Passionflower and OCD: personal experiences
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I had severe OCD for at least 2 years and milder forms for longer. During the second half of last year I experimented with a passiflora incarnata extract. I took it daily and experienced gradual reductions in OCD symptoms. I didn't notice ay acute effects. Noticeable reductions in OCD occurred only after using for 2-3 weeks, then symptoms continued to get better. After using it daily for ~2 month, time spent doing OCD related things reduced by ~70-80 percent. This is really significant, especially considering that I used to do them for 8-10 hours daily by my estimation. However, the extract doesn't seem to reduce symptoms any more than this no matter how long I continue to take it. The way it seems to work for me is that it reduces OCD-related anxiety significantly, therefore making it easier to just not do the things I would have previously felt like I needed to do.
I went a few weeks without the extract and my OCD gradually came back. It seems like I'll have to keep taking it to maintain it's effects. When I started taking the extract again, my OCD got better.
The extract I use is by Soria Natural. The only reason I use it instead of other extracts is because it's the only passionflower extract that doesn't contain ethanol that's available in a local health food store. I have no experience with other passionflower extracts and can't currently compare them. I use the product as recommended on the label.
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@NoeticJuice
While taking Passionflower were you also on any medications?
I recently reduced my SSRI to half of the dose when it was at maximum. I've noticed a few months later that my anxiety levels do spike more frequently. Sometimes while waking up after not having eating in a while.I imagine supplements work better if you haven't been on medication.
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@pondfountain said in Passionflower and OCD: personal experiences:
@NoeticJuice
While taking Passionflower were you also on any medications?I've never been on any medication for mental health. It might be worth mentioning that I've been using ginger extract the entire time I've used passionflower extract. I started using ginger a few month before starting passionflower. Ginger didn't have any noticeable effect on my OCD on it's own but I can't currently rule out any interactions with passionflower.
