Magnesium Improves Brain Chemicals that Help Anxiety, OCD, Depression, and ADHD. Magnesium plays an essential role in neurologic function, including involvement in neurotransmitter synthesis, nerve transmission and neuromuscular conduction.
Magnesium plays a key role in balancing mood and relaxation, and its deficiencies are linked with depression. Thanks to its calming effect, magnesium is nicknamed nature's tranquilizer. This is also the reason magnesium supplements can help those with OCD manage the condition.
I typically recommend magnesium glycinate, although most forms of Mg are helpful—except for magnesium oxide, which is poorly absorbed. Improvement in symptoms once beginning Mg supplementation can take many months.
The study demonstrated that newly diagnosed OCD patients have lower vitamin D levels than healthy controls. Vitamin D may play a role in the pathophysiology of OCD and may be related to the severity of the disorder.
There is a lot of research that shows the connection between low magnesium levels and clinical mental health conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and OCD. There is also research that helps us to understand symptoms seen with those with low magnesium levels.
Vitamin B12 and folate are thought to be effective in OCD treatment due to their associations with neurotransmitters. Depending on their antioxidant effect, zinc and selenium can be used in augmentation therapy for OCD. However, both trace elements and vitamin B12/folate can be affected by diet.
Vitamin B12 and folate are thought to be effective in OCD treatment due to their associations with neurotransmitters.
Magnesium plays two important roles in the brain, which may contribute to these symptoms: It blocks the activity of more stimulating neurotransmitters and binds to calming receptors, resulting in a more peaceful, resting state.
Medical research has linked magnesium to reduced anxiety. Magnesium helps you to relax by stimulating the production of melatonin and serotonin which boost your mood and help you sleep. Magnesium also reduces the production of cytokines and cortisol, which lead to increased inflammation and stress.
Other research from 2017, appearing in the journal PLoS One , found that a 6-week course of magnesium chloride led to a significant reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms.
Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety disorder which, like many anxiety disorders, is marked by low levels of serotonin. Serotonin, a type of neurotransmitter, has a variety of functions that make a deficiency a serious and anxiety producing issue.
The effect of progesterone on serotonin neurotransmission is more unclear but has been shown to increase serotonergic signaling as well, improving OCD symptoms.
Psychotherapy or talk therapy has been used effectively to treat OCD. This type of therapy works especially well when it is combined with medication. Your therapist may suggest cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help with your OCD. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a type of CBT that works well for OCD.
Around the ages of 10 to 12 years, the first peak of OCD cases occur. This time frequently coincides with increasing school and performance pressures, in addition to biologic changes of brain and body that accompany puberty.
Trauma, stress, and abuse all can be a cause of OCD getting worse. OCD causes intense urges to complete a task or perform a ritual. For those who have the condition, obsessions and compulsions can begin to rule their life.
Ongoing anxiety or stress, or being part of a stressful event like a car accident or starting a new job, could trigger OCD or make it worse. Pregnancy or giving birth can sometimes trigger perinatal OCD.
increased arousal due to caffeine intake may increase inhibition, which in turn may play a crucial role in stopping intrusive thoughts (such as disgust), urges, and compulsive cleansing in individuals with high contamination fears.”
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms generally wax and wane over time. Because of this, many individuals diagnosed with OCD may suspect that their OCD comes and goes or even goes away—only to return. However, as mentioned above, obsessive-compulsive traits never truly go away. Instead, they require ongoing management.
Interestingly, when zinc supplementation has been utilised as an adjuvant agent for OCD, zinc produces improved OCD outcomes by decreasing both obsession and compulsion.
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. One study found ashwagandha reduced obsessive behaviors as well as SSRIs.