Beyond Rituals: Treating Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by the law of similar
Keywords: OCD, Homoeopathy, Repetitive Behaviour, Obsessions, Compulsions.
Introduction
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions, which consume a significant amount of time and lead to notable distress and impairment. Obsessions refer to intrusive and repetitive thoughts, urges, or mental images that are challenging to control. These thoughts often lack a clear purpose and are accompanied by distress. Compulsions involve repetitive actions or mental events that individuals with OCD feel compelled to perform to alleviate the distress caused by the obsessions or to prevent a feared consequence from occurring.
Definition
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder in which people have obsessions, which are recurring, unwanted and unpleasant thoughts, ideas, urges, or images. To get rid of the thoughts, people with OCD feel
driven to do something repetitively (i.e., perform a compulsion, also called a ritual).
Sign and Symptoms
Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive, recurrent, and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that cause distressing emotions such as anxiety, fear, or disgust. Most people with OCD recognize that these thoughts are a product of their mind and that they are excessive or unreasonable.
- Fear of contamination by people or the environment.
- Extreme concern with order, symmetry, or exactness.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. The behaviours typically prevent or reduce a person’s distress related to an obsession temporarily, and they are then more likely to do the same in the future. Compulsions may be excessive responses that are directly related to an obsession (such as excessive hand washing due to the fear of contamination).
- Excessively ordering or arranging things in a particular way.
- Repeatedly checking locks, switches, appliances, doors, etc.
- Frequently seeking approval or reassurance.
Causes
- Genetics: Studies have shown that having a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) with OCD is associated with an increased chance of developing the disorder.
- Biology: Brain imaging studies have shown that people with OCD often have differences in the frontal cortex and subcortical structures of the brain, areas of the brain that impact the ability to control behavior and emotional responses.
Types of Ocd
Main OCD Subtypes – The five main subtypes of OCD are:-
1. Contamination obsessions with cleaning compulsions: May experience intense discomfort or anxiety about things being dirty or contaminated with germs.
2. Harm obsessionswith checking compulsions: you will often have intense thoughts related to possible harm to yourself or others.
3. Obsessions without compulsions: This symptom subtype, referred to as purely obsessional or pure O OCD, often relates to unwanted obsession surrounding sexual, religious, or aggravating themes. For example, you could experience intrusive thoughts about being a rapist or that you will attack someone.
4. Symmetry obsessions with ordering compulsions: a strong need to arrange and rearrange objects until they are “just right.” For example, you might feel the need to constantly arrange your shirts so that they are ordered precisely by colour.
5. Hoarding: Hoarding involves the collection of items that are judged to be of limited value by others, such as old magazines, clothes, receipts, junk mail, notes, or containers.
OCD CYCLE
Diagnosis
DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for OCD:
1. Presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both
- Obsessions = intrusive, unwanted thoughts/urges/images causing anxiety.
- Compulsions = repetitive behaviours or mental acts done to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared event
2. The obsessions/compulsions are time-consuming
- Take more than 1 hour per day
- Cause significant distress or impairment in social, work, or other important areas of life.
3. Not caused by substances or medical conditions
Symptoms are not due to drugs, medication, or another medical disorder.
4. Not better explained by another mental disorder
- Excessive worry (GAD)
- Preoccupation with appearance (Body Dysmorphic Disorder)
- Hoarding Disorder
- Eating Disorders
- Depression, psychosis, etc.
Repetorial Approch
According to Murphy’s medical repertory:
- MIND; bipolar, disorder; shopping, obsession, with: lach MIND; bipolar, disorder; suicidal depression, with: aur., fluoxe., nat s.
- MIND; insanity, madness; obsession, with: anac., hyos., sulph.
- FEMALE; sex, female; wanting, desire; married, with obsession of being: lyc.
According to Pathak’s repertory:
- MIND; absent minded, absorbed, buried in thought; as to what will become of him: nat-m.
- MIND; absent minded, absorbed, buried in thought; menses, during: mur- ac.
- MIND; absorbent, action: arn., kail=i., merc-d., sul-i., sulph.
According to Complete Repertory:
- Mind; compulsive disorders; eating compulsively: choc, sac-alb. Mind; compulsive disorders; fixations, cycles of: ALOE.
