THE NATURAL CAUSES OF OCD:
A BIO-PSYCHO-CULTURAL DISORDER
Over the last three or four decades, by virtue of an unprecedented international research effort, the natural cause of obsessions and compulsions has been revealed. It is now clear that the OCD arises out of a combination of specific psychological, cultural, and biological factors. This is not uncommon for medical disorders. Blood pressure, for instance, is caused by chemical changes in blood vessels; but it is also directly related to psychological stress, and to a certain personality organization–the “type A,” characterized by hostility, competitiveness, and time urgency. It is also very much a cultural disorder. Migrations from rural to urban settings have been repeatedly shown to result in outbreaks of its occurrence. In high blood pressure and OCD alike, the causes are hard to tease apart. One may stand out in a given case, but it is difficult to speak about which is more fundamental.