Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition that affects about 1-2% of the global population. Many people have a lot of misconceptions about OCD, including what help is available and whether or not it can go away on its own.
As a Cognitive Science Research, Dr. Ileana Berman has dedicated her 30+ year career to studying the connection between obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. Today she answers the question – can OCD go away on its own?
OCD is considered a chronic condition, so the symptoms will not go away on their own. People may have this misconception because symptoms can “get better” for a period of time before coming back again. An individual with OCD may have worse symptoms during times of high stress in their life, and symptoms can decrease when they aren’t as stressed.
However, symptoms will never go away completely. The good news is that help is available for people to manage their symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to benefit people with mild to severe OCD symptoms. In some cases, someone can be prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).