How Natural Remedies for OCD Compare to Standard OCD Treatment

These natural remedies for OCD can ease obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms without side effects and are often as effective as standard OCD treatment.

Compulsions

Compulsions are behaviors that a person with OCD feels compelled to perform to try to ease their anxiety. (3)

Compulsive rituals include the need to do things in a particular order, obsessive hand washing, or repetitively checking on things, like making sure that doors are locked.

A defining characteristic of OCD is that these habits take a lot of time, cause distress, and interfere with daily living. (4)

Underlying Causes of OCD

The underlying causes of OCD are complex and almost certainly multifactorial.

Correlations

OCD is linked to a substantial increase in brain inflammation. (7)

Interestingly, PET scans reveal that brain inflammation increases when people with OCD try to resist their compulsions.

Low levels of another important brain chemical, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), may also be linked to OCD.

BDNF is a protein that stimulates the formation of new brain cells and protects the brain from degeneration. (12)

There’s also a correlation between OCD and higher than usual levels of the stress hormone cortisol. (13)

Knowing the underlying causes of OCD can help you better understand how both drugs and natural treatments for OCD work.

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Standard OCD Treatments: Drugs and Therapy

According to the American Psychiatric Association, the recommended treatments for OCD are: (14)

• drug therapy

• cognitive behavioral therapy

• or a combination of the above

The first-line standard medical treatment for OCD is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), the most popular type of antidepressant.

If an SSRI doesn’t work, your doctor may prescribe Clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant which generally works better than SSRIs, but often has more side effects. (15)

These drugs on their own are not extremely successful and, once you quit taking them, you are back where you started.

For these reasons, some kind of psychotherapy is usually recommended as well. (16)

Traditional psychotherapy (talk therapy) is not very effective at treating OCD.

ERP Therapy

The most effective type of therapy for OCD is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy. (17)

ERP therapy requires you to face your obsessions, but then refrain from acting on your compulsions.

ERP can be extremely difficult, but if you can stick with it, it can be very effective.

When this kind of therapy works, it actually changes the structure and function of the OCD brain. (18)

You can learn more about ERP therapy in this PDF published by the University of Michigan Medical School.

Why Consider Natural Remedies for OCD?

Not everyone who tries drugs or cognitive behavioral therapy achieves long-term remission of OCD symptoms. (19)

Therapy helps 80% of those who try it.

Prescription drugs help only 50% and carry a higher risk of relapse and side effects. (20)

The American Psychiatric Association suggests giving any drug treatment 6 to 12 weeks to fully kick in.

If symptoms have not abated after this time, they suggest trying a new medication since patients who do not respond to one psychiatric medication sometimes respond to another. (21)

If neither prescription medications nor therapy has helped, medical doctors still have some interesting tools in their arsenal.

They may suggest brain surgery, or techniques such as Gamma Knife radiosurgery, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or deep brain stimulation (DBS). (22)

Most of these treatments have substantial side effects and should not be considered lightly.

If you are among the many OCD patients resistant to the standard medical treatment protocol of drugs and cognitive behavioral therapy, consider natural remedies for OCD.

The Best Supplements for OCD

There are a surprising number of supplements that can help by various mechanisms, such as balancing brain chemicals or reducing brain inflammation.

Many of these natural supplements have been studied and found to work as well as prescription medications, without the side effects.

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is one of the most important herbs in Indian Ayurvedic healing.

It’s considered an adaptogen, a substance that simultaneously calms and energizes, while increasing your resilience to stress.

Ashwagandha increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), low levels of which are linked to OCD. (23)

Ashwagandha reduces obsessive behaviors at least as well as the SSRI drug Prozac (generic name, fluoxetine) and, when used together, ashwagandha enhances its effects. (24)

Curcumin

Curcumin is the main bioactive component in the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa).

Curcumin helps OCD by normalizing levels of both dopamine and serotonin and decreasing brain inflammation. (25, 26)

Additionally, curcumin is as effective for depression as Prozac, minus the side effects.

This makes curcumin an ideal supplement to try if you have OCD accompanied by depression. (27)

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Inositol

Inositol, formerly known as vitamin B8, shows promise for treating OCD.

The same neurotransmitters implicated in OCD rely on inositol to relay messages.

When inositol is lacking, neurotransmitters can’t do their jobs.

While inositol doesn’t work for everyone, in some cases it reduces the symptoms of OCD by a substantial 50%. (28, 29, 30)

Inositol is considered a very safe supplement, but therapeutic dosages are high, generally in the range of 6-18 grams per day. (31)

This makes it virtually impossible to get therapeutic dosages from diet alone.

Milk Thistle

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an herbal remedy used mainly to protect and detoxify the liver.

One human trial found it to work as well as fluoxetine to manage OCD symptoms. (32)

Milk thistle’s main active component is silymarin which works by normalizing levels of both serotonin and dopamine. (33)

Minerals for OCD

Several mineral imbalances have been linked to OCD.

