A person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a victim of a problem that is worth talking about and working on. I’ve had Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) for years, and now that I’ve gotten over it, I’d like to help you get it too.
My Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) healing story is full of failed therapies, difficulties, and frustrations, but most importantly, I was finally healed. I admit it, healing is not easy, there are many difficulties, the limitations of the different psychological therapies; and sometimes resistance and self-sabotage appear that must be overcome. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it doesn’t even mean it’s unlikely.
I spent several thousand dollars trying all kinds of psychological therapies, and I spent many hundreds of hours searching for information on Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and on psychology in general in my desperate attempt to heal myself. My wish is that you don’t have to waste time and money trying everything as I did.
The first step if you want to successfully heal yourself is to take responsibility for committing yourself to a treatment, the treatment that I will explain to you as we continue learning.
What is Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
OCD is defined by an intrusive and persistent thought, i.e. an obsession, which does not leave the mind until one has made a particular gesture called ritual: moving an object, checking the door, rereading a paragraph. People with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) know that only this gesture can calm the mind. Otherwise, it goes round and round, it stays in the head.
When they become an obstacle to a family or professional life, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) prevent those who are victims of them from living properly. Much research has been done regarding this disorder (and the studies have not stopped, fortunately), so it is known that the typical “vicious circle” that surrounds a patient can be broken at any time in his life. It is possible, then, to eliminate OCD by engaging in the process of change proposed by the professional (psychologist or psychiatrist).
What are the signs of this disease?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is most often presented as a combination of rituals, obsessions, and avoidance.
Compulsions
Compulsions are behaviors that the subject usually cannot help but perform (“I know I shouldn’t do it, but I can’t help it”). They represent a repetitive compulsion, the person is most of the time aware of their absurdity. The compulsions consist, beyond the rituals qualified as “usual” (those of everyday life), in acts of verification, repetition, disinfection, prayers, or repetition of magic formulas. One also encounters behaviors of arrangement and alignment. Rarer is the “slow obsessive syndrome”, characterized by a significant slowness in performing non-automated acts.
Obsessions
Obsessions” are thoughts, mental images, or impulses that burst into the person’s consciousness in specific situations., which are repetitive and intrusive, generate aversive emotional responses: anxiety, fear, panic, uneasiness, disgust, shame. Unlike the worries that can be found in certain anxiety disorders (generalized , panic disorder, phobias) and depressive disorders, obsessions represent the fear of causing harm to others and/or oneself inadvertently, lack precaution.
Avoidance behaviors
Alongside compulsions and obsessions, “avoidance behaviors”, open as well as covert, consist of active attitudes of not coming into contact with situations (people, places, objects) likely to trigger the obsessions. For example, avoiding leafing through the file of a patient thought to be HIV-positive, handling only small, round-tipped knives so as not to injure one’s spouse during the meal.
How to retrain your brain from OCD?
Do you worry all the time or suffer from obsessions? If so, this is likely to interfere with the quality of your daily life. But did you know that it is possible to train your brain to stop doing it?
When you suffer from compulsions and / or thoughts, this can get in the way of your life.
In any case, know that it is possible to live well with it, to reduce it in such a way that it does not bother you so much.
Compulsive actions often occur together with obsessive thoughts. You feel that you have to do something to prevent something from going wrong. That feeling is so strong that you are going to meet it.
As a result, you are busy with all kinds of useless compulsions or a head full of compulsive thoughts. Which you know are meaningless, but you can’t leave them anyway.
If you are bothered by this and want to get rid of it, then it is good to seek help. With help, many people manage to suffer much less from it.
Because it takes real perseverance and a long breath, it works well to have an external person with you, who helps you stay on track and full.
Practice mindfulness throughout the day
You cannot assimilate information unless you are paying attention. We know that practicing mindfulness can help us improve our productivity, as well as strengthen our attention. Mindfulness trains our brains to focus better and get off obsessions, making each time we notice that our minds are distracted, we intentionally direct our attention to what we were doing.
Exercise your body
Aerobic exercise is great for the body and brain. Physical exercise has also been shown to strengthen the brain. Exercise affects the brain in multiple ways: it increases the heart rate pumping enough oxygen to your brain and facilitates the release of countless hormones from the body, that help in the growth of brain cells.
Researchers have found that in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, the part of the brain associated with guilt is very active. One of the key characteristics of OCD is the spiraling build-up of anxiety and guilt.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: how to get out of it alone?
I will suggest the alternative method used by the majority of holistic therapies, that is to say, methods that take the human being as a whole without worrying about the symptom, in our case of OCD.
If you suffer from the compulsive disorder, I strongly advise you to follow this guide to the end. The obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by both a mental disorder and a behavioral disorder.
On the one hand, the person suffers from mental obsessions which are pervasive thoughts that generate fears, anxieties, and compulsions.
