So ive got OCD tendencies big time.. in general ive been doing really well lately (in life) but this past week my OCD flared up again and its made me realize how much of my days are spent worrying.. its really exhausting.
90% of my fears are health based... mostly fears of injuring myself. For example, the other day, I accidentally touched my nose a bit too hard.. then started thinking 'what if i damaged my nose and my breathing is messed up for life' etc. which I know is totally illogical, but knowing that doesnt make the though disappear.. then I make the mistake of trying to re-assure myself.. 'theres no way you could damage your nose just form touching it too hard' etc. but all that seems to do is keep the fear alive.. then another mistake I make is trying to relive the original fear inducing event and approach it with a more rational mind.. so ill touch my nose again the same way and try and re-assure myself.. "see its not doing anything bad" .. but it just starts the same cycle of irrational thoughts over again.. This is just one example to give you an idea of the process but it repeats itself over and over again all day long many days.. unless im absorbed in something else.. but whenever I have free time by my self and nothing to do I get in to trouble. Its so exhausting.. its like it never stops? all day long im contending with my fear based mind instead of living in the moment.. it really sucks.. I think ive had tendencies like this since I was a little kid but the past few years its gotten a lot worse..
I was going out with a girl for a couple years and I had a lot of jealousy problems.. which I now realize were fueled by OCD.. everyday she was at work I would wonder if she was having sex with a co-worker etc.. and come up with these crazy ideas.. and stress myself out, but I never had any proof of such a thing happening and I really loved her..
The problem is.. I feel like I understand the OCD process, but when it goes on all day long - if you slip up a bit its so easy to get stuck back in a cycle of fear.
Anyone else been through this? Any advice? Im living my life as healthy as I can, I dont do drugs or drink - I try my best to eat really well and exercise and sleep well.. Is this from an imbalance in my brain on a physical level, or a physiological level.. are my neurotransmitters out of wack - or have I just found myself in a larger cycle or habit..
I'm sorry to hear you're struggling. I know what it's like to have your mind run off on you and cause anxiety and pain.
The angle I'm taking with this is looking into your omega 3 fatty acid status. The fatty acids from fish and fish oil and somewhat from flax and flaxseeds (though harder to break down) can affect our thought processes if we don't have enough.
I would take 3 g. of fish oil a day for 2 weeks and see if that helps. Some professionals say 3 to 9 grams a day. Garden of Life, Carlsons and Norwegian Naturals are good brands.
I tend to think many of our mental and physical health issues can be helped with nutrients if we are lacking.
Moxsum, here's an old trick which might work in your case. When you possibly don't have one of those moments try to make yourself feel like you are having one. That's all there is to it. Lots of luck.
I think we all have a bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in our lives. I find myself re-checking things before I go out, like if the door is locked, stove off, etc.
Maybe if you begin to acknowledge that the OCD behavior in itself, in your particular situation, is actually affecting your overall health, it might help you adopt a new outlook on things. Blowing the physical things that may hurt us out of proportion, may have more of a negative effect on our emotional and mental health as the action itself. Therefore, defeating the purpose of the original concern...food for thought.
Inositol works for quite a lot of OCD sufferers. If you try it you have to stick with it as it may be a while before you get any improvement. It helps with sleep as well. Try taking 2 grams 2 times a day initially.
Quote:
A study in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates that the B vitamin inositol can be as effective in treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as powerful drugs such as Prozac and Luvox.
In a double-blind, cross-over study, Israeli researcher Mendel Fux and colleagues administered high doses of inositol (18 g/day) to 13 individuals whose chronic OCD symptoms had not been alleviated by drugs, or who could not tolerate the side effects of the medications. For the first few weeks, the researchers report, inositol made no difference in symptoms. After six weeks, however, treatment with the nutrient resulted in marked improvements. The study authors conclude, “Inositol is effective in depression, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
The Harvard Mental Health Letter notes that according to the study, inositol “appeared to work as well and as quickly as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIS) fluvoxamine (Luvox) and fluoxetine (Prozac), which are accepted treatments for OCD.”
No side effects were seen in subjects taking inositol. A long-term study of inositol treatment, by a different research group, found no side effects in individuals taking 1,000 to 3,000 mg daily for up to a year. However, Fred Penzel—who reports that about 60 percent of patients with OCD seem to improve when taking inositol-notes that the nutrient occasionally causes diarrhea and intestinal gas when taken at high doses. These symptoms, avoid them, he recommends reducing the dosage, taking inositol with meals, and/or dividing the daily intake into three doses.
