Best supplements for OCD

What is OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder or shorter OCD belongs to a group of anxiety disorders. Here individuals have obsessions, compulsions or both. Obsessions are thoughts that are appearing against our will and that usually disturb us, whereas on the other hand, compulsions are dysfunctional acts that can reduce the anxiety, but are insistent and done without rational reason.

The prevalence of OCD in the States is about 2.3%, which means that 3.3 million citizens are affected. Both genders are equally affected by this disorder. A lot of people with OCD have some other psychological problem such as ADD, depression, some kind of phobia and others. The most common disorder that comes along with OCD is depression, which makes this disorder harder to diagnose and treat. The symptoms of OCD can be different; for example it can be constant worry that sufferer will get some kind of illness, which results in washing hands frequently. It can also be the worry that sufferer might do something like harming someone without any reason.

Diet and supplements for patients with OCD

It is very important that sufferers eat healthy food and get enough sleep. Besides that, there are many helpful herbs and supplements for people with OCD.

Tryptophan is amino acid from which serotonin is formed. There are some proofs that serotonin reduces symptoms of anxiousness, and therefore, tryptophan is quite efficient in relieving the symptoms of OCD.

Inositol is also helpful in reducing signs of OCD and studies confirmed that the individuals who took inositol for six weeks felt much better than those who took placebo instead.

St. John’s wort is a well-known herb used for treating different psychological problems. Though, it is primarily used for the treatment of depression, it is very helpful in anxiety disorders. Its secret lies in ability to increase the level of serotonin and to lower the level of certain neuropeptide that is responsible for developing psychological problems such as depression and anxiety.

L-theanine, a substance that works as a tranquilizer, can be found in green tea. Researches performed on rats showed that this substance can have calming results regarding the activity of brain. Theanine can pass into the blood without much difficulty. This characteristic is very important because that way theanine can fast result in creating the alpha brain waves. Alpha brain waves are responsible for feeling relaxed and calm. This calming effect of theanine was confirmed in different studies.