Food and supplements
Caffeine
I would strongly advise against consuming drinks that contain caffeine, as caffeine makes the brain more alert, and therefore you are likely to experience more anxiety than you otherwise would. For example, if OCD thought was going to generate an anxiety with an intensity of six out of ten, caffeine would cause that to rise to seven or eight out of ten
Both tea and coffee contain caffeine (coffee more so), so instead buy the decaffeinated versions. Or better still, start drinking chamomile tea (see below), which doesn’t contain caffeine
Chamomile Tea
Although the taste of this tea is not the most pleasant, it really can calm you down. As a start, use one tea bag and leave it for five minutes in the cup/mug to brew. You should start to feel a bit of calmness within an hour or so. Within two hours or so, you will begin to feel the full effect of its calming properties. In total the calmative effect lasts around four hours
If you can handle the taste, try using two tea bags, the calming effect will be even more. And the good thing there are no side effects for most people, as it’s a herbal remedy
My personal preference is to buy the Twinings branded tea bags, as they might have more chamomile in them, but you can try supermarket own brand if you feel the branded stuff is too expensive
Bach Rescue Soothing Pastilles
These pastilles are also herbal remedies, and also have a calmative effect. They are more convenient than chamomile tea in that they can be carried around with you in your bag or jacket pocket. You can also tailor the number of pastilles you take to the amount of anxiety you are experiencing. For example, I normally take six pastilles when my anxiety level is six or seven out of ten, but I take ten pastilles when my anxiety is very high. As a rough guide, I weigh 120 kg, so you can adjust the above number of pastilles to take according to your weight.
Just like with chamomile tea, you should see the calming effect within an hour or so. Within two hours or so, you will begin to feel the full effect of its calming properties. In total the calmative effect lasts around four hours
Just to note, when I take ten pastilles it has somewhat of a laxative effect, so if you are going to take a large number of pastilles then make sure you have easy access to a toilet!
One tin contains around 35 pastilles and costs around eight pounds, so it is expensive, although some pharmacies and supermarkets (e.g. Boots and Tesco) normally have a ‘three-for-two’ offer on them, so it ends up costing less
Water
When you have OCD, you body is working harder than it otherwise would, and therefore requires more water. So, you need to increase your water intake.
The 2 litres a day recommendation is not realistic for most people. A compromise would be to drink a 500 ml bottle of water each day, in addition to what you normally drink.
You can also try eating foods that are more watery (e.g. soup)
Vitamins
Vitamins don’t directly help with OCD, as they have no calming properties, however they can indirectly help, in that they make you feel better overall, and hence the impact of the anxiety you experience may be a bit less
It normally takes around a month or so for you to feel the positive impact of vitamins, and of course keep taking them in the long term, as chances are you don’t get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet
Try to get vitamins that also contain gut friendly bacteria, as studies suggest gut health could also have an impact on anxiety
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