In my master's thesis, I examine (self-)help for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the theoretical part, I present what OCD is, its aetiology and OCD as an anxiety disorder. I focus on the question of whether OCD is an illness and present the social construction of mental disorders, including OCD. I also define the medical, psychosocial and biopsychosocial models of this disorder. I focus on the impact of OCD on the daily lives of people diagnosed with this disorder and how those around them respond to it. I present the various attempts to cope with the disorder and the factors that exacerbate anxiety. Finally, I focus on the treatment and support of OCD, referring to the still unrecognised and untapped but potentially valuable role of social work. In the empirical section, I present a qualitative study of 10 individuals diagnosed with OCD. I focus on issues such as (self-)help with the disorder, community response, and social worker involvement in the context of OCD. The results of the survey show that respondents mainly receive help from psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. They are most dissatisfied with professional help from psychiatrists, as they only prescribe medication, which most of them no longer take. In addition to professional help, they read a lot about the illness and talk to therapists and relatives about their problems. They have developed various ways of dealing with OCD: Avoidance, checking, seeking reassurance, ignoring, planning, rituals, counting, repeating, etc. They have expressed many ideas about what help they would like to receive - more frequent visits to psychotherapists, psychologists, group therapy workshops, other forms of help (yoga, meditation, etc.). They would like help to be more accessible and free of charge. Family members, relatives and friends also help them to cope. The results show that family members and friends mostly responded positively to the news about OCD, with only two cases of a negative reaction. Relatives help by having conversations, giving advice and helping with tasks that the respondents find difficult to cope with on their own. Finally, in my master's thesis, I examine the interactions of my interviewees with social workers. The results show that none of the respondents have ever worked with a social worker in relation to OCD, but they still mention a number of ways in which they see social work as a possible contributor - e.g. providing support to respondents and their family members, providing education about the disorder, helping with life management. The results show that the respondents have never worked with a social worker in relation to OCD. Given the high prevalence of OCD - estimated to affect between 2.5% and 3.5% of adults, meaning that more than 50,000 people in Slovenia suffer from this disorder - much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the disorder and improve existing forms of support for sufferers.
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