Condition Description:

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common chronic and long-lasting disorder in which person has uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (obsession) and behavior (compassions) that he/she feels the urge to repeat over and over.

Common symptoms:

People with OCD may have symptoms of obsessions, compassion or both.  These symptoms can interfere with all aspects of life such as work, school, routines, and personal relationships.  Obsession may include irrational fears such as but not limited to germs and contamination, unwarranted beaten taboo thoughts, aggressive thoughts toward others or self.  The compassion may include excessive cleaning/hand washing, ordering and arranging thoughts in particular, precise way, repeatedly checking on things, such as repeatedly checking to see if doors are locked or that the oven is off.

Underlying causes:

These may include food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, essential fatty acids deficiency, yeast overgrowth, mineral deficiencies such as magnesium and zinc deficiency.

Conventional treatment:

OCD is typically treated with medication, psychotherapy or combination of two.  Common medications used are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to help reduce OCD symptoms.  Such medicines include clomipramine, which is a member of old class of tricyclic antidepressants and several new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which include Fluoxetine, fluvoxamine and Sertraline.

EHC approach:

Look for the underlying causes and treat appropriately which may include treatment for yeast overgrowth, magnesium and zinc deficiency, food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities and supplementation with essential fatty acids like fish oil.  The key is taking care of underlying causes will reduce your dependence upon medications and/or psychotherapy.