While the Israeli researchers administered 18 grams per day of inositol to their subjects, Penzel reports that “some people improve on as little as 2 grams.” Like the Israeli team, Penzel cautions against expecting instant results. “It may take several weeks to see any effect,” he says, "although some have responded within two weeks."
Inositol, a nutrient, helps the liver manage fat and functions as a cell growth factor by stimulating the body to manufacture a type of fat used to construct myelinated nerve material. According to nutrition researcher Jeffrey Bland, “Inappropriately low amounts of inositol can reduce nerve growth and regeneration.” Sheldon Hendler notes that “although clear-cut deficiency states of myo-inositol (the nutritionally active form of inositol) have not been identified in humans, they have been described in other animals." Inositol is currently used to treat sensory nerve problems in diabetics, and new research suggests that supplemental inositol taken by pregnant diabetic women can dramatically reduce the incidence of neural tube defects in their children.
Editor's note: The new findings about inositol are of great importance to parents who need help in treating their children's crippling OCD symptoms, but are afraid of the potential side effects of powerful drugs. One such parent, Kathi Basehore, wrote us recently to say that she had taken her daughter off Prozac when side effects developed. When she read of the inositol study, she started her daughter on the nutrient. At the initial low dosage, she saw no effects; but when she increased the dosage, her daughter's teacher-who had threatened to pull the girl out of several due to her behavior problems--suddenly reported that she was “great”, “excellent”, “wonderful!” Basehore says her daughter “notes when it wears off (after 8 or 9 hours) that she doesn't feel too happy.”
“Inositol treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder,” Mendel Fux, Joseph Levine, Alex Aviv, and R.H. Belmaker; American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.153, No.9, September 1996, pp.1219-1221.
“Inositol for OCD”, Harvard Mental Health Letter, December 1996. And Letter, Fred Penzel; OCD Newsletter, April 1996, page 5. Address: Fred Penzel, Western Suffolk Psychological Services, Huntington, NY.
Thanks for the suggestion of Inositol.. certainly looks promosing, so many good reviews - im impressed..
Normally I try not to even take supplements (apart from a multivitamin shake) - but this does look interesting..
My only concern is, I start taking it and find it really effective.. then.. when do I stop taking it? What is inositol anyway? I need to look into it.. do we get it from food? I feel like if I take some chemical my body makes long enough it could change my chemistry or make the body stop producing it, itself?
It seems like with OCD sometimes its a lack of serotonin in the brain..
Inositol is found in foods mostly vegetables and also at low levels in Vitamin B complex supplements.
You cant get enough Inositol from foods to help with OCD however, that is why a seperate supplement is required. It works by helping to increase seretonin levels which have been found to be low in OCD sufferers,and yes you would have to keep taking it to remain clear of OCD if you found it is initially effective.
Does anyone know if high dopamine would cause serotonin to go low?
Because ive had some addictions habits over the years to dopamine boosting stuff like pot etc.. which have been artificially upping my dopamine levels.. do neurotransmitters work like hormones? Where if one goes too high the others go low?
Also, whats the relation to inositol and phytic acid? Im sitll learning about it but atleast one type of inositol is basically phytic acid I believe? Obviously phytic acid isnt a good thing to ingest? But maybe myo-inositol is a different type of inositol?
Does anyone know if high dopamine would cause serotonin to go low?
Because ive had some addictions habits over the years to dopamine boosting stuff like pot etc.. which have been artificially upping my dopamine levels.. do neurotransmitters work like hormones? Where if one goes too high the others go low?
No low serotonin does not cause high dopamine levels, but in some illnesses they are linked. Most commonly, however low serotonin runs hand in hand with low dopamine .
Also, whats the relation to inositol and phytic acid? Im sitll learning about it but at least one type of inositol is basically phytic acid I believe? Obviously phytic acid isnt a good thing to ingest? But maybe myo-inositol is a different type of inositol?
Nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits, and especially rice bran, supply phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate, or IP6), which releases inositol when acted on by bacteria in the digestive tract.
Phytic acid is not a poison except to cancer cells and a lot of research has been done on IP6 and cancer. It also acts as a heavy metal chelator.
OCD - obsessive / irrational fears
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