When To Call A Professional
Table of Contents
Since the symptoms of OCD seldom disappear without treatment, you should contact your primary care doctor whenever obsessive thoughts or compulsions cause you significant distress or discomfort, interfere with your ability to have a normal life at home or work, or cause you injury. Your primary care doctor will refer you to a psychiatrist for appropriate and effective treatment.
Prognosis
Since OCD can be a chronic (long-lasting) condition, ongoing treatment may be necessary and the outlook is usually good. After the initial phase, maintenance can be straightforward and may require appointments only once in a while.
About 50% of patients improve and about 10% recover completely. Only 10% get worse in spite of therapy.
Additional Info
American Psychiatric Association 1400 K St., NW Washington, DC 20005 Toll-Free: (888) 357-7924 Fax: (202) 682-6850 http://www.psych.org/
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