and the Internet OCD Explained--
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects about one in 50 individuals in the United States at some point in their lives. This common neurobiological illness causes people to experience tremendous anxiety and discomfort throughout their daily lives. Often, persons who suffer from OCD also suffer from depression, extreme guilt and other illnesses. One of the most prominent effects that OCD can have on a person is a susceptibility to addiction. When a person with increased susceptibility to addiction is exposed to the Internet, the effects can be devastating.
All individuals with OCD have what are called obsessions. Obsessions are defined as recurring thoughts in a person's mind. These thoughts usually occur throughout the day and often distract the person from the tasks of everyday life. Typical examples of obsessions are doubt, perfection, a fear of losing things, religion, aggression, and sexual tension. While many people experience similar feelings and concerns, OCD patients feel controlled by them. Obsessions are often real life concerns. However, individuals with OCD use those concerns to mask or hide the true causes of their depression or mental illness.
Compulsions are the actions resulting from the obsessions. Compulsions can take on the form of rituals, behaviors, or even addictions. Some of the most common obsessions include repetitive washing, checking, recounting, arranging, ordering, confession, constant demands for reassurance and hoarding. By acting out compulsions, people with OCD feel a sense of control. This sense of control temporarily gets their mind off the true cause of their anxiety. For example, if a person has an obsession that the world is filthy and full of germs, they might compulsively wash their hands three times per hour. Compulsions serve as a distraction from the obsessions that are constantly intruding into common thoughts.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is described as "fighting the wrong battle in the wrong front." The brief feeling of control that OCD patients experience by acting out a compulsion does not cure the underlying emotion of guilt, despair or depression. Often a person with OCD will know when they are acting out compulsions -- and that the compulsions aren't really helping anything -- but they are unable to stop them.
A common obsession is the feeling that an individual does not possess enough knowledge. This results in a constant need to seek information, read, and study. Many feel that if they do not know everything there is to know, and see everything there is to see, they are useless or inferior. The Internet is a perfect place for such individuals to act out their compulsions. Because the Internet is basically inexhaustible, OCD patients can find themselves reading and studying material on the World Wide Web. By occupying their mind with all different forms of literature, information, and visual images, OCD patients avoid thinking about the true source of their problem.
Common Form for Compulsion to Take is Addiction--
Addictions are defined as activities that require more and more attention. Because OCD patients are prone to develop rituals, they are more likely to develop addictions to certain activities that they can repeat with increasing frequency. This is where the Internet plays a role. Many Web sites provide the type of thrill-seeking material that OCD patients constantly search for. Sites that involve gambling, auctioning, and pornography are among the most addictive Web sites on the Net.
A common obsession in OCD patients is sexual frustration. Obviously, the Internet can play an extremely negative role in this respect. The vast amount of pornography available on the Internet serves as a perfect vehicle to distract an individual with OCD. Patients commonly experience the need to visit pornographic sites with alarming frequency. By occupying their mind with sexual fantasies and images, it is easy to forget other, more pressing issues. Often, a cycle develops in which the individual feels guilty about his activities, but then repeats them to forget about his guilt.
OCD and Gambling--
Another common addiction is frequent use of gambling Web sites. The thrill of wagering increasing amounts of money is a serious problem for addicts. With the increased accessibility of gambling Web sites, users have a choice of casinos to visit and sporting events to bet on. The feeling of control achieved by determining where to bet money is a welcome distraction and relief from other problems that the person might be facing. This feeling of control is very short lived, and in order to maintain it, the individual feels the need to make subsequent and more risky bets as time goes on.
OCD and On-Line Auctioning-
On-Lne Auctioning, one of the newest phenomena on the Internet, has created addicts all across the nation. Persons with OCD have very unique reactions when exposed to sites such as eBay.com. Again, in an effort to suppress emotions and problems, individuals with OCD can easily become addicted to on-line auction houses. The competitive urge to outbid other users and purchase items from a huge selection is overwhelming.
In one particular case, an OCD patient became so addicted to on-line auctioning that she had all three of her credit cards cut off. By spending exorbitant amounts of time on auction sites, she managed to purchase as many as 14 items every day. Eventually, her finances ran completely out, and her spouse forced her to stop bidding on items.
The most interesting fact about this particular example was the items she purchased. Her husband first learned about her addiction when he discovered hundreds of unopened packages in the basement of their home. She had little interest in the objects themselves, and neglected to even open the packages that contained the items that she successfully bid for online. Her interest was obviously in the action of auctioning, not in purchasing the items themselves.
The above examples are just a small sample of ways that people with OCD can distract themselves and become addicted to Internet use. Because the Internet has such a vast variety of uses, it is inevitable that people will continue to use it in ways that are often harmful and unproductive. Because of their susceptibility to addiction, individuals with OCD are especially likely to develop bad habits that only compound their problems. (See Physical Symptoms of Internet Addiction on this Web site)
