Dear Julia:

My name is Carol, and I'm seeking help for my fiance. He has OCD and anxiety, and I'm hoping to find natural ways to help him. Do you think energy healing work would be helpful? Thank you for your time, and blessed be!
- Carol

Dear Carol:

OCD (Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder) is just the sort of malady that is best addressed through spiritual therapy. In fact, doctors don't know what causes OCD because the roots of anxiety disorders are metaphysical in nature - the problem really is all in the sufferer's mind. This is good news if you ask me, because it can be easier to create change on a mental level than on a physical level.

For those who aren't familiar, OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The classic stereotype is of a person who repeatedly washes her hands because she's paranoid about germs. Compulsive behaviors are designed to give the sufferer a sense of control over her own fate. For example, someone who fears getting sick might compulsively wash her hands or sterilize her environment in an attempt to prevent contamination. There are other manifestations of OCD, such as endlessly counting or otherwise evaluating things in one's environment, or feeling bombarded by intrusive thoughts of harm to one's self or others.

While a little bit of nervousness in certain situations can make us try harder, anxiety disorders involve fears that are irrational or totally overblown and counter-productive given the situation at hand. While some people can think their way out of silly phobias and other anxiety-provoking situations, others know that their fears make no sense, yet they feel powerless to overcome them.

Many years ago I struggled with OCD myself. In my case, I would obsessively check rooms for spiders. I couldn't relax, as my eyes were constantly drawn to the corners, looking for dark spots or movement. I would also endlessly break words down into asymmetrical visual blocks of two and three letters. For example, the word "orange" would break down to "or an ge," and the word "start" would break down to "st a rt."

The first step in healing OCD is to recognize that there is always some greater issue the disorder is masking. Sometimes this is something important but scary that the individual is trying to avoid facing. For example, if a young person is deeply afraid of moving out of his parents' house, he may go into denial about that fear. As he puts off moving out, however, he may find himself generally anxious and afraid of all sorts of things that seem totally unrelated to living on his own. In this way, his mind is kept busy with lesser fears so he never has time to face the real issue.

Often the fear behind OCD stems from some trauma that was never healed, which may have occurred either in this life or a past life. Fear of public speaking often stem from school-related childhood experiences in this life, while strange or irrational phobias can often be traced to past lives. For example, germ-related phobias may stem from a past life in which a fatal illness was contracted. If someone compulsively checks to make sure the oven is turned off or the house is locked up, and they haven't suffered a fire or home invasion in this life, then a related past life tragedy may be indicated.

Whether anxiety stems from a past experience in this life or a past life, one of the most powerful treatments is hypnosis. This will go to the root of the problem, which is a subconscious belief that there is a real reason to be afraid. You see, we can talk to our conscious minds all day long, trying to reason with them, but if our subconscious believes we have to wash our hands every five minutes to prevent germ contamination, the urge to wash will still be there. If we try to ignore it, we'll only get more anxious.

There is something else to consider, however, and that is the role that earthbound spirits may play in anxiety disorders. Lower astral entities who want to feed off our energy will plant ideas in our heads that are designed to lower our vibration so they can get past our natural psychic barriers. (This is kind of like distracting a prison guard by throwing rocks in another direction so they can slip over the prison wall.) Often the anxious thoughts of OCD do come from lower astrals who either want to get into our energy field or keep our vibration low so they can continue to feed off of the fear they're evoking.

It's also possible for OCD to arise via the attachment of a spirit that had its own anxiety issues. For example, if your aunt was paranoid about germs, and she were to linger and attach to your energy field when she departed this life, you could suddenly find yourself obsessed with germs just like she was. If hypnosis doesn't prove helpful for OCD, spirit releasement therapy might.

General spiritual development can of course greatly help with anxiety issues, as the remedy for too much fear is naturally more faith. Since anxiety is fearful energy that is trapped in the body or aura, yoga could prove very helpful, for it will get that energy moving and promote peace and a flexible approach to life. Bodywork like cranio-sacral therapy may also prove helpful, as its purpose is to find and release repressed issues and energies.

Finally, while I believe a spiritual approach is indeed best here, I wouldn't rule out medication, as it can boost your fiance's mood. A higher mood produces a higher vibration, which would empower him to create the peace and happiness he desires. Also, if he believes medication will help him, the placebo effect alone would help him to both relax and manifest healing.

- Julia