Mindfulness can help treat OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is a disorder of the brain…
A person suffering from OCD feels the necessity to always double-check something. If afraid of driving, an OCD victim peeps into the rear view mirror every other second to make sure that he had not knocked down anyone. If wary of germs, he washes his hands constantly. The OCD victims find it very tough to control these obsessions, even though they might realise what they are doing is absurd.
OCD victims usually have repeated thoughts about dirt, violence or even hurting loved ones. The International OCD Foundation estimates that 1 in 100 adults suffer from this disorder. Also, 1 in 200 kids and teens have OCD.
Besides genetics…
Stress, anxiety and environmental factors can trigger OCD… Some doctors are of the view that OCD has a genetic predisposition. However, researchers have started looking at the effect of stress and environmental factors in the development of the disorder. Usually anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressants are prescribed for treating it. However, these drugs come with a host of side-effects ranging from headaches to sleep disorders.
Mindfulness can help manage stress and anxiety triggers…
Regular mindfulness can relieve many symptoms of OCD without any physiological side-effects. Anxiety and stress are the two common characteristics of its victims. Mindfulness Meditation triggers the increase in the level of neurotransmitter serotonin in our brain, leading to happier moods and reduces the amount of stress causing cortisol hormone.
Mindfulness can help…
Madhav Goyal of John Hopkins University, after a review of 47 clinical trials involving more than 3,500 participants with mild anxiety or depression, found out that those who participated in mindfulness meditation classes experienced improvement in mood after eight weeks. This improvement in mood was similar to that seen in prescription medications.