OCD

[Raven]

I'm on Day 5 of my Whole30 and this evening I seemed to hit Day 6 on the Timeline. The past two nights I've also had dreams about being really mean to people, though that didn't seem to happen in real life. However, today the most striking thing has been that my OCD seems to have flared up. I only have very slight OCD... I tend to count things, do things a certain number of times, bite my lips, and repeat phrases or numbers several times. Today, this has just seemed really intense. Anyone else with subclinical OCD experience anything like this on their Whole30?

[Ann]

I have some mild (undiagnosed) OCD tendencies as well, and could see how following a very strict, new eating plan could magnify those tendencies. You have to be sort of obsessive at the start of this until the new routine sets into habit, and I'm not a mental health specialist or anything, but it would make sense when you are tapping into the part of your brain that "obsesses" it would aggravate an already-existing disorder. Good job on your first six days!

[Raven]

That's a very good point, Ann! I didn't think of it that way. Thank you! (^ ^)

[Melissa Urban]

Kaadu, in a conversation with a medical doc (psychiatrist) with evolutionary experience, she mentioned that OCD could very well be related to intestinal permeability (leaky gut). During your Whole30, as hormones shift and your gut heals, it may make sense that your symptoms might get a bit worse before they get better. (Yes, I do know of one real person who actually "cured" his OCD with a Paleo dietary intervention like this one.) Of course, the above explanation makes good rational sense too - perhaps it's your body and your brain at play.

Hang in there, as I'd love to see whether this gets better on its own with continued compliance. Keep us posted - and of course, continue to work with your medical professional as you undertake this program.

Best,

Melissa