becelzbee
01-05-14, 10:12
Hey guys I am new to this site and relativity new to O.C.D but I have had anxiety for a lot of my life. So basically I am writing a thread about how I am overcoming my health OCD and anxiety. I will be posting absolutely everything I do which includes supplements I take, any therapy I have, exercise I do. I mean absolutely everything. I will post some links to helpful information at the bottom of the thread too! :) Here is my story so far (sorry if it is long).
I have already come a very long way from where I was, it all started in February of this year (I know that's not long considering how long some people suffer) I was driving home from a friend's birthday party and I was talking with a friend. We were talking about really morbid things like family dying and things that we could have done better in the past, just generally really heavy stuff. That's when my whole life changed, the conversation triggered a memory of a moment in my life where I felt the most scared that I have ever felt and suddenly my vision was blurred, my heart was racing, I was weak and I honestly thought I was going to have to be taken away in an ambulance. To make it worse I was the one who was driving, on a very busy road and nowhere to pull over. It was the most terrifying experience of my life not only for myself but the passengers in the car as well.
From that point and for the next few months I couldn't handle anything. I was going home from work, I was crying all the time I honestly believed I was going crazy and that I would never be happy again. I am thankful that I was so wrong. Things can get better and they will. It seems impossible at first but it can be done.
So my obsessive thinking was about Alzheimer's disease. I know that sounds crazy because I am only 22 years old but I was so terrified of it that it consumed every thought that I had. I was obsessed with remembering everything from what I ate 2 days ago to what I was doing 10 years ago. It was exhausting, I hated it. I didn't want to do it but I literally couldn't stop. To make it worse it was stopping me from enjoying my life. I didn't want to go to University in case I forgot it. I would wake up 3-4 times a night thinking about it and then the compulsive affirmative thoughts came. Every time I would think about it I had to think and affirmative thought like "my brain is perfectly healthy" or "I have a great memory" I was probably saying these affirmations at least 100 times a day and I was so tired. I hated it. Alzheimer's wasn't the only obsession I suffered but it was the worst and by wost I mean longest lasting. I had POCD for a while which ****ing sucked. I had harm OCD for a while and I was so scared I was going to suddenly want to hurt people. It was the darkest time of my life.
Then I started reading stories about how people have gotten over the same type of situations and I started to feel optimistic. And that's where my journey started. I went to the chemist and got a bunch of supplements that others had used. I started meditation and I started Kinesiology. If you have never considered or heard about Kinesiology then I highly recommend that you look into it, this was the major part of my recovery. A friend told me about it so I decided to give it a go because my psychologist honestly hadn't helped me at all. I also went to the gym and signed up for an 8 week challenge. Now not everyone has the time or money for that but there are ways you can challenge yourself, maybe start one with friends or family and really concentrate on getting fit and healthy.
Finding your trigger is so important. For me it was my father's death. I was so scared of being alone and even when I was younger I would tell my mum I didn't want to forget him. I believe every sufferer has a trigger. And when you find that you can start untangling the webs in your mind. Work your way backwards. So for me for example, I started when my dad died and it all went down from there. So I had to work from the start to where I am now otherwise you aren't cleaning all the webs.
The supplements that I take include:
-Hemp oil 30 ml a day (15 ml in the morning and 15 ml in the evening) I highly recommend this as it helps you sleep and is generally really calming and good for you. I take mine in fresh juice. Juice is another important part. My Kinesiologist recommended that I have a green juice in the morning and in the evening to level out the PH balance in my body.
- B vitamin complex which helps with mood and energy.
- Fish oil tablet.
- Magnesium supplement to help with muscle tension and relaxation.
- A good multivitamin. Good health is essential for people with anxiety and OCD.
- And finally maybe the most important one is a probiotic. A lot of research shows that OCD may be triggered my bad bacteria in your gut. Therefore having a good probiotic fights against the bad bacteria in your body.
