According to the National Institute of Mental Health, up to a third of the adult population in North America suffers from anxiety-related health problems.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most common forms of anxiety problems in the region and affects between 4 and 7 million adults and adolescents.
Generally, OCD entails the performance of a certain behavior over and over to the extent that this becomes an abnormality that affects an individual’s quality of life.
Experts recommend early treatment of OCD to prevent the onset of other related illnesses such as depression. Indeed, studies show that up to 70 percent of adults with OCD are at risk of succumbing to a depressive episode at least once in their lifetime.
For a long time, patients in North America have largely been treated using conventional pharmacological medicines. Common mainstream treatments for OCD include Prozac, Zoloft, Luvox, and others.
Unfortunately, these drugs can produce severe side effects in some patients and in other instances have been shown to aggravate the symptoms of OCD.
In some circles, medical practitioners are expressing their concerns over the effects of conventional anti-depressants. These medicines can increase the risk of brain damage, facial or whole body tics, and an array of neurological disorders.
Patients are also increasingly moving away from these Prozac-type drugs in favor of alternative medicines that have less severe side effects and treat the root cause of OCD and related anxiety disorders.
Read on to learn more about homeopathy and OCD.
What Is Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a type of natural treatment that seeks to restore balance to the body.
The advantage of homeopathy is that it is non-toxic, holistic, and non-invasive and is based on an understanding of the interaction between the body and mind.
This mode of treatment seeks not to treat the disease but to cure the whole person. While conventional medicines treat symptoms, homeopathic treatments rejuvenate and strengthen the immune system, allowing the body to heal itself naturally.
Additionally, homeopathic treatments are not addictive and neither do they have adverse side effects.
These natural remedies are administered in small, diluted amounts and patients can safely use the remedies together with other medicines.
Some studies show that many patients who use homeopathic medicines are, after a while, completely cured or are able to reduce their reliance on conventional medicine.
There are thousands of homeopathic treatments. Homeopaths spend a considerable amount of time with their patients to fully understand the symptoms in order to identify the right combination of treatments to administer.
The goal of each treatment regime is to restore the body’s balance. The symptoms will subsequently disappear once the body is in a balanced state.
Homeopathy For OCD
As mentioned earlier, homeopathy avails thousands of treatments. Your homeopath will assess the specific OCD symptoms that you exhibit and recommend a suitable treatment.
Below are examples of homeopathic treatments that are commonly used to remedy an array of OCD symptoms.
Argentum Nitricum
This natural remedy can be used to treat patients with compulsive thoughts.
These thoughts are typically adverse and usually involve self-harm fantasies or thoughts about hurting others.
Due to the constant flurry of compulsive thoughts, the patients may become very anxious and agitated.
The patient may opt to walk compulsively, as result, in an effort to eradicate the constant thoughts. It is common for some patients to walk and walk until they lose their physical strength.
Syphilinum and Medorrhinum
Compulsive hand washing is a common symptom in many OCD patients. Patients may have the urge to constantly clean their hands due to an unreasonable fear of germ contamination.
Patients who demonstrate this particular symptom believe that germs are lurking in every object around them. As such, they end up washing their hands after every few minutes, a behavior that can interfere with the quality of their life and their ability to engage in other meaningful activities.
Nux Vomica, Arsenicum Album, and Carcinosinum
These three remedies are used to treat patients who compulsively attempt to put everything in order.
Generally, these individuals tend to be angry and overly sensitive, they want things to be done their way and are upset in the absence of perfect order. Nux Vormica works to ease such perfectionist anxieties.
Arsenicum Album also works to treat patients who are restless until things are in their proper place and organized in a certain way.
Patients who are overly concerned about cleanliness and perfect neatness can also benefit from Carcinosinum.
Calcarea Carbonica
This is another natural treatment for people who are compulsively organized and industrious.
These patients are also typically afraid of losing control and not being able to work. They may also have an unreasonable fear of supernatural beings, natural disasters, height, and of going insane.
It is not uncommon for these patients to also demonstrate signs of claustrophobia and hypochondria.
As a result of these compulsive fears and struggle to always be in control, patients typically become mentally exhausted. This further pushes them to fear and constantly feel as though they are losing their mind.
As a result of mental exhaustion, the patient may neglect their duties at work or at home only to engage in other compulsive activities such as popping bubble wrap in an effort to ease their distress.
Causticum
Causticum is a great OCD homeopathic treatment for patients who worry compulsively about something bad happening. Such patients also commonly worry about forgetting something.
Interestingly, for these patients, the symptoms become pronounced at night.
Due to these fears, an individual may check the same thing repeatedly ‘just to be sure.’
People who demonstrate such rigid compulsiveness may, interestingly, demonstrate corresponding physical symptoms that make their bones and/or muscles stiff.
Summary
Can homeopathy help with OCD? The answer is yes. More and more medical practitioners are warning about the adverse effects of prescription medicine for the treatment of diseases such as OCD, anxieties, and mental health issues.
On the contrary, homeopathy utilizes gentle, holistic, and non-invasive remedies that do not worsen the patient’s symptoms.
Experts recommend that you consult a reputable homeopath who will take the time to understand your symptoms and recommend the right remedies based on your needs.