One of the major chemicals that have shown some involvement with OCD is a neurotransmitter called Serotonin.
This disorder has been shown to have abnormal levels and activity of some neurochemicals, including serotonin in the brain.
PET scans have shown unusually high levels of activity in the brain's frontal area in some patients.
This high level of activity could be best explained by low levels of serotonin activity.
The backing for this type of claim comes from studies that have shown that treatment with drugs; which raises the level of serotonin activity in the brain, has improved sufferers of this disorder by up to 60%.
It also could be true that the high brain activity could be caused be the disorder itself and not one of the causes of it, because a person with is disorder has a high level of anxiety and that also can cause a high level of brain activity.
What is for certain is that OCD has psychological factors that contribute to it as well as biological factors; this is one prime example of nature vs.
nurture.
Treatment of this disorder can be a long and sometime embarrassing process, because people with this disorder are often ashamed of it especially when the rituals or ideas that they have involve harming others or sexuality.
Also they may delay help because of the fact that they may become distressed when talking about it or remembering certain obsessions.
These people can see many doctors and spent years of their life seeking treatment before a correct diagnosis is made.
In the area if treatments there are two completely different approaches, the first is a pharmaceutical approach and the second is a behavioral therapy approach.
Of course the treatment that someone seeks depends on the availability of such treatments.
Most patients with this disorder will first try pharmaceutical approach before anything else.
Some of the medicines that have been linked to the treatment of this disorder can include SSRI's such as venlafaxetine, fluoxetine, sertrakine, paroxetine, and fluvoxamine.
These medicines can decrease the likelihood that the person will reproduce OCD like symptoms.
One of the most widely used psychiatric medications used today is clomipramine, it is a tricyclic antidepressant that also has noradrenaline and serotonin reuptake inhibitor actions.
It was the first medication that was proven to be effective in the treatment of OCD, it was introduced in the 1970's and is still considered to be one of the top medications prescribed for the treatment of OCD today.
Along with medication there are behavioral approaches to the treatment of OCD.
Some people may have to use a combination of medicine and behavioral therapy to be able to fully treat their OCD symptoms.
There are a few different approaches to the behavioral therapy; the first is called "flooding".
In this approach the patient is exposed to the stimulus that seems to bring the anxiety and compulsive behaviors.
This approach is a very intense approach to dealing with the symptoms.
This kind of intense treatment is known to speed up the persons improvement in dealing with their compulsions.
The only downside to this treatment is that the patient has to be ready to deal with the effects of the treatment, if this is possible.
This treatment can be a very effective approach.
Another behavioral therapy approach that can be an effective treatment is the in-depth analysis between a patient and his doctor.
In this approach the doctor and patient try to identify the specific "triggers" that bring on OCD symptoms, that way they may be avoided in the future.