5 Healthy Ways to Prevent and Overcome OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a  rather peculiar psychiatric disorder. You know that you do obnoxious and obscure things and yet you cannot help yourself and cannot break free. OCD can be cured by several therapies with Cognitive-Behavioral therapy being the most successful. However, OCD too like depression can be overcome by other non-clinical but healthy ways.
Before we dive into these healthy ways to prevent and overcome OCD, it is important to note that good support of family and friends is required to help you through the process, be it clinical or non-clinical. Most psychiatric disorders require it and so does OCD.
Now, without any delay, let us see what are the best recommended healthy ways to prevent or overcome OCD.

1. Regular Exercise Keeps OCD at Bay

   
   Anxiety is one of the primary pre-cursors of OCD. Thus it is important to keep anxiety in check too. Exercise is a healthy, stress-relieving and anti-anxiety treatment that helps improve focus of your mind whenever you feel compulsions to do something. Here are some of the best recommended exercises;
   
   • 20 Minutes of Jogging
   • 30 Minutes of Walking
   • Following a Daily Workout Schedule
   • Any form of exercise that promotes aerobic activity.



2. Follow a Healthy Diet to Overcome OCD

   
   Diet is the root cause for almost every disease and disorder. Likewise, OCD too can be prevented or overcome by following a healthy diet.
   It is important to have a good breakfast that contains more antioxidants. Recommended foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner can be found here.
   It is also important to have more small-portioned meals, i.e. eating less whenever you eat but the number of times you eat is more, say 5-6 times a day. Not following your diet or not eating for long may cause a dip in your blood sugar levels which can make you anxious and trigger OCD.
   



3. Practicing Relaxation Techniques to Keep OCD in Check

   
   Stress may not be a direct precursor of OCD but a stressful event can certainly be one to trigger obsessive and compulsive behavior. Once OCD is triggered, stress can make it worse. So it is important that you prevent stress and also not let yourself into stressful situations. To do so;
   
   • To avoid stressful situations, controlling your emotions is important. With it comes peace of mind. To attain peace of mind, practice Yoga, Deep breathing and other methods mentioned here, to give you stress-relief and thus reduce the symptoms of OCD.
   • Preventing Stress altogether too can be very helpful. I suggest you to read my series on preventing stress. Here is Part 1 followed by Part 2.

   

   Mantra Meditation and Deep Breathing




4. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking at All Costs

   
   Alcohol and nicotine give you temporary relief from anxiety but once the effect wears off, they aggravate the symptoms of anxiety. Nicotine is a much more poweful stimulant of anxiety symptoms than alcohol.
   It can be safely confirmed that both smoking and consumption of alcohol lead to higher levels of anxiety and OCD symptoms.
   Here's more on how to quit smoking forever.
   



5. Enough Sleep Keeps OCD in Check

   
   I know anxiety can be a reason for sleepless nights and insomnia but lack of sleep can only aggravate obsessive and compulsive behavior.
   

   

   Beef can help you sleep better

   
   To get more sleep, try to control your emotions which make you calmer and prevents you from being jumpy. Also certain foods can promote sleep, here's more on them.
   

OCD is mainly caused by anxiety and feeling anxious constantly. Thus it is important to control anxiety and stress too in a way.
Now, You talk to me...
Have you had any experiences with anxiety, stressful situations or OCD? What methods did you use to tackle them? Share them with me in the comments section below.

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