiological process for the better.

  • Love & Pamper Yourself: Be a proud mother who is a multi-tasker. Squeeze out time to get a hair massage or facial once a week. Read a novel for 15 min everyday.

  • Resort to Behavioral therapy: Keep a pad and pencil on you, or type on a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. When you begin to obsess, write down all your thoughts or compulsions.

  • Share your thoughts with family and friends: If your family or friends are not comfortable discussing your illness, do find a support group where you can get help and share your feelings. Do not isolate yourself from the vital social support that you need. Get a family member or a friend to help you face the task that produces obsessions or compulsions.

  • Get Enough Sleep: Not only can anxiety and worry cause insomnia, but a lack of sleep can also exacerbate anxious thoughts and feelings. When you’re well rested, it’s much easier to keep your emotional balance, a key factor in coping with anxiety disorders such as OCD.

  • Medication Support :  Anxiety medication (tranquilizers / benzodiazepines) can provide temporary relief, but are no solution to the underlying cause of the anxiety disorder. Once you stop taking the drug, the anxiety symptoms often return in full force. Treat them as last resort.

If you notice symptoms are getting worse, do consult with your doctor or therapist. Don’t wait until your symptoms are so severe that you are unable to leave the house or take care of things at work.

 
Four Steps for Conquering Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz, author of Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior, offers the following four steps for dealing with OCD:

  • RE-LABEL – Recognize that the intrusive obsessive thoughts and urges are the result of OCD. For example, train yourself to say, "I don't think or feel that my hands are dirty. I'm having an obsession that my hands are dirty." Or, "I don't feel that I have the need to wash my hands. I'm having a compulsive urge to perform the compulsion of washing my hands."

  • REATTRIBUTE – Realize that the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought or urge is caused by OCD; it is probably related to a biochemical imbalance in the brain. Tell yourself, "It's not me—it’s my OCD," to remind you that OCD thoughts and urges are not meaningful, but are false messages from the brain.

  • REFOCUS – Work around the OCD thoughts by focusing your attention on something else, at least for a few minutes. Do another behavior. Say to yourself, "I'm experiencing a symptom of OCD. I need to do another behavior."

  • REVALUE – Do not take the OCD thought at face value. It is not significant in itself. Tell yourself, "That's just my stupid obsession. It has no meaning. That's just my brain. There's no need to pay attention to it." Remember: You can't make the thought go away, but neither do you need to pay attention to it. You can learn to go on to the next behavior.

Source: Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders

 

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Dated 18 March 2013

 

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