Here are 8 super simple OCD Hacks to naturally treat OCD on your own:
- Break the obsessive cycle
- Sleep soundly
- Find your support system
- Try Alternative therapies
- Get involved in physical activities
- Go for self-help resources
- Desensitization Hack
- Reward yourself
What if you could be one of those few people who overcome Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms without treatment? No doubt, it’ll be a challenging journey. But by following the easy OCD hacks listed above, you can learn to treat OCD on your own.
Now I will explain those proven easy hacks to treat OCD symptoms without relying on drugs completely.
8 Simple OCD Hacks to Treat OCD Naturally
Being one of the most common mental health problems, OCD affects around 2.5% of the population. So much so that there are also many famous people and celebrities with OCD.
Thanks to the various advanced therapies, this condition has a whopping 40% recovery rate. On the other hand, every 5th person with OCD learns to tackle the symptoms without therapy as well!
1. Break the obsessive cycle
Breaking the cycle of thoughts that leads to obsessive-compulsive behavior is one of the best OCD hacks. It helped many people get treat OCD on their own.
How to break the OCD cycle?
Simple, just think about what is causing the cycle in the first place.
The OCD behavior probably started because you want to do something good: maybe you are trying to protect the environment by picking up something from the street or maybe you are cleaning obsessively to avoid contamination.
To break the intrusive thoughts cycle simply try to think about something good that could happen if you actually don’t continue performing that obsessive-compulsive action.
For example, if you have OCD cleaning, by obsessively cleaning you are actually preventing the healthy development of the immune system of your kids, grandchildren, or other loved ones. Because, especially children, need to be in contact with germs to train their immune system. If you keep everything too clean, their immune system will be weaker. Is this what you want? The same applies to your own health, this is the science.
Another example is if you are obsessively picking up something from the street to protect the environment. Think about this: “if I pick it up, I am preventing someone else that may actually need it to pick it up. That person then may have to buy that thing just because I picked it up even if I don’t need it”.
This OCD hack can be extremely effective to break obsessive-compulsive thoughts cycle and behaviors, give it a try and you will see it for yourself!
2. Sleep soundly
A good night’s sleep works wonders in alleviating OCD symptoms.
Start by taking care of your sleep environment. Ditch stuff that might hinder your sleep process. The temperature, mattress quality, and general ambience should be favorable.
You can also drink up soothing and relaxing herbal teas before bedtime. Lavender and chamomile teas are popularly known for their remarkable sedative effects.
Another OCD hack to try is using a weighted blanket for anxiety. This can help you to sleep more soundly and reduce anxiety, thus having also a positive effect on OCD.
If you are looking to treat OCD naturally, you should definitively give these blankets a try.
The science behind weighted blankets demonstrates that they can help not only help to sleep better, but also soothe anxiety, relax your mind and help to reduce obsessive thoughts.
If you are looking for a weighted blanket in the UK, Relixiy offers the best premium anxiety blankets at excellent prices.
3. Find your support system
One of the first things you need to do is create your support network of friends and family members who understand your condition. With their help, you can gradually overcome persistent anxiousness and negative thoughts.
This support group can also be virtual – like an online forum with fellow OCD members.
Share your problems and they’ll likely offer you practical guidance on how to get past your triggers.
4. Try Alternative therapies
Meditation, aromatherapy, art therapy, and even music therapy could be beneficial in treating OCD on your own.
Fragrances like citrus, patchouli, sandalwood, and valerian can be used in the form of essential oils for relaxation, enhance focus, release happy hormones, and reduce anxiety.
Daily 10 to 15 minutes of morning or evening meditation can help you let go of difficult thoughts and induce mental calmness.
5. Get involved in physical activities
Since stress is at the core of this disorder, a simple OCD hack is to have daily workouts and yoga.
Some research shows that yoga promotes stress relief, helps to manage compulsive behaviors, and improves mood.
Running, jogging, and any kind of cardio activity help create new neural connections and prevent the worsening of OCD.
Physical fitness activities further release endorphins that make you feel happier.
6. Go for self-help resources
While scrolling on social media or Google, you’ll come across many handy workbooks, guides, podcasts, and books on treating OCD symptoms on your own.
Many psychiatrists and OCD recoverees publish self-help books with useful psychological tricks to help you navigate through daily anxieties.
Moreover, certain influencers have podcasts where they motivate you by sharing their personal experiences while living with OCD.
Finally, make sure to avoid those anxiety habits to not worsen your OCD.
Here are some great books you might want to add to your to-read list:
● Getting Over OCD: A 10-Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life by Jonathan S. Abramowitz
● Break free from OCD by Challacombe, Bream-Oldfield, Salkovskis
● Overcoming Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Veale & Willson
7. Desensitization Hack
Desensitization is an important OCD hack to cope with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In this technique, we expose our body to the obsessive stimulus time and again until we get used to it. This method is also known as “exposure and response prevention” (ERP) and studies demonstrate its effectiveness to treat OCD.
Let’s take an example, if someone finds it hard to touch a door, the patient is asked to touch it time and again throughout the day. It helps him in getting used to it without having any obsession symptoms.
8. Reward yourself
Another important step in the treatment of OCD conservatively is to reward yourself with something after coping with the obsessive thing once.
This OCD hack will help you to get more confident and eventually all your symptoms start subsiding eventually.
Conclusion
I hope that the OCD hacks in this article gave you some good ideas on how to overcome OCD on your own.
Remember, it could be tricky at first. It’s all a matter of developing self-control.
With loads of practice, you’ll certainly get better at identifying and managing the triggers of OCD!
