AboutDan Smith Expertise I have been a professional writer and editor for more than 30 years, taught speech and English composition at the university level, and have developed speech and English composition courses and seminars for businesses. I am experienced in editing a wide variety of materials, especially business, scientific, and other academic papers. I am familiar with all the major style guides.
Experience I have edited any number of graduate papers and other technical materials in such advanced fields as civil and electrical engineering and semiconductor fabrication. I have extensive experience in working with non-native English speakers.
Question I have written a research paper on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I was wondering if you could edit my paper for me. It's around 750 words. Here it is:
OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER
WHAT IS OCD?
What was once thought to be a rare mental disease is now commonplace. Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is defined by relentless repetition of either obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions are an intrusive preoccupation attached with coerce motivation of images, thoughts, or ideas. Compulsions are an irresistible impulse to perform senseless, irrational acts. Victims of OCD may have either obsessions, compulsions, or a combination of both. In the United States, approximately 3.3 million people have OCD. This statistic out ranks other mental abnormalities such as: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and panic disorder. Even though OCD affects all ethnic groups and between the sexes, in children, it is more prominent in boys.
CAUSES
Any causes of OCD are still to be found. Researchers have thought that it might be a chemical imbalance in the brain. We do know that certain processes in the brain are overactive in OCD. Although there may be a genetic inheritance to OCD, family members may have completely different types. Bad parenting and subconscious feelings of shame, or a need for manipulating others are two common myths concerning the causes of OCD. The most current form of scanning for OCD is using a positron emission tomography (PET). PET scans were used to compare the brains having OCD and brains that do not. The research concluded that people with OCD have different brain activity than those without the disorder.
SYMPTOMS
Many sufferers never tell anyone that they have symptoms of OCD. The most common symptoms include: checking, cleaning, collecting and counting. Checking to see if lights, appliances, and faucets are off, doors are locked, numbers are correct, and forms filled out correctly. Cleaning or washing hands, showering or bathing oneself over and over, and decontaminating various objects. Hoarding mail or trash and saving everything. Even to the extreme of picking up public trash on the streets and taking it with you. Many people have a “magic number” they like to count to or they count objects over and over again before being able to move on.
TREATMENT
Knowing when to find help can be made easier when you consider the following: observe your daily rituals and determine whether they interfere with your life and take up a considerable amount of time. You are the best person to determine when you are in need of professional help. However, you are also at risk of overlooking other aspects of your behavior. Thus, you are better off leaving the decision of the diagnosis to a professional. It is important to educate yourself about OCD so that you will have confidence in knowing that there is hope for treatment. For children and grown-ups, Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the recommended choice in treatment of OCD. This method is also highly effective in treating other forms of anxiety. However, because of the lack of expertise in physicians, many people cannot obtain the treatment. The cognitive element in CBT encourages change in thinking patterns to overcome panic and fear. The behavioral element in CBT focuses on changing people's responses to certain anxiety related scenarios. This works by having the therapist expose a particular fear that the patient has. The patient is forced to confront that fear while the therapist prohibits the obsessive-compulsive response. After a number of exposures, the anxiety will eventually subside and go away.
MEDICATIONS
Antidepressants are the only medications that have shown consistency in effective treatment of OCD. This is true mainly because of the relationship and interaction with a chemical known as serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical made by the brain to communicate nerve cells to other neurons. Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently the medications of choice for the treatment of both childhood and adult anxiety disorders. This particular class of drugs include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa), and escitalopram (Lexapro). However, the use of SSRIs are limited to the use of Prozac, Zoloft, and Luvox in the treatment of children by the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Typically, SSRIs little to no side-effects at all. Usually, known reported side-effects include headache, stomachache or nausea, sleep changes, and jitteriness or agitation. SSRIs are most effective when taken on a consistant daily basis. Taking this on an “as needed” basis may inhibit stable and effective medication levels. Although SSRIs have no evidence of any addictive qualities, if medication is discontinued quickly, dizziness, nausea, headache, and changes in behavior may occur. Do not increase or decrease the dosage without consulting a physician.
