Obsessive-compulsive disorder reinforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is unquestionably impacting on the mental health of the population worldwide. Fear of contamination can both increase levels of stress in healthy individuals and intensify psychiatric symptoms in patients with pre-existing conditions, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the imminent risk of contamination creates a logical need for self-surveillance and hygiene habits. However, this kind of information can have drastic implications for subjects with OCD, since cognitive distortions and compensatory strategies (cleansing rituals) are no longer irrational or oversized -rather, these ideas become legitimate and socially accepted, generating plausible validation for the intensification of compulsive cleaning rituals. Patients who presented remission of OCD symptoms would be more likely to have a relapse, and subclinical patients may scale up and ultimately be diagnosed with OCD due to the reinforcement of their habits, emotions and thoughts.

Variation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms and Treatments: A Side Effect of COVID-19

“…Clinicians ought to have a proper attitude towards the pandemic and infection. They may search for effective ways and take advantage of current forms, for instance, telemedicine and smartphone interventions [ 35 ], to make effective communication with their patients, and adjust therapies simultaneously, taking advantage of remote assistance [ 36 ]. Nonetheless, face-to-face meetings are always recommended for their better therapeutic effects.…”

Self-Reported Obsession Toward COVID-19 Preventive Measures Among Undergraduate Medical Students During the Early Phase of Pandemic in Jordan

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic and its preventive measures, the general population, including frontline healthcare workers and medical students, became vulnerable to emotional distress and psychological challenges, including stress symptoms, anxiety, frustration, depression, panic disorder, and fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection, contact with contaminated surfaces, socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, and foreigners (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). These psychological problems with the enormous preoccupations of the general population, exposure to often scary news through the media, and the extensive health recommendations by authorities might trigger the obsession about contamination and the possibility of contacting SARS-CoV-2 infection; thereby, stimulating compulsive behaviors such as spending hours disinfecting or washing hands, taking excessively long showers, and not rarely, harming their skin as well as continuously cleaning the surfaces other people have touched, and increased avoidance of others (9,15,(24)(25)(26). Avoidance of situations that could be considered as presenting a high risk of contamination can also occur, such as using public transportation, sitting on a public park bench, or going to a public bathroom (9,26,27).…”

“…These psychological problems with the enormous preoccupations of the general population, exposure to often scary news through the media, and the extensive health recommendations by authorities might trigger the obsession about contamination and the possibility of contacting SARS-CoV-2 infection; thereby, stimulating compulsive behaviors such as spending hours disinfecting or washing hands, taking excessively long showers, and not rarely, harming their skin as well as continuously cleaning the surfaces other people have touched, and increased avoidance of others (9,15,(24)(25)(26). Avoidance of situations that could be considered as presenting a high risk of contamination can also occur, such as using public transportation, sitting on a public park bench, or going to a public bathroom (9,26,27).…”

Transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo em tempos de pandemia de COVID-19

“…De acordo com Ornell et al (2021), obsessões ou compulsões consomem tempo (por exemplo, demoram mais de uma hora por dia) e causam sofrimento e prejuízo nas áreas sociais, profissionais e outras áreas importantes da vida de um indivíduo, sendo essas as características essenciais para diagnosticar a doença.…”

“…Nesse contexto, para Ornell et al (2021), o risco iminente de contaminação cria uma necessidade lógica de autovigilância e hábitos de higiene. No entanto, esse tipo de informação pode ter implicações drásticas para sujeitos com TOC, especialmente aqueles que têm obsessão por contaminação e compulsão por lavar, uma vez que distorções cognitivas e estratégias compensatórias (rituais de limpeza) não são mais irracionais ou superdimensionadas, ao contrário, essas ideias tornam-se necessárias, legítimas e socialmente aceitas, gerando validação plausível para a intensificação da compulsão e rituais de limpeza.…”