The things I do:
- Meditate. I meditate for about 45 mins a day. It's very hard at first and I recommend maybe guided meditations or just simple meditation music but it does help not only relax but it is scientifically proven to create more healing cells in your brain, reduce stress and also give you more control of your thoughts.
- Exercise this is massive!! Exercise helps release endorphin's in your brain known as serotonin. This is the chemical that makes you happy!!plus it is an awesome stress reliever and makes you feel better about yourself.
- Break the thought cycle. It you have an obsessive thought. try not to give it the time of day, think about something that makes you happy, or something that you want to do. Make a bucket list in your head. Do anything to break the cycle. This is probably the hardest part. It takes a lot of practice but once you master it you master your thoughts.
- Do things that make you face your fear. For me that was just not affirming to myself that I was fine. If I had a thought about Alzheimer's I would have it and not react to it. Reaction is the worst thing you can do. This took a good while and I feel the meditation helped with this :) also if I found myself trying to remember things that aren't relevant to what I was doing or just plan stupid I would stop and just think "that doesn't matter" kind of an affirmative thought I guess but not an obsessive one more of a "Bec get your shit together" one hahaha
- Brain training. Neuroplasticity has been linked with improving depression and anxiety :D plus it is something you should do to ensure a healthy brain as you get older ( I have done my research)
- DIET I cannot stress this enough!! Stay away from highly processed food, junk food, alcohol, drugs (obviously not medicine i mean elicit drugs) eat food that is proven to improve your mood ( i will post some links at the end).
- HAVE FUN!! go out with friends or have them over if that is easier in the beginning but make an effort to (if you have anxiety about leaving the house or social anxiety) just go for a walk around the block or just to the end or your driveway! small steps make all the difference!! do things that make YOU happy. be selfish for a little while, your recovery relies on how much effort you are willing to put in. and i truly believe everyone can recover from these horrible invasive thoughts! YOU DESERVE BETTER!!!!
Now I know this is a lot of information but I believe that the only way to beat it is knowledge! "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" apparently.
if you have any questions or feedback or anything please feel free to contact me!! I know i'm not a expert but sometimes people who have experienced things first hand are more helpful!
---------- Post added at 19:12 ---------- Previous post was at 15:21 ----------
It won't let me post the links I have so if you want them PH me and I will send them your way :D
I have already come a very long way from where I was, it all started in February of this year (I know that's not long considering how long some people suffer) I was driving home from a friend's birthday party and I was talking with a friend. We were talking about really morbid things like family dying and things that we could have done better in the past, just generally really heavy stuff. That's when my whole life changed, the conversation triggered a memory of a moment in my life where I felt the most scared that I have ever felt and suddenly my vision was blurred, my heart was racing, I was weak and I honestly thought I was going to have to be taken away in an ambulance. To make it worse I was the one who was driving, on a very busy road and nowhere to pull over. It was the most terrifying experience of my life not only for myself but the passengers in the car as well.
From that point and for the next few months I couldn't handle anything. I was going home from work, I was crying all the time I honestly believed I was going crazy and that I would never be happy again. I am thankful that I was so wrong. Things can get better and they will. It seems impossible at first but it can be done.
So my obsessive thinking was about Alzheimer's disease. I know that sounds crazy because I am only 22 years old but I was so terrified of it that it consumed every thought that I had. I was obsessed with remembering everything from what I ate 2 days ago to what I was doing 10 years ago. It was exhausting, I hated it. I didn't want to do it but I literally couldn't stop. To make it worse it was stopping me from enjoying my life. I didn't want to go to University in case I forgot it. I would wake up 3-4 times a night thinking about it and then the compulsive affirmative thoughts came. Every time I would think about it I had to think and affirmative thought like "my brain is perfectly healthy" or "I have a great memory" I was probably saying these affirmations at least 100 times a day and I was so tired. I hated it. Alzheimer's wasn't the only obsession I suffered but it was the worst and by wost I mean longest lasting. I had POCD for a while which ****ing sucked. I had harm OCD for a while and I was so scared I was going to suddenly want to hurt people. It was the darkest time of my life.
