Jaine Kirtley Bay Naturopath www.baynaturopath.co.nz/

Most people feel a need at times to check or double check things such as turning the oven off, or locking the door. This can be a useful and important to do. But when the checking and rechecking begins to dominate your day or you feel a need to do things over and over you may have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

OCD is a condition where a person has obsessional, uncontrollable thoughts and performs compulsive and repetitive actions.

OCD can affect people of any age including children; it is a distressing disorder and is aggravated by anxiety. People with OCD may also have panic attacks or depression. The cause is not known but scientific research indicates there may be a physical cause in the brain.

The natural approaches I have used over the years to help people with OCD include changes in the diet, nutritional support, herbal medicine, homoeopathy, relaxation techniques, massage, Epsom salts baths and lifestyle changes including exercise.

The research that demonstrates these natural approaches help OCD is slowly but surely emerging. So far research has shown that the symptoms of OCD do improve with changes in lifestyle, complementary therapies, including nutritional supplements, herbs, mind-body therapies, and massage.

Studies have found that nutritional vitamin and mineral supplements help relieve OCD symptoms that have previously lasted for years, and may involve less risk and more benefit that conventional medication. Often vitamins, minerals and the essential fatty acids are low in the general population; people with mental health problems tend to be exceptionally deficient in these nutrients.

All the B vitamins are important for mental health. Folic acid, Vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and inositol are especially important in relieving OCD symptoms. Oxidative stress describes oxidative damage in a cell; the levels of the oxidative stress have been found to be much higher in the fat cells of people with OCD than others. Antioxidants protect cells from oxidative stress. Vitamin E and vitamin C are both antioxidants. People affected by OCD have been shown to be significantly deficient in Vitamin E and slightly deficient in vitamin C. If I do recommend supplements I use the Entire Katoa Food State Supplements for optimum absorption and bioavailability.

There is less research on herbal medicine and OCD. Some of the herbs I have found over the years to help relieve OCD are Valarian, Skullcap, Wood Betony, Passiflora, Vervain, Oats and German Chamomile. The use of herbal remedies has a history almost as long as mankind. There are a large number of herbal remedies traditionally used for anxiety states such as OCD which include German Chamomile, Oats, and Valarian. Current research is thin on the ground for these but some research shows Valerian, Kava Kava, Passionflower and Skullcap are helpful.

References to this article can be found on my website.

Jaine Kirtley MRN RN Reg. Nurse Reg. Naturopath practises in Papamoa. Phone 07 542 1364, email jaine@baynaturopath.co.nz or visit www.baynaturopath.co.nz