Looking for advice from other Christians who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

[PinkFlowers]

A lot of my OCD obsessions have lately been around my relationship with God and my relationship with my boyfriend. So as you can imagine, these being two of the most important parts of my life, I am really struggling right now. My worry is that I am sinning by being with my boyfriend, because he isn’t “Christian enough” and that I am rebelling against God by being with him, and am therefore not truly saved. I worry that if I were to die while being in a relationship with him that I would be sent to hell. I feel like this is my OCD, but I worry that it isn’t, or that it’s God telling me to do something and I am ignoring it. I am really worried about this because I love my boyfriend and I don’t want to lose him, but at the same time, more than anything, I don’t want to displease God. I want to do whatever it is He wants me to do. I am just worried that being with my boyfriend is displeasing God. These thoughts started about a month ago and I get so much anxiety about it. I worry that the only way to get rid of the anxiety is to break up with my boyfriend, but I don’t know if that is the right thing to do because I really have felt like he would be the one I marry, you know, like I don’t want to be with someone else. I really want to be with him. But at the same time if I knew God was telling me to do something like break up with him, I would do it. I am really confused and anxious about this. I think it’s OCD but at the same time I don’t want to write it off as that if it isn’t. Can anyone relate? I need help!

 

[JimJimmers]

Well, the first thing is to look to God's manual. The Bible. Is your boyfriend doing anything that The Bible says not to do? I realize we are all sinners, but is he a swindler? An idolater? A fornicator? God set those things in stone, so we can compare to them to see if we are in the right swing of things.

 

[PinkFlowers]

Thank you for the response JimJimmers. My boyfriend feels that he is a strong Christian. Him and I go to church together. We also plan on going on a mission trip together this summer. I would say he has some things to work on, but at the same time, we all have some things to work on. I just have a hard time stopping obsessing.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Thank you for the response JimJimmers. My boyfriend feels that he is a strong Christian. Him and I go to church together. We also plan on going on a mission trip together this summer. I would say he has some things to work on, but at the same time, we all have some things to work on. I just have a hard time stopping obsessing.

Prayer and the Scriptures should be the daily breath of the Christian. If we seek to honor the Lord Jesus, then we may be sure that the Lord will use prayer and the Scriptures and the fellowship of other Christians to change us more and more into His image, if that fellowship is founded on 'fellowship ..with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ' (1 John 1).

Blessings.

 

[JesusLives]

We are to put God first in everything we do - Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. You are at least asking questions before you marry your boyfriend... Talk to God about it in prayer ask Him if it is His will that you two are together. Do both of you put God first? Or are you doing things that might not be pleasing to God and your relationship to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend? Only you can answer these questions.

Dear Father In Heaven

Please guide PinkFlowers in her relationship with her boyfriend and help her to make wise choices in that relationship. Please Father help her and her boyfriend to put you first in all that they do to bring honor and glory to Your Name. Help clear her confusion and help her to know the right thing to do. Thank You Father for hearing and answering this prayer. In Jesus Name Amen.

 

[PinkFlowers]

Thank you so much for praying. I will pray about this myself as well. I feel that my boyfriend and I need to work on putting God first. In the past we had gone a little too far (kissing-wise, no sex) and we talked about it and have since stopped doing that and have really tried to keep our relationship appropriate. This is part of the reason I think this is OCD...but I just worry that I will mistake it for OCD when it's not. I really just want to do right in the eyes of God. But it is hard for me to tell what is OCD and what is not.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Thank you so much for praying. I will pray about this myself as well. I feel that my boyfriend and I need to work on putting God first. In the past we had gone a little too far (kissing-wise, no sex) and we talked about it and have since stopped doing that and have really tried to keep our relationship appropriate. This is part of the reason I think this is OCD...but I just worry that I will mistake it for OCD when it's not. I really just want to do right in the eyes of God. But it is hard for me to tell what is OCD and what is not.

It's good to seek to honor the Lord. Don't forget the daily prayer and Bible reading, including with him if possible. From now on, if he stays zipped, it will be God honoring. God bless your efforts by His grace to follow the Lord.

 

[damombomb]

I would not call this ocd, because you seem to be very attentive to the things of the Lord.Praying the Lord will give you peace
and joy, in Jesus name.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I would not call this ocd, because you seem to be very attentive to the things of the Lord.Praying the Lord will give you peace
and joy, in Jesus name.

This is always a good sign.

 

[ji]

A lot of my OCD obsessions have lately been around my relationship with God and my relationship with my boyfriend. So as you can imagine, these being two of the most important parts of my life, ------
------
------
------- I am really confused and anxious about this. I think it’s OCD but at the same time I don’t want to write it off as that if it isn’t. Can anyone relate? I need help!