Then I started reading stories about how people have gotten over the same type of situations and I started to feel optimistic. And that's where my journey started. I went to the chemist and got a bunch of supplements that others had used. I started meditation and I started Kinesiology. If you have never considered or heard about Kinesiology then I highly recommend that you look into it, this was the major part of my recovery. A friend told me about it so I decided to give it a go because my psychologist honestly hadn't helped me at all. I also went to the gym and signed up for an 8 week challenge. Now not everyone has the time or money for that but there are ways you can challenge yourself, maybe start one with friends or family and really concentrate on getting fit and healthy.
Finding your trigger is so important. For me it was my father's death. I was so scared of being alone and even when I was younger I would tell my mum I didn't want to forget him. I believe every sufferer has a trigger. And when you find that you can start untangling the webs in your mind. Work your way backwards. So for me for example, I started when my dad died and it all went down from there. So I had to work from the start to where I am now otherwise you aren't cleaning all the webs.
The supplements that I take include:
-Hemp oil 30 ml a day (15 ml in the morning and 15 ml in the evening) I highly recommend this as it helps you sleep and is generally really calming and good for you. I take mine in fresh juice. Juice is another important part. My Kinesiologist recommended that I have a green juice in the morning and in the evening to level out the PH balance in my body.
- B vitamin complex which helps with mood and energy.
- Fish oil tablet.
- Magnesium supplement to help with muscle tension and relaxation.
- A good multivitamin. Good health is essential for people with anxiety and OCD.
- And finally maybe the most important one is a probiotic. A lot of research shows that OCD may be triggered my bad bacteria in your gut. Therefore having a good probiotic fights against the bad bacteria in your body.
The things I do:
- Meditate. I meditate for about 45 mins a day. It's very hard at first and I recommend maybe guided meditations or just simple meditation music but it does help not only relax but it is scientifically proven to create more healing cells in your brain, reduce stress and also give you more control of your thoughts.
- Exercise this is massive!! Exercise helps release endorphin's in your brain known as serotonin. This is the chemical that makes you happy!!plus it is an awesome stress reliever and makes you feel better about yourself.
- Break the thought cycle. It you have an obsessive thought. try not to give it the time of day, think about something that makes you happy, or something that you want to do. Make a bucket list in your head. Do anything to break the cycle. This is probably the hardest part. It takes a lot of practice but once you master it you master your thoughts.
- Do things that make you face your fear. For me that was just not affirming to myself that I was fine. If I had a thought about Alzheimer's I would have it and not react to it. Reaction is the worst thing you can do. This took a good while and I feel the meditation helped with this :) also if I found myself trying to remember things that aren't relevant to what I was doing or just plan stupid I would stop and just think "that doesn't matter" kind of an affirmative thought I guess but not an obsessive one more of a "Bec get your shit together" one hahaha
- Brain training. Neuroplasticity has been linked with improving depression and anxiety :D plus it is something you should do to ensure a healthy brain as you get older ( I have done my research)
- DIET I cannot stress this enough!! Stay away from highly processed food, junk food, alcohol, drugs (obviously not medicine i mean elicit drugs) eat food that is proven to improve your mood ( i will post some links at the end).
- HAVE FUN!! go out with friends or have them over if that is easier in the beginning but make an effort to (if you have anxiety about leaving the house or social anxiety) just go for a walk around the block or just to the end or your driveway! small steps make all the difference!! do things that make YOU happy. be selfish for a little while, your recovery relies on how much effort you are willing to put in. and i truly believe everyone can recover from these horrible invasive thoughts! YOU DESERVE BETTER!!!!
Now I know this is a lot of information but I believe that the only way to beat it is knowledge! "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" apparently.
if you have any questions or feedback or anything please feel free to contact me!! I know i'm not a expert but sometimes people who have experienced things first hand are more helpful!
---------- Post added at 19:12 ---------- Previous post was at 15:21 ----------
It won't let me post the links I have so if you want them PH me and I will send them your way :D