The severity of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is determined by how much it impairs the patient's life, explains HealthMaker Jerry Bubrick, PhD, with the Child Mind Institute. In this video he discusses the different ranges.
[BLANK_AUDIO] We were talking about with severity, degrees of severity is just that how much it impairs in someone's life. So if someone has mild OCD what we're really talking about is that the level of impairment is really quite mild. It might be occupying between one and three hours collectively of their day, combined the amount of time they're thinking about these things, and the amount of time they're spending doing the rituals.
Whereas someone who is in the moderate category is thinking about them a lot more, and engaging a lot more rituals and compulsions so their performance in school will be effective, their ability to socialize might be affected, their home life might be affected more and someone in the severe range is just out there really quite unable to focus or function in school.
They are not really able to go to friend's homes or even leave their own homes at times when it's so severe.
Jerry Bubrick, PhD is a widely known cognitive behavioral psychologist, focused on the treatment of OCD. He is a leader in cognitive behavioral therapy treatment of children and teens with OCD and other anxiety disorders.
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