OCD patients typically have lower than normal levels of iron, magnesium, and zinc and higher than normal levels of manganese and calcium. (34)

There’s also evidence that it makes a good adjunct to SSRIs in moderate to severe cases of OCD. (39)

Psychobiotics

Psychobiotics are probiotics that specifically deliver mental health benefits.

A review of 38 studies found that psychobiotics effectively reduced the symptoms of OCD, anxiety, and depression, while also improving several cognitive parameters. (40)

Most studies use Bifidobacterium (B. longum, B. breve, or B. infantis) or Lactobacillus (L. helveticus or L. rhamnosus) bacteria.

These are the same species that occur in abundance in your gut and are the mainstays of most probiotic supplements.

They also naturally occur in probiotic foods such as traditionally fermented dairy products, soy products, and pickled vegetables.

Saffron

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a prized culinary spice that is also available as a supplement.

Saffron contains crocins, compounds that show potential for reducing OCD symptoms. (41)

It also has potent antidepressant properties and, by acting on serotonin metabolism, works as well for depression as Prozac. (42, 43, 44)

When buying a saffron supplement, make sure it contains genuine Crocus sativus.

Since saffron is expensive, disreputable supplement manufacturers have been known to sell fake or adulterated saffron that contains other plants, such as marigold flowers or turmeric. (45)

Valerian

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a traditional relaxing herb used mainly for insomnia.

Also known as the Seville orange, this is the variety of orange usually used to make marmalade.

Essential oils, including that of bitter orange, are not technically supplements because they are rarely taken internally.

Instead they are inhaled or applied to the skin.

Supplements That Probably Won’t Help OCD

There are a few popular supplements that claim to be helpful for OCD, but their benefits have not held up to scientific scrutiny.

St. John’s Wort

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) blocks the breakdown of serotonin, so theoretically, it seems that it would help OCD.

But human studies have found it no more helpful than a placebo. (48)

5-HTP

5-HTP is an amino acid precursor for serotonin.

It’s commonly taken for depression, sleep, and anxiety disorders, including OCD.

But there’s no clinical evidence that it provides any benefits for OCD. (49)

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is another amino acid precursor for serotonin.

While there’s no evidence that it helps OCD on its own, it can be a useful adjunct that enhances the effects of SSRIs taken for OCD. (50)

Note: Talk to your doctor before taking any supplement that works on serotonin if you are taking an SSRI. Together, they can cause serotonin levels to elevate, resulting in potentially serious serotonin syndrome.

Lifestyle Habits and Mind-Body Techniques for OCD

Beyond supplements, a number of lifestyle interventions can help treat OCD naturally.

Unfortunately, there have been few clinical trials on these interventions and those that have been done are not of good quality — the studies are either very small or not reproducible. (51)

But here are a few techniques with some scientific evidence to support their efficacy for alleviating OCD.

Exercise

Physical exercise is one of the best remedies for mental health in general.

During a 12-week program of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, study participants reported fewer obsessions and compulsions. (52)

A 6-week walking program also reduced anxiety and symptoms of OCD. (53)

Caffeine

Caffeine is notorious for making anxiety worse, and yet there’s some evidence that it can sometimes lessen the symptoms of OCD.

In one study, participants who moderately consumed caffeine saw a 55% reduction in OCD symptoms. (54)

You may already be successfully self-medicating with caffeine.

But if you suspect that it aggravates your anxiety, it may not be worth the side effects.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy with meditation.

When OCD patients participated in an 8-week program, they reported improvements in their OCD symptoms that included an increased ability to refrain from compulsive rituals, improved mood, and better sleep. (55)

Music Therapy

Music therapy enlists the aid of a qualified music therapist trained to address their patients’ physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs.

When used in conjunction with SSRIs and cognitive behavioral therapy, music therapy further reduced obsessions and accompanying symptoms of anxiety and depression. (56)

Electroacupuncture

One small study found that electroacupuncture, which passes a small electric current between acupuncture needles, was a useful complement for those resistant to standard treatments. (57)

It’s yet to be seen whether traditional acupuncture provides similar benefits.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that lets you gain greater control of your mind by changing your brainwave state.

Hyperactivity in certain areas of the brain is consistently correlated with OCD symptoms.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine found that neurofeedback normalized brain activity in the brains of OCD patients. (58)

Tapping

Tapping, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT, is an effective technique for reducing anxiety of all kinds.

While I’ve seen dozens of scientific studies to support tapping for anxiety, I haven’t found any studies specifically on the benefits of tapping for OCD. (59)

But I have read a few promising case studies presented by health care professionals. (60)

Brad Yates is an internationally recognized leader in the therapeutic use of tapping.

Also, check out our Mental Health Resources Guide (in-depth review) where you’ll find directories of alternative mental health resources that specialize in drug-free protocols for OCD and other mental health disorders.

You’ll find complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health care professionals who do more than prescribe drugs.

Some rely on time-honored traditions such as Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine, while others address underlying causes such as nutritional deficiencies or neurotransmitter imbalances.