The disease that you are suffering from i.e. OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. It is characterized by obsessions, compulsions to do certain tasks again and again and upsetting thoughts.
It’s normal to go back and double-check your door or whether your car is locked or not. But in obsessive-compulsive disorder, thoughts and behaviors become so excessive to interfere with daily life. But here we are providing you help. With treatment and self-help strategies, you can get rid of unwanted thoughts and compulsive urges.
Follow these self help techniques in your daily life that will help in managing your symptoms:
1. Understand your anxiety
Write down the situations that make you anxious. Analyse which are realistic and which are not.
When you have anxiety, you know your fears are realistic but you feels powerless to stop. So writing down your anxious thoughts and exploring each one may help.
2. Challenge yourself
You interpret the situation in certain. But now you have to challenge yourself not to do that. Think about your fears and challenge them by asking yourself:
• Whether this is a realistic fear
• Whether you are confusing facts with thoughts
• What are the disadvantages of thinking this way?
When you will start challenging your fears you will open up to finding new thought processes.
3. Slowly cut back on your compulsive behaviour.
If you must check 10 times to see if the stove is turned off, allow yourself to check 8 times, then 6, then 4 until you are able to check only once.
4. Delay performing things that you do again and again.
If you touch someone and you must immediately wash your hands, try to delay washing your hands for 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, etc. try to continue to delay the time until you feel comfortable not performing the compulsion.
Diet That May Help You:
Include food rich in folic acid and vitamin B12 in your diet.
• Non-veg: liver, chicken giblets, kidney, egg yolk.
• Legumes: dried beans, lentils, split peas, soya products, almonds, nuts.
• Starch: whole grain breads, wheat flour, potato, sweet potato.
• Fruit and vegetables: spinach, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, banana, orange, peach.
Exercise:
Simple aerobic exercises, stretching exercises and morning and evening walk help you to deal with anxiety.
Exercise changes the brain, improves self esteem and also provides a distraction from worries.
