If you're tired of the annoying and recurring symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, some natural remedies may help you get rid of them. OCD is one of those types of mental disorders that are characterized by obsessive thoughts or actions. Typical examples include repeated hand washing, repeated checking of certain actions (did you turn off the iron, put documents in your bag, closed the windows before leaving home).
Currently, this mental disorder does not have any special medical diagnostic test, so doctors define the disease according to several criteria, including the destruction of personal relationships, certain problems at work and in social life. After confirming the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes cognitive behavioral therapy, prescribes medications and advises some useful home treatments. Next, we will tell you what traditional medicine advises for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Milk thistle
This plant can keep up with advanced medications involved in the treatment of OCD. In a recent eight-week study, 600 mg of the plant extract was found to be as effective as 30 mg of fluoxetine (an antidepressant for anxiety disorders). Milk thistle contains the flavonoid silymarin, which improves mood by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Borage oil
Borage, or borage, produces oil that contains gamma-linolenic acid, a known anti-inflammatory agent. In one six-week study, 44 patients with OCD were given 500 mg of borage oil, while a control group of participants received a placebo. Already after 4 weeks of therapy in the first group, the symptoms of the disease significantly decreased; after another 6 weeks, patients reported a decrease in anxiety. Be careful, as GLA has contraindications, which include pregnancy and liver disease.
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Zinc
This essential micronutrient is found in foods such as fish, seafood, legumes, meat, nuts, whole grain cereals and milk. Experts believe that zinc can be classified as a neurotransmitter, as it plays an important role in modulating the brain and body's response to stress. But a deficiency of this macronutrient can lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety disorder and OCD. A 2012 study found that zinc levels were 69 percent lower in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder compared to people without obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: how to get rid of it yourself
The degree of success of self-medication mainly depends on the ability to self-control: if you have the will to stop worrying for no reason and stop performing illogical actions, then you can forget about neurosis.
A reminder for those trying to get rid of obsessive-compulsive disorder includes the following points:
- Collect information. Aware means armed. The more knowledge a person has regarding the nature of his problem, the easier it is to solve it. At a minimum, books and articles on the Internet.
- Learn to relax. Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises help reduce the severity of symptoms of neurosis. A calm person is less susceptible to worries and is not so eager to “be at the helm” all the time, controlling every little detail of his life.
- To communicate with people. You shouldn’t shut yourself off from the world, savoring your problem. It tends to grow to incredible proportions if it is in a closed space.
- Consciously increase the manifestation of symptoms of neurosis. If there is a need to draw a triangle with your finger on the table six times, then you need to increase the number of repetitions to the maximum possible. Even the most passionate neurotic person will get tired of depicting a geometric figure a hundred times in a row. Gradually this ritual will disappear from life.
- Switch attention. As soon as a panic thought arises in your head that “we’re all going to die, what a horror, I didn’t turn off the oven...”, you need to immediately turn your attention to something else. You can study in detail the outfit of any person nearby: while you count the buttons on his suit and try to determine the color of his socks, the obsession will be forgotten.
With due diligence, it is possible to get rid of obsessive-compulsive neurosis on your own. If nothing works out, then making an appointment with a specialist is not difficult. The main thing is to start.
Music therapy
Several scientific experiments have revealed the benefits of music for people with anxiety disorders. Choosing chords on your guitar can help you focus on musical harmony and take your attention away from obsessive thoughts. Playing musical instruments takes you away from stress, and in the long term (at least a month) relieves symptoms of obsession.
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St. John's wort
Here is another medicine that helps with various diseases. St. John's wort relieves symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but is not very effective in treating depression. The plant contains active components that act as monoamine reuptake inhibitors, which helps block the breakdown of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Experts believe that chemical imbalances in the brain play a role in the development of OCD symptoms. However, there is only scant evidence on this point. Therefore, if you want to use St. John's wort in home therapy, first consult your doctor. Warning: The active components of the plant may react with other medicinal substances, which may increase the risk of bleeding.
What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?
If you open WHO statistics, it turns out that every fourth person on the planet, one way or another, faces a certain mental disorder. Once upon a time, such people were isolated, ignored, and forcefully fed pills, which was not effective and destroyed the social connections of the patients. Today, an entire system is aimed at providing psychotherapeutic and psychological assistance to people with similar diagnoses.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder that is chronic, episodic, or progressive. Another name for it is obsessive-compulsive neurosis.
The pathology has two components: obsession and compulsion. Obsession is a compulsion; a person is overcome by regularly recurring emotions and thoughts. Compulsions are actions that are supposed to protect against them.
Obsession combined with compulsion leads to an attack of OCD. A simple, even primitive, but understandable example: a person with OCD is traveling on the subway. Suddenly he hears his seatmate coughing. A healthy person will not focus on this. A person with a disorder will miss the alarming thought that his neighbor may have the flu (at best). He begins to internally panic.
