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Video: New Survey Reveals More Than Half of Adults With OCD Say the Disorder Has a Negative Impact on Relationships at Home, Work and in Their Personal Life

Friday, March 14, 2008 General News
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WASHINGTON, March 13 More than half of adults withuntreated obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) reported their condition has anegative impact on important relationships -- at work, at home, and in theirpersonal life, according to a new national survey commissioned by the AnxietyDisorders Association of America (ADAA) and conducted by Harris Interactive.OCD is a debilitating anxiety disorder that affects more than 2 millionAmerican adults.
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http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/adaa/31979/

Of those who have received treatment for their OCD, 76 percent said it hada positive impact on their friendships, 67 percent (of those employed)reported a positive effect on their professional relationships and 62 percentreported a positive impact on their ability to have romantic relationships.
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In light of these findings, ADAA has launched the "Treat It, Don't RepeatIt: Break Free From OCD" campaign, a new initiative to educate Americans aboutthe signs and symptoms of OCD and provide information about how to talk with ahealth care professional about treatment options.

"Our research indicates nearly one-third of all people with OCD delaytreatment for 10 years or more following the appearance of their firstsymptoms," said Jerilyn Ross, MA, LICSW, President and CEO of ADAA. "We alsoknow that about half of adults who are not being treated believe that moreinformation about the benefits of the different treatments would make themmore likely to seek treatment for their OCD. The goal of our campaign is toprovide education and resources to help those with OCD gain a greaterunderstanding of this disorder and find effective help."

The "Treat it, Don't Repeat It: Break Free from OCD" initiative includesnotable spokespersons: Howie Mandel, host of the popular game show Deal or NoDeal, who has spoken publicly about living with OCD; David Hoberman, theco-creator and executive producer of the of the award-winning USA Networkseries Monk, who based the show on some of his personal experiences with OCD;and Tony Shalhoub, who stars as Adrian Monk, a private investigator with OCDon the series Monk. These spokespersons, along with Jerilyn Ross, are featuredin a series of television and radio public service announcements (PSAs) aboutOCD, which will begin airing nationwide this week.

"We are honored to have the involvement of Howie Mandel, David Hobermanand Tony Shalhoub as we work to help those affected by OCD break free from thedisorder and get the help they need to live fulfilling, productive lives,"Ross said.

A new Web site, http://www.treatocd.org, serves as an information resourcefor people with OCD, family members and health care professionals. The siteprovides a wealth of information about the disorder, including videosfeaturing OCD experts and people who are managing their symptoms andrecovering from OCD, as well as the campaign's PSAs and free educationalmaterials.

The "Treat It, Don't Repeat It: Break Free from OCD" campaign is madepossible through an unrestricted grant provided by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

About OCD

Affecting approximately 2.2 million American adults, OCD is an anxietydisorder in which people have unwanted and intrusive thoughts (obsessions) andrepeatedly perform ritualistic behaviors and routines (compulsions) to try toease their anxiety or distress. Although people with OCD generally know theseobsessions and compulsions are irrational and excessive, they feel as if theyhave little or no control over them. Some people spend many hours a dayperforming complicated rituals to ward off persistent, unwelcome thoughts,feelings or images or to try to make them go away.

About ADAA

The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is the leadingnational nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness andimproving the diagnos
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