Answer OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER
WHAT IS OCD?
What was once thought to be a rare mental disease is now commonplace. Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is defined by relentless repetition of either obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions are an intrusive preoccupation attached with coerce motivation of images, thoughts, or ideas. Compulsions are an irresistible impulse to perform senseless, irrational acts. Victims of OCD may have either obsessions, compulsions, or a combination of both. In the United States, approximately 3.3 million people have OCD. This statistic outranks other mental abnormalities such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and panic disorder. Even though OCD affects all ethnic groups and sexes, in children it is more prominent in boys.
CAUSES
The causes of OCD are still to be identified. Researchers once thought that it might be the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. We do know that certain processes in the brain are overactive in OCD. Although there may be a genetic inheritance to OCD, family members may have completely different types. Bad parenting, subconscious feelings of shame, or a need to manipulate others have been commonly offered as causes of OCD, but the simple fact is that we do not know what causes it.
The most current form of scanning for OCD uses a positron emission tomography (PET). PET scans were used to compare the brains having OCD and brains that do not. The research concluded that people with OCD have different brain activity than those without the disorder.
SYMPTOMS
Many sufferers never tell anyone that they have symptoms of OCD. The most common symptoms include checking, cleaning, collecting, and counting. Cleaning or washing hands, showering or bathing oneself over and over, and decontaminating various objects are also symptoms, as are hoarding mail or trash and saving everything. People with OCD may eve go to the extreme of picking up public trash on the streets and taking it with them. Many people have a “magic number” they like to count to, or they count objects over and over again before being able to move on. (You went very wrong in this paragraph and made a whole bunch of nonsentences. You have to make real sentences in an essay. Also, you are using the colon incorrectly. It is not needed to introduce a series in the way you are doing it. Just say, "The people who went included John, Jane, and Mary." No punctuation before the series is called for.)
TREATMENT
(Don't use the 2nd person in this kind of an essay.) Knowing when to find help can be made easier for those with OCD if they observe their daily rituals and determine whether they interfere with life and take time that is justified on their merits. As with many psychiatric disorders, individuals often have to determine on their own when they are in need of professional help. But once the fundamental need is recognized, going it alone puts them at risk of overlooking other aspects of behavior. Thus, they are better off leaving diagnosis and treatment decisions to professionals. It is important for patients to be educated about OCD so that they will have hope for treatment.
For children and grown-ups, Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the recommended choice in treatment of OCD. This method is also highly effective in treating other forms of anxiety. However, because most physicians lack expertise in treating the disorder, many people fail to obtain the proper treatment. The cognitive element in CBT encourages change in thinking patterns to overcome panic and fear. The behavioral element in CBT focuses on changing people's responses to certain anxiety related scenarios. This works by having the therapist expose a particular fear that the patient has. The patient is forced to confront that fear while the therapist prohibits the obsessive-compulsive response. After a number of exposures, the anxiety will eventually subside and go away.
MEDICATIONS
Antidepressants are the only medications that have shown consistency in effective treatment of OCD. This is true mainly because of the relationship and interaction with a chemical known as serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical made by the brain to allow communication between neurons. Selective Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently the medications of choice for the treatment of both childhood and adult anxiety disorders. This particular class of drugs includes fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalopram (Celexa), and escitalopram (Lexapro). However, the only SSRIs approved byt eh Food and Drug Administration for use in treating children are Prozac, Zoloft, and Luvox. Typically, SSRIs have few side-effects, though some patients experience headaches, stomachache or nausea, sleep changes, and jitteriness or agitation. SSRIs are most effective when taken on a consistant daily basis. Taking them on an “as needed” basis may prevent patients from attaining stable and effective medication levels. Although SSRIs have no known addictive qualities, if medication is discontinued quickly dizziness, nausea, headache, and changes in behavior may occur. Patients should not increase or decrease the dosage without consulting a physician.
Try this and hope it helps.
I made some parenthetical comments that you should read.
