I am writitng this blog for the first time in order to maybe help some fellow ocd'ers I have been diagnosed with OCD for the first time in my 40 years over 7 weeks ago and am currently on medication for the first time in my life. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be on a "med" to help me properly function. A bit of back story. I have "episodic OCD" which means, The ocd comes and goes with sometimes years inbetween symptom free. But when it hits, It hits hard and this last round has been a doozy as they say. Such a doozy that it brought me to my knees physcially, emotionally, spiritually and I was unable to function in society.  I am normally a person that loves people, life and doing and going in general, so you can imagine how (or maybe have experienced) scary and terrifying this was and has been for me. I do now know alot aboutOCD and have reearched endlessly the different factors, beliefs and medical reasons behind the disorder. The bottom line is, no one really has a direct answer as to "why" as there are so many factors that contribute. As that may be, We need to be pro-active in our own care and be as educated as possible before undergoing any treatment plan. I have leared alot on this journey and have also sought out future natural remidies and diet that may keep the OCD at bay in the future or at least tackle it early enough to where it doesnt spiral out of control to the point of non-functioning. I would like to share some natural proven OCD treatments that people do use and have sussessfully treated their ocd and in some cases even cured, yes I said "cured" Do you ever notice when your busy or occupied with something you love that sometimes your ocd seems to dissapear or you don;t think about it? Thats the behavioral componant of OCD that does tell us that part of OCD is purley behavioral, learned and habituated through repition of negative thinking. Thats the part of OCD that can be treated without medicine, but rather distarctions and other things I wont get into here as I know you dont have all day to read this… BUT I do want to share some alternative, natural therapies that havebeen proven to work in scientific studies. I just wish I would have started them eariler or know aboutthem after being diagnosed. So here they are… look them up, do your research and maybe give it a whirl if your med free but want some relief. GABA, 5-HTP (raises seratonin levels naturally) CALM-PRT (decreases stress by reducing elevated cortisol, norepinephrine and ephinephrine) INOSITOL (Vitamin B*) There have beenstudies that show thisnatural powder taken daily is just as or even more effective than SSRI's used to treat OCD. For the ladies…. Borage Seed Oil….(For pre-menapausal hormone support)Omega 3's and Vitimin D, Calcum and Magnesium (some studies show alotof depressed people have low amounts of magnesium) anyway… food for thought if your trying to find a different way. Hope this helps