- Mind; compulsive disorders; health, about: agar.
- Mind; compulsive disorders; ritualistic: anh, ars, cer-c, con, cupr, dpt, holm, iod, lyss, pin-s, RHUS-T, TUB.
- Mind; compulsive disorders; role playing: hyper, plut-n.
- Mind; compulsive disorders; work: EXCR-CAN, plut-n, terb.
- Mind; industrious, mania for work; compulsive: EXCR-CAN, terb.
- Mind; delusions, imaginations; contaminates everything she touches: andri-q, ars, syph.
- Mind; fear; disease, of; contagious, epidemic, infection: andri-q, ARS, aur-m-n, bar-c, BOR, bov, bufo, CALAD, CALC, calc-s, caras, CARC, chin, cur, electr, falco-p, ferr-m, haliae-lc, ign, lac c, lach, lat-h, lim-b-c, med, nat-m, oscilloc, ozon, posit, psor, sil, SULPH, SYPH, tax, thuj, thul-c, vac.
- Mind; delusions, imaginations; dirt, dirty; he is, she is: arist-cl, berb, blatta, bos-s, brachy-s, calx-b, carch-l, clad-r, cygn-c, cygn-c-b, geoc-c, heli, hydrog, LAC-C, lsd, lycps, lyss, manc, nat-p, neon, olea, ozon, plut-n, posit, ratt-n, rhus-t, ros-g, scirr, sol-t-ae, SYPH, thuj, thul.
- Mind; counting; continually; cleaning, during: gink.
- Mind; counting; continually; things in room: PHYS.
- Mind; counting; impossible, after parturition: thuj.
- Mind; counting; one time in French, at another in English, at another in both: HYOS.
- Mind; counting; pins: SIL, sulph.
- Mind; delusions, imaginations; money; counting, he is: alum, bell, cycl, jade, mag-c, zinc.
- Mind; dreams; calculating, mathematics, counting: hydrog, kryp meteo-a, rhus-r, sel.
- Mind; gestures, makes; counting, as if: bell, calc, mosch, nux-v, staph.
- Extremities; motion, motions; counting, as if, fingers: bell, HYOS, mosch.
- Mind; fear; danger, of impending: aether, alum, alum-s, anac, ars, bell, bos-s, cact, camph, carb-ac, CAUST, choc, CIC, cimic, COCC, coff, coff-t, dama-d, elaps, enal-c, fl-ac, kali-br, lac-del, lac-lup, macrin, MAIA-L, mand, med, meli, meli-a, nat-m, nelu, PLUT-N, pras, puls, sabal, sam-co-m, samb, samb-c, sanic, stry s, syph, tritic-v, xan.
- Mind; fancies; periodic: ars.
- Mind; confusion of mind; periodic: NUX-V, staph.
- Mind; thoughts; persistent; sexual: cench, dama-d, fagu, tritic-v, verb, yuc.
- Mind; thoughts; persistent; work, about: lac-h, tour-w. Mind; thoughts; persistent; business, of: bell, COCC, ros-ca-a, sulph Mind; fear; disease, of; contagious, epidemic, infection; children, in: ARS, CALC, CARC, ign, lac-c, lach, med, psor, sil, sulph, SYPH.
Homoepathic Medicine Widely Using in Ocd
- Arsenicum album
- Syphilinum
- Argentum nitricum
- Aconitum napellus
- Carsinosinum
- Pulsatilla
- Hyoscyamus
References:
1. Brock H. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. StatPearls [Internet]. 2025 Jan.
2. Psychiatry.org. What Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? [Online]. Available from: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/what-is obsessive-compulsive-disorder#section_0.
3. Health NIoM. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: When Unwanted Thoughts or Repetitive Behaviors Take Over. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). 2023. 4. Kelly O. The 5 Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder [Internet]. Verywell Mind. 2019. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-different-types of-ocd-2510663
5. OCD UK. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and OCD | OCD UK [Internet]. Ocduk.org. 2013. Available from: https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/clinical classification-of-ocd/dsm-and-ocd/
6. Zomeo pro 14.0 (acute).
