Does anyone on here know of any natural medicines/supplements/vitamins to take to make ocd a little bit more bearable? I’m getting to the point now that I feel like I can’t function and I’m struggling so much. I’ve been on prescribed medication before and it doesn’t agree with me at all so looking to see if there’s any sort of natural aid that could help ease it a little?
I’m taking b12, magnesium glycinate and L-Theanine
I have a vitamin B12 shot monthly as I have pernicious anemia (low vitamin b12). My partner gives it to me since they are a RN.
Hi! I’ve been taking 5-htp at night Lions Mane during the day and have seen some improvement. Wishing you well in your recovery!
@Roses2021 Thank you so much! Will look into it :)
I am currently trying ashwagandha which is a supplement my primary care dr told me about. The research I’ve done on it shows it’s incredibly affective for anxiety. I’ve only just started so I can’t say how it works for me but you could look into it! It also wasn’t very expensive
@Anonymous Does it make you sleepy? I got some and it made me sleepy but I want to be able to take it without feeling that way. Any tips?
I’m not aware of natural things for OCD. I just take my meds.
D3 but only if yours is low. Mindfulness also helps - one I can actually use is the 5-4-3-2-1 senses one -it’s quick and no one knows you are doing it
Tried St. John's wort. Not much of a difference. Took it too long, it made me feel aggressive towards myself. Do not recommend. Then there is Inositol. Great stuff. It helps with a lot of things, women's issues, immunity,.... you name it, but for ocd you need to take a lot higher dosages daily, and by a lot I mean A LOOOT higher, 18g a day. To compare: for depression or pcos or boosting your immune system anything from 400mg to 2 g helps. It also helps animals. It tastes sweet, like sugar, but less sweet. It is easy to dissolve the powder in juice, tea, water,... but with dosages like 18 g, the side effects were just to unpleasant for me: bloating, Gass, going to the toilet way more often (No 2),... I felt more relaxed but not so much better that it would be worth for me to tolerate the side effects. I would definitely recommend inositol for all other problems, just with ocd I guess it's up to every person if they want to try it and see how it goes for them. It can't hurt, it does help with a lot of things (if you take it +vitamin C in winter) you will never catch a cold or a virus. Even if you do start coming down with sth, it is a lot milder and goes away in a day or two and not in a week or two. Vitamin B12, Magnesium, Omega 3, vit D3, Zinc,... all affect our mental health, but they won't cure ocd. The lack will worsen it. It is helpful to have them leveled. But the ocd won't get scared. Like Matthew said, medicine does help. If one doesn't, there are others. The side effects can be hard to deal with sometimes. Then again, one needs to decide if the benefits outweigh the side effects. Mindfulness helps. Just like D3, B12,... It won't cure it, BUT DEFINITELY makes coping easier. Hope I help a bit. Good luck.
I assume you are doing erp therapy which is ultimately what helps ocd the most
ErinP, I don't know if you asked me or sob97. I can answer for me. Depends. Most people, yes. Not all, though. I was told to do it. But my therapist didn't offer any support. She just told Mr to go out and do it every day. I had a job back then. She offered no guidance, no support. It didn't work. There is not a single therapist for ocd, let alone for ETP in my country. And since I 've been jobless for 4 years due to Covid and Ocd, I can' t afford Erp at NOCD. I have full insurance, but NOCD doesn't accept it.
@NODA Sorry 😞. ERP worked a bit for me. My insurance not accepted by NOCD. I paid out of pocket for a while, but have stopped. I haven’t worked in 10 years. What country?
@Matthew L. Hallo, Matthew. Sorry to hear your insurance is also not accepted by NOCD and that you had to pay from your own pocket. It costs a fortune, doesn't it? It's unfair, isn't it? We all pay insurance, and some people get the help and other, like you and me, can't because of someone's decision which insurance company will be accepted by NOCD or will cooperate with NOCD. I am terribly sorry you haven't worked in 10 years. Due to Ocd? How are you coping financially? I would be lost without my husband. He earns just enough for both of us to get by. But that is at the same time another reason for my anxiety, because there is always fear at the back of my head repeating :"What if...., God forbid." Scares me to death every single day. How are you? How's your family?
@NODA You’re right about the insurance. I’m not sure how much ERP was helping me. Over a number of months, I changed a few things. My parents, thankfully both had careers, & are retired, are my financial source. I’ll be well set when they’re gone. I feel bad how much money my mental condition costs. Hope you’re doing well.