To protect himself from possible flu, a person begins to wash his hands excessively, too thoroughly and very often, and irrigate the nasal cavity. But compulsion is not necessarily motor, it can be mental: in this case, a person repeats the same phrase like a mantra, which he thinks will save him.
Today's statistics are contradictory: on average, it is believed to occur in 1-3 people per 100 adults, and 1 person per 200-500 children.
Obsessive phenomena in patients were diagnosed back in the era of Antiquity; they were part of the structure of melancholy. In the 19th century, the term “neurosis” appeared, and one of its forms, “the disease of doubt,” was described. OCD was classified as a psychopathy, a psychogenius, Freud attributed it to unconscious conflicts. It was believed that this was an endogenous psychosis (like schizophrenia). At the moment, the disease is classified as neuroses.
The disease is quite common: at the end of the 20th century, a large study showed that in the United States this diagnosis is the fourth most common among mental illnesses. Today's statistics are contradictory: on average, it is believed to occur in 1-3 people per 100 adults, and 1 person per 200-500 children. Perhaps the diagnosis is officially made less often than its symptoms are found, since the disease is stigmatized.
Meditation
People with OCD who confront their triggers on their own turn to the practice of meditation. The study, published in the journal Psychiatry, found that volunteers who meditated regularly were better able to manage obsessive thoughts and actions. One patient who took part in the experiment reported that he was almost completely able to get rid of the disease.
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Symptoms
The person himself is able to understand the artificiality of worries and fears, but he cannot do anything about it. Obsessive thoughts and strong fears interfere with his life, but he is unable to cope with them on his own.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder - symptoms:
- the appearance of disturbing thoughts and fears that are repeated;
- monotonous actions as a response to these thoughts;
- increased anxiety;
- high level of anxiety;
- panic attacks and phobias;
- eating disorders (most often, loss of appetite, inability to fully experience the taste of a dish).
There are people who are more susceptible to this pathology. Although certain features may not have been obvious previously, they become more acute as the disease progresses. For example, pedants and people obsessed with cleanliness and order most often suffer from OCD. They may lack a sense of humor. They are hyper-demanding (and to themselves too). It is difficult for them to make compromises, they are emotionally poor.
People with OCD are indecisive – the fear of making mistakes literally haunts them.
They need everything to be orderly: at home and at work. They become scared when the usual flow of things is disrupted. Attention! Signs of OCD are extremely rare in children. In childhood, the disease can occur after 10 years, and it is associated with the fear of losing something important. That’s why the child is afraid to let go of the parent’s hand and feels insecure in crowded places .
Exercises
Several small studies suggest that regular physical activity can improve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. One experiment showed that regular walks reduce intrusive thoughts. Even if you stop walking, the effects of therapy will last 4 to 6 weeks. Another study found that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise reduced OCD symptoms in just a week.
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It is worth observing a person’s behavior: perhaps his strange desire to lay out all the forks on the table every morning and then hide them in place is not a particularly fat “cockroach” living in the head, but simply a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The support of close relatives is very important for the patient. They should adhere to the following recommendations:
- Always remember that inappropriate behavior is a consequence of neurosis, and not a character flaw. There is no need to blame a person for something that he is not yet able to change;
- maintain a sense of humor. A funny, friendly joke allows the patient to look at his obsessive-compulsive habits from the outside;
- Maintain positive and open communication. There is no point in criticizing a neurotic person for actions committed under the influence of a disorder: it is the same as asking a pregnant woman to stop suffering from mood swings;
- do not participate in the patient’s rituals. If previously, because of a certain sense of community, the neurotic’s relatives supported him in all his “glorious” endeavors, such as the need to walk around the building three times before entering it, then it’s time to stop. If the compulsion does not have support, it will most likely fade away.
To one degree or another, obsessive-compulsive disorder is present in all people. And as long as ritual actions and obsessive thoughts do not bother anyone, there is no point in worrying. After all, what harm can come from believing that the habit of sitting in the same place on the bus brings good luck?
Light therapy
This method is especially suitable for people who suffer from exacerbation of mental illnesses in the autumn-winter period. With the onset of cold weather, seasonal affective disorder may come knocking on your door, which will bring even more blues, sadness and irritation. Combined with OCD symptoms, seasonal melancholy can unsettle you for a long time.
For treatment, you will have to purchase a special light box made of translucent material. This design easily transmits white light from a source located inside. You can sit next to the light box, do crafts, read or watch TV. The total exposure time to white light is 2 hours on a daily basis. In one scientific experiment, a woman was able to get rid of obsessive thoughts and other symptoms of obsession in 2 weeks. Over the next 16 months (until the following winter), the subject did not experience a relapse of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
