by Lizzie Elzingre

Created on: February 22, 2009

The 14th to the 16th century Europe believed that people who experienced blasphemous, sexual, or other obsessive thoughts are evil possessed. Because of this reasoning, treatment involved banishing the "wicked" from the "possessed" person through exorcism to stop the "obsessive" thoughts.

The preoccupation of the thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, and desire over a longer period of time than intended is obsession. These obsessive ideas are diverse psychic actions and are extremely distressing. Obsessions may be wishes, temptations, impulses, reflections, doubts, fear, commands, and prohibitions.

Most common themes are aggression, contamination, harm, illness, religion, sexuality, and violence. The frustrating aspect of obsessive behavior is the irrationality taken up by the person to himself for the sake of the anticipated pleasure.

Obsessions, eventually, has to end once it makes the person unable to focus because of the fixed and deep-rooted craving to perform the repetitive behavior in order to control the anxiety resulting from these thoughts.

What are Obsessions?

Everyone keeps up with a daily routine. However, there are instances that these habits can get in the way of people's daily lives once they turn into obsessive thoughts. When they do run through the person's mind repeatedly, people become nervous and afraid.

Obsessions with fears of evil thoughts, of harming others and of certain sounds, images, words, or numbers can hamper any normal life. People turn to alcohol or drugs to alleviate anxiety and to be free of the distressing thoughts, temporarily.

In the same way, obsessions are intrusive and irrational like washing one's hands repeatedly due to the fear of contact with dirt, and germs including contamination.

Obsession also evolves from a deep fear of hateful zealots who view others as targets. When people develop an obsession with intruders, they may lock and re-lock their doors many times until they feel safe and secure. It is a simple routine gone wrong.

Being obsessed with people brings about confusion and insecurity. Obsessing on people complicates the difference between love, lust, and desire. On the other hand, they can be delightful for as long as control rules over these feelings.

Likewise, obsession with people can create a certain level of distrust like worrying that a task is not over and done properly even when this is not true. It can also be a fixated concern with order, symmetry, perfection, exactness, or truth.

Uncontrollable

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>