@Matthew L. To tell you the truth, I am not sure how much ERP would help me. I would try it, if I had the chance, but... It's hard for me to give in, not to react to the demand of doing the compulsions, because of the nature of my obsessions and compulsions. If I don't take a shower or clean immediately, later on the ritual will spread and take hours instead of up to an hour if I did it immediately. I feel dirty if I don't do it now, and later I will have to clean everything I will have touched from the start of the opsession till the time I take a shower. I am not scared of physical dirt on me or things, I am not scared of bacteria or viruses. I feel emotionally dirty and disgusted by the trigger and it feels as if I were really physically dirty. ErinP posted a link about disgust ocd. I might find sth there for me. At least to understand it better. Matthew, you come from a loving family. Intelligent and caring people. I am sure they gladly finance anything that might help you with ocd, depression,... Don't feel bad. If I am not butting in where I have no business business to do so, I think that you should let your parents know every now and then how much you appreciate their support and how thankful you are. I believe they would do ang give anything to see you completely healthy and happy. I am happy, truly happy for you that you don't need to worry about your financial situation now and in the future. I think I would feel a looot better if I didn't have to worry about that. It causes extra anxiety, fear, ocd. I am OK, thank you. A bit under the weather but I hope it gets better soon. Uow are you doing? I hope you are well. In case if ocd or anxiety or depression strikes, you know I am here for you to talk. Best wishes. 🍀🤗😃
@NODA Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m not sure how much I use ERP. I do things in a certain way, but try not to ruminate afterwards. I’m not bothered by viruses or bacteria/dirt. I’ve shown appreciation to my parents. I help them out a lot, since they’re getting older. They appreciate me. I feel bad that I’m a financial liability, which they say I’m not. Hope you’re feeling better. I’m okay. Best wishes.
When I said it doesn't help all I meant not like with my ex therapist. That was not ETP the proper way. I meant even with a therapist like these at NOCD, some people just can't get relief doing it.
@NODA Sorry you had a poor therapist and erp is not available/ doesn’t help you. If your ocd is based in feeling disgust instead of fear or doubt this can be true - here’s an article about that: https://anxietycamp.wordpress.com/2021/10/13/disgust-based-ocd-thoughts-on-a-new-treatment-protocol/ Tms is also an option for treatment resistant ocd. Hoping you can get some relief.
Thank you so much. I will check it right now. You are an angel. You help me more than you can imagine. Every link helps me learn more. By the way how are you doing? I hope you are great. Love you! Thanks. ❤️😇
@NODA Thank you for your kind words. I am going to start going through various links people have posted for others help me learn more. I’ve had headaches for 3 weeks and then stomach issues for at least two weeks both of which set me back but I’m regaining ground again. ❤️
Hello, Erin. I am so sorry to read about your headaches and stomach trouble. I hope they'll soon be gone. It is hard to find in depth info on specific issue with ocd. Especially because most pages just give general, in my opinion naive, descriptions of ocd. It takes time and effort to find sth really helpful, so your recommendations and as you mentioned others' are worth a lot. Today me and my hubby went to an old castle, about 30 min by car from where we live. The castle is big. It was built over 1000 years ago, in year 960 sth. But it was robbed after world war and the interior is not much. But then we went for a walk nearby towards a monument. It was pastures, grass, flowers in bloom all around us. It was so beautiful. I focused on noticing as many small flowers as possible. You know those beautiful, small flowers in the fields, that people usually just walk by and noone even knows their names. People usually know daisies, forget-me-nots and that is almost it. There were no cars, no trees, no people around. Beautiful. Now I'm home and I am starting to feel a bit down. Thinking about painful things. Kind of depressed. I hope it's just because the weather is unstable. I will be doing some more reading and research based on your links tomorrow and the following days. Today I am just super sleepy. Well, it's 6.15 p.m. here. The evening is closing in. Have a nice, calm headache and stomach pain free evening. You are in my thoughts. ❤️
@NODA Thank you for your good wishes and sharing. I’m glad you had a good day and hoping you have refreshing and peaceful sleep. 🫶
Does anyone have any recommendations on all natural supplements that help with their ocd? (Obviously not ERP and CBT therapy). I am having a hard time deciding on if I should get on meds or not. Unsure of if they make a huge positive impact.
Any natural vitamins? I was prescribed sertraline for my anxiety and OCD.. but i have yet to take it because reading the reviews has scared me.. i’ve tried a lot but haven’t really stuck with anything long enough.. happy saffron plus gave me horrible headaches but i do think it boosted my mood but i’ve been praying heavily also so i can’t give all credit to that.. but i’ve gotten off and feel like blah again.. anybody tried magnesium?
Hey everyone! Sending love and support for all of you managing your OCD (We’ve got this!!). I’ve had a very rough week— I just tried out Prozac and had an AWFUL physical + mental response to it, so I am going off of it after about 9 days. My spirals have taken an intense physical toll on me and it’s been extremely hard to eat properly/stomach anything. I am curious about the holistic health end of things. Does anyone have experience with taking magnesium supplements and/or multivitamins to help deal with stress and anxiety? How have they made you feel, and have they helped ease your mind a little? Any recommendations? How do you deal with the physical effects of your OCD?
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