And on the other, all these compulsive thoughts also generate concrete actions such as repetitive gestures or having to count or recite a sentence, etc. Sometimes, certain thoughts are so strong that the individual is afraid to take action and harm others, this will be called impulse phobia.
But clearly, the mind has become the head in your head and you no longer have your hand.
For example, we can find obsessions concerning:
- fear of being contaminated, the person will wash 10 times a day,
- the need for symmetry and accuracy, the person will place an object in a very precise direction and will not support it being placed otherwise
- the impression of being followed or oppressed, it can even go as far as paranoia
But in truth, there are hundreds of possibilities depending on the individuals, aggressive thoughts, phobias, sexual fantasies, paranoias, etc … so many subjects that can become obsessive for the individual.
Conventional medicine accurately diagnoses the disorder and prescribe drugs that will quickly eliminate the symptoms. Alternative medicine will completely forget the symptom and focus on the real cause, or the possible causes. In anxiety disorders, it is always the same protocol that is used, in any case, in yoga therapy, which is based on traditional Ayurvedic medicine also including yoga.
How to heal and naturally eliminate your obsessive thoughts?
The first place to take care is probably not your brain where all your problems are manifested, but your second brain, ie your intestines.
Your intestines are lined with millions of neurons and directly connected to your brain through the vagus nerve. But the real cause is that your intestines produce a hormone vital for the proper functioning of your mind, I named serotonin and dopamine.
Serotonin is a hormone that promotes well-being and relaxation, and more than 95% of this hormone is produced in your intestines.
Besides, do you know that most of the drugs treating anxiety disorders have an action on your serotonin level? But that’s not all, the intestines also produce dopamine, the hormone of happiness and love.
Now imagine that you have inflamed intestines, in very bad condition, and well this directly impacts your mind with all possible anxiety disorders.
The first solution is therefore to review your diet. It is the basis of all alternative holistic medicines. The goal is truly to have healthy bowels. But that’s not all, there is a very important part of the brain to normalize as well. It is the reptilian brain, which manages our stress and more generally the survival of our body.
One of the most common mistakes is to think that a mental problem is a thought problem. Your thoughts are dependent on your unconscious brain, that is, on your reptilian animal brain. In other words, if your reptilian brain is agitated because of stress, it will impact your neocortex, ie your human thinking brain which will generate negative and obsessive thoughts.
But if your reptilian brain is calm, in other words, if your unconscious is light, without any unconscious emotional and psychological blocking, what happens? Well, your neocortex also remains calm and serene. The solution is therefore to soothe and calm your inner animal, which corresponds to your reptilian brain. There are two quick techniques to do this.
A natural solution to cure OCD
The first, we have already talked about, is to regenerate your intestines, because if is in poor conditions generate a lot of stress on your reptilian brain.
Besides the intestines are directly connected to the reptilian by the vagus nerve. And the second is to learn to breathe well. Breathing is managed automatically by the reptilian brain. But if you learn to handle your breathing properly, you can learn to calm it down as much as possible.
This is the reason why breathing is used in all alternative therapies.
So here it is, to naturally cure OCD, an obsessive behavior disorder. All the physical and mental disorders that can be associated, the most effective alternative solution is to regenerate your intestines and relearn how to breathe well 24 hours a day.
How to cure OCD
What can I expect from OCD? Will I be cured? Will it go away on its own? Or I will be able to lead a normal life? OCD is considered a chronic, episodic disorder, meaning that its usual course is that, throughout life.
There will be periods when there are symptoms and others when there are not. However, there are cases in which OCD is cured and obsessions are no longer present, but the percentage of cases of spontaneous remission is only 10%.
With the right therapy, cases of remission can reach 85 percent. It is possible to lead a completely normal life despite OCD. The probability of OCD disappearing on its own is quite low, so no time should be lost once symptoms appear to start therapy.
The most suitable therapies to treat OCD, but also small manias, are Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (CBT). They aim to teach the brain, which has recorded bad habits through repetition, healthier behaviors. The goal is that the person is no longer “forced” to do things that he does not want to do, ie these famous rituals that are imposed on him.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a proven effective method to work on your compulsive disorder. Also, the treatment can be (temporarily) supported by medication.
The treatment focuses on a gradual confrontation with the compulsive disorder. Treatment usually consists of:
- relaxation and breathing techniques
- learn to put obsessive thoughts into perspective
- learning and reading about the condition, self-help literature
- information meetings
- behavioral therapy, whether or not combined with medication
Your practitioner will work with you to investigate the possible causes of your obsessive-compulsive disorder, how much it is troubling you, and whether you may have another mental illness.
Warning: If you have any medical questions or concerns, please speak to your doctor. Even if the articles on this site are based on scientific studies, they do not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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