People with a controlling need are very afraid that a person could be harmed by their guilt. You therefore check again and again whether the stove is actually off or the front door is locked tight. If the pressure to control is strong, people can no longer leave their home. Read here all important information about control compulsion.
Control compulsion: description
Control is a very common form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with a compulsion to control are often busy many hours of the day with checking the stove, faucets and doors. The time-consuming rituals permanently prevent them from participating in life and coping with their day-to-day tasks. A pronounced control compulsion therefore causes a considerable suffering.
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Further information on causes, diagnosis and treatment can be found in the article OCD.
Control compulsion: symptoms
Most people know the uneasy thought of whether he has really turned off the stove. The same thoughts are shared by people with a controlling obligation. For them, the thought of it is unbearable. Victims fear that their guilt could be a terrible disaster. To prevent this disaster, they check over and over again, for example, the stove. Not infrequently they say aloud to themselves: “the stove is out”. For sure they are never. As soon as they move away from the stove, fearful thoughts reappear and they have to check the stove again.
The same goes for them with faucets, lamps and doors. Leaving the house becomes a torment. If they have made it out of the door after a lot of fussing and pull out the key, they push the doorknob several times to make sure that the door is really locked. Some have to turn around several times and check everything again, others can not leave their homes anymore, because the fears are too strong.
A common fear of those with fear of control is also that they could run over someone without realizing it. They therefore always go the same way to make sure that no one has been hurt by them. Those affected know that their behavior is irrational, but they can not refrain from it. The control actions are often repeated until completely exhausted.
Control compulsion: causes and risk factors
Like the other obsessive-compulsive disorders, the compulsion to control arises from an interaction of biological factors and environmental influences. Although genetic predisposition increases susceptibility, it is not the sole cause of control. Traumatic childhood experiences, an unfavorable parenting style, as well as a general anxiety of the person also play an important role. Above all anxious people tend to take threatening thoughts very seriously. They want to prevent at all costs that the thoughts could become reality.
Control compulsion: investigations and diagnosis
A control compulsion is a special expression of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Whether or not such is the case can be determined by a therapist using special questionnaires. The diagnosis is an important first step in getting the disease under control and coping with everyday life. The sooner you seek professional help, the better your chances of getting the disease under control.
Control compulsion: treatment
No longer leaving home, no longer cooking on the stove or using candles anymore are all avoidance strategies that maintain or even exacerbate compulsory control. In therapy, exactly these strategies are discovered and processed. The treatment often consists of a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Particularly effective is the cognitive behavioral therapy with confrontation exercises. Those affected learn to face their fears. In the case of compulsory control, this means, for example, to leave the house without checking the door several times.
As the therapy progresses, the therapist works with those affected to learn that they are only following a normal level of control to trust in themselves. Because people with control doubts always doubt themselves. Although they have just locked the door, they are already uncertain the next moment, whether it is securely locked. The affected practice in therapy, the urge to control not give. Over time, they increasingly gain security and the fear subsides.
Disease course and prognosis
A control compulsion is difficult to overcome on its own. People who develop compulsion to cough as part of a forced illness should seek professional help as soon as possible. For the longer the compulsion to control exists, the more difficult it becomes to master it. With professional help, the chances are good that the symptoms of the control coercion significantly improve again.