Real food. With good nutrients to feed my gut microbiome and brain. Which has a direct impact on how I’m going to feel and how my mind works. Salmon for more healthy fats for the brain, avocado has good fiber, sweet potato is one of the foods centenarians in Okinawa Japan eat often for good health. Food from the planet that only contains one ingredient. (A tomato is a tomato, sweet potato - sweet potato) Over 10 years ago I changed what I put in my body for 10 days and it completely changed my mental health. Intrusive thoughts and anxiety dropped dramatically. Have a think about what you eat day to day. Is it food from the planet - that our great grandparents would recognize or food from a package with a bunch of different ingredients that our bodies and brain don’t recognize. Let’s treat our bodies better than we treat our cars.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung quoted that “what you resist not only persists, but will grow in size" When i first started to struggle with intrusive thoughts i was resisting them, trying to push them away, questioning the thoughts and fighting with them. I was so scared of my thoughts and i felt like my mind was just coming up with more disturbing things to think about. I felt like a really bad person. I didn't realize it at the time, but this is exactly what NOT to do. I was actively feeding and strengthening the neural pathways to be more anxious.I was resisting the thoughts and that made them persist longer. There is a better way to work with the mind. What i was doing. Intrusive thoughts coming in ----> Anxiety ----> Resistance and Mental Compulsion to the thought (questioning it, seeking reassurance, checking my body etc) What is best to do: Intrusive thoughts come in ----> Anxiety ----> No resistance, let the thoughts be there and ACCEPT the anxiety and the thought (it doesn't mean we agree with it, it just means we aren't fighting it) A way that i have found very helpful to practice accepting uncomfortable intrusive thoughts and uncomfortable anxious feelings is by putting myself in cold water. When im in there i try and relax into it and accept the cold water. Even though it is sometimes really difficult to go in cold water or ice baths i like to train myself to find comfort in the incomfortable. This then helps translate to dealing with OCD and i can better accept, let go and relax into the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.

I am from Malaysia , I have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression since 2021, though I had never realized I was an anxious person before that. During the global pandemic outbreak in 2020, countries implemented lockdown policies to prevent the spread of the virus, restricting people's movements, leading to an increase in mental health issues. I first experienced anxiety symptoms one midnight while working in Singapore. I woke up feeling dizzy and unable to breathe, which prompted a trip to the emergency room, where all tests came back normal. Subsequently, I developed difficulty sleeping and acid reflux, leading to multiple hospital visits and medication prescriptions, but with little improvement. Seeking traditional Chinese medicine helped with my gastrointestinal issues and sleep, but my anxiety persisted. Eventually, I sought psychiatric help, leading to a diagnosis of anxiety and depression. By the end of last year, my anxiety worsened, accompanied by obsessive thoughts. In January, I was diagnosed with Covid19, worsening my obsessive thoughts and anxiety. Despite adjustments to medication, I experienced side effects heart palpitation, panic attack, poor appetite , mood swing and persistent unwanted intrusive thoughts, until I stumbled upon resources explaining the central nervous system and anxiety mechanisms. Understanding these principles, I began practicing my response to anxiety symptoms, gradually improving my symptoms, even with a lower medication dosage. Though I'm still managing my condition, I know I'm on the path to recovery as my inner healing progresses. I hope my journey can help others going through similar struggles.