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It may be wise to double check sometimes,... but people with obsessive compulsive disorder
feel the need to check and re-check things or perform certain routines over and over.
Now, there are reports the number of patients with the disorder,... especially those in
their 20s and 30s,... is on the rise in Korea. Kim Min-ji reports. Twenty-nine year old Lee
can only sit down to work when his documents and files are lined up and in order.
Lee said he feels anxious if his possessions are not arranged the way he wants them to
be. He says that his symptoms were much worse
when he was under the stress of preparing for his university entrance exams.
"I would arrange my books in the order of my classes. If they weren't organized in this
way, I couldn't concentrate on my studies."
Like this, obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes people to
repeat actions or rituals to reduce their thoughts of uneasiness, apprehension or fear.
Some people with the disorder over wash their hands because they are concerned about dirt
and germs,... others check over and over to see if they've locked the door.
The number of people with OCD has jumped 13-percent over the last five years,... with one in every
two people in their 20s or 30s having been diagnosed with it.
A related survey in 2011 showed that at least 300-thousand Koreans were found to have the
disorder. Making matters worse, the thoughts and rituals
related to the disorder can cause distress and get in the way of one's daily life.
"It is a loss socially. Obsessive compulsive disorder can also concur with other kinds
of mental disorders, such as depression. Thus, patients with the disorder are more prone
to mental illness."
The cause of the disorder has not been confirmed,... but researchers believe that it is due to
disruptions in the brain's neurotransmitters. Medical experts advise patients to undergo
treatment... and try to relax their minds by thinking that whatever they are worried
about will not occur in reality,... and even if it does, it will not be a big problem after
all. Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.