I am looking for a natural treatment for OCD, Anxiety, and Depression?
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at
2:09 pm
I have tried prozac, but I do not like the side effects not to mention that I had a very bad allergic reaction. I am looking to try the natural approach first, but cannot afford to see a homeopathic doctor. Does anyone have any suggestions where I could find information or who I should ask about this. My therapist suggested a pharmacist but the pharmacist told me that the only solution is medication.
Thanks in advance
Filed under: anxiety treatment
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Your only solution is NOT medication. Of course a pharmacist would tell you that, so they can sell more medication to you.
I am 38 years old and from the time I was 10 years old until 2 years ago when I changed my diet, I also suffered with OCD, depression and anxiety.
The OCD was fairly mild, things like checking the iron was off 15 times before I left the house. I managed to get this under control by touching the iron once and saying loudly “I am checking the iron now and it is definitely off” and then when I had another urge to check it, I would just repeat my earlier wording in my head and be 100% sure that I had definitely turned it off. It is a long slog but after a while you can re-pattern your thoughts.
Hypnosis would probably help with OCD too.
My depression and anxiety were quite severe and at one stage 15 years ago, I went through an intense suicidal period.
My doctor kept trying to get me onto different medications but I resisted as I wanted to find a more natural way. I have seen many people trying to come off anti-depressants and it is not a pretty sight believe me.
So in the last 5 years I did the following:
I found things like reducing or completely abstaining from alcohol to be very useful, since alcohol is a depressant.
I found daily chakra meditation to be very helpful.
I found daily relaxation meditation to be very helpful.
I found bach flower remedies to be very helpful - the rescue remedy was very good for my anxiety
I found gentle exercise (yoga, swimming) to be very helpful.
I found reiki treatments to be very helpful.
All of the above did not cure me, but they certainly helped me to live a normal life and avoid medications.
However, the main saving grace for me was 2 years ago when I changed my diet.
I went from a SAD (standard american diet) to a Raw Vegan diet and my depression and anxiety completely disappeared.
It is quite amazing really. Sometimes I lose the plot and start eating cooked foods (i.e. - over the holiday season) and my depression and anxiety both return.
And when I eat Raw Vegan foods again, my depression and anxiety disappear.
Apparently this is quite common and many people have found their life-long depression vanishes once they change to a Raw Vegan diet, especially if you also consume certified organic produce.
There are lots of books, DVDs and websites dedicated to the Raw Vegan lifestyle, so maybe you should read up on it and seriously consider making the change.
Good Luck
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Search Yahoo Groups for a group relating to Chelation or Mercury poisoning. We completely got rid of OCD issues with chelation and treatment for mercury poisoning via a group dedicated to autism and mercury. We also got rid of other autistic symptoms.
The anxiety and depression could be helped by SAMe. But, they have many potential causes, including estrogen dominance which needs to be treated differently also.
Some things to look into:
adrenal fatigue (use adrenal cortex extract - http://www.iherb.com)
estrogen dominance - find a natural progesterone like Progestelle
mercury poisoning or heavy metal toxicity - chelation with ALA or dmsa
vitamin D deficiency - supplement Vit D and get some sun!
All of these have been known to cause those symptoms, but have varying other symptoms that go with them. If you read about them, you should be able to figure out which most likely is your cause. Then, treatment is usually quite simple, natural and cheap.
For anxiety and depression, there is a very simple solution which will help you to calm down.
Lie in shava asana and do rhythmic breathing for 30 minutes daily. Take simple nutritious diet.
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/shava-asana.html
http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/rhythmic-breathing.html
Sounds like your serotonin levels are low.
This is what I use. I suggest you google it, or better yet go to the website respondant #1 gave you (iHerb.com) to read customer reviews on all these supplements. Then decide if it’s for you. (If you choose to shop that discounted website you may use discount coupon code HAW031 for an extra $5 off at checkout)
OCD: 5-HTP Usually 100mg a day but varies some try 50mg some go up to 300mg. I wouldn’t go over that.
Depression: St. John’s Wort. I no longer use that. I now find relief from Omega 3’s aka fish oils. Do not take if you’re on blood thinning meds in fact wait to finish meds and clear them out of your system b4 trying any of this stuff.
Anxiety: the only thing that works for me to prevent anxiety and panic attacks is Phosphatidyl Choline (sometimes spelled in one word)
Hope this helps and good luck to you.
While natural treatments are not a replacement for medication, you may find that 30 minutes to 1 hour every day of aerobic exercise [walking fast, jogging] will be beneficial. Be careful with claims about Sam-e - doctor I know is an osteopathic physician [D.O.] and tells us that Sam-e needs to be taken in MUCH higher doses than it is available. If I were you, I would find an osteopathic physician, and see what s/he prescribes and diagnoses.
First thing to try for depression is Omega 3 fish oil. A lot of time there is a need for the essential fatty acids. If you were on a anti-depressant, you probably need more as these drugs tend to deplete the body of essential fatty acids. Start low and increase until you get a positive change and stay at that amount.
For anxiety, find some tart cherry - either capsules or liquid. But it must be "flash pasteurized" to help. You can sometimes find it at a health food store, but for sure you can find it on line. It needs to be flash pasteurized or all the ingredients will be cooked out of the cherry.