Kudoshäiriöissä

Kudoshäiriöissä, or Kudosh disorders, is a term used in Finnish to describe a group of mental health conditions characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. These disorders fall under the broader category of anxiety disorders. The core feature is the presence of obsessions, which are recurrent, persistent, and intrusive thoughts, urges, or images that cause significant distress or anxiety. Individuals experiencing obsessions often try to ignore or suppress them, or neutralize them with another thought or action, known as a compulsion.

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rigid rules. The purpose of these compulsions is to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress, or to prevent some dreaded event or situation. However, these behaviors are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.

Common themes for obsessions include contamination, harm, symmetry, and forbidden thoughts. Consequently, common compulsions might involve excessive washing, checking, ordering, or counting. The distress and time consumed by these obsessions and compulsions significantly interfere with a person's daily life, social relationships, and occupational or academic functioning. Diagnosis is made based on the presence of obsessions and compulsions, and the significant distress or impairment they cause. Treatment typically involves psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP), and sometimes medication, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).