Yea,there are times when we fear/worry too much.
If you Love him that much Pray to God on His(God's) Desire.If then,nothing is blocking make haste to Get Married.
And constrain yourself,till you're married.
If he isn't Christian enough,Pray strongly.God will give you wisdom to do things wisely.And you won't regret it later,because you went to God for Help rather than trusting in your own knowledge...
Having a crush on someone is not love.Marriage is responsibility and without true love its hard to stay.
Marriage without God is easy prey for devil.
i had crush before,had almost close affairs.Then God pulled me out of it all.
It's all vanity and vexation..(refer Ecclesiastes - KJV)

Stay safe.God's view is Love the person you marry,relationship before that doesn't count.And after getting married staying purposefully (because the opposite gender didnt fit our imagination) away and apart from each other is a terrible sin before God.
Love must endure.With Prayer and meditation all things are possible.

God Bless.
my personal suggestion:Get married when you get a maturity level and confidence to get into a real committment-marriage.
With Prayer and meditation all things are possible.

 

[JoshJoseph2]

I have been diagnosed with OCD so yes I can relate. For me a lot of the times things that are very important to me in life are the things that I obsess about the most. Some examples (very brief examples, I have a lot of examples but I will try to keep it short): When I was younger I cared deeply about my life, I loved life. As I got a bit older, I would obsess about dying, to the point where it made living life very difficult and to the point where I believed in my heart that I would die before waking up in the morning. I also deeply loved my parents, so I also worried about them dying and or abandoning me. As I got interested in God my worries and fears shifted. I worried about certain letters being a sin, certain numbers and I had to pray a certain number of times or I felt like I would be in trouble with God. Basically what I am saying is, whatever I cared about a lot (Life,Parents and then God) is what I would obsess about the most. I don't know your boyfriend but he may be very important to you and this may be you obsessing over him and in your heart you want to keep him as a boyfriend but you may be obsessing and worrying about whats wrong with him, when in reality there may not be a good reason to break up with him. As someone who has been diagnosed with OCD it helped a lot talking to a doctor about it, so you may want to do that, if you haven't already done so. I wish you the best here and you are in my prayers. Also worrying about my salvation is also something I share with you, it can be tough and if you ever need someone to talk to, I am here for ya.

 

[PinkFlowers]

Thank you, I can relate to all of the obsessions you mentioned. It's always comforting to know I'm not the only one who thinks like this. I haven't talked to a doctor about it, because honestly I only have a few people, and of course God, who know I have OCD. I guess part of it is embarrassment. Half of my family even has OCD, but they have tried medication and seemed to not be very fond of it. They are all searching for natural remedies. Have you tried medication?

 

[ji]

Thank you, I can relate to all of the obsessions you mentioned. It's always comforting to know I'm not the only one who thinks like this. I haven't talked to a doctor about it, because honestly I only have a few people, and of course God, who know I have OCD. I guess part of it is embarrassment. Half of my family even has OCD, but they have tried medication and seemed to not be very fond of it. They are all searching for natural remedies. Have you tried medication?

The best doctor is God.people are impatient.Talking from experience.

"When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus Heals..
God Bless.

 

[JoshJoseph2]

Thank you, I can relate to all of the obsessions you mentioned. It's always comforting to know I'm not the only one who thinks like this. I haven't talked to a doctor about it, because honestly I only have a few people, and of course God, who know I have OCD. I guess part of it is embarrassment. Half of my family even has OCD, but they have tried medication and seemed to not be very fond of it. They are all searching for natural remedies. Have you tried medication?

My fears and worries were a bit embarrassing to me too at first. From my experience from talking with the doctor, it felt very normal and felt like they have been through a lot of people who are dealing with the same things or similar things as me. That felt really reassuring to me and helped me a bit. As for your question, I have been on medication for a few months (currently I am not on anything). I felt really good and really happy, I don't really recall many times where I obsessed on the medication. It's kind of tough for me to say if the medication helped or not because I have been in seasons of my life without medication that I did not obsess either. I eventually stopped using medication because I was afraid that I had suicidal thoughts because of the medication. What happened was I seen someone post something suicidal on Facebook and then had those thoughts and worried that the medication was causing the thoughts and or making them worse, but my doctor tells me that he doesn't believe it was the medication that caused the thoughts and I think I believe him. There is a lot of options for you, I know you said it's comforting to know you're not the only one who thinks like this. If you aren't up for medication perhaps group therapy could be an option or just one on one counseling. (all of these options can be with medication too, I believe)

 

[NightRevan]

Hi PinkFlowers, to be honest I didn't expect to be back here, and I only briefly popped in earlier to see if my account was still here, however that is neither here nor there, but I did catch this thread.

The important this is yes it is a result of your OCD, and it is a known form of OCD one that either manifests purely as this, or those like yourself who already suffer from OCD disorder in other areas may have it manifest in this area as well. Those who have OCD or similar have given some good advice but I'm afraid those who don't are giving precisely the wrong advice to those who suffer from this form of OCD.

What you are showing symptoms off is the form of OCD I suffer from (a lot) it's call scrupulosity, and quite allot of Christians suffer from it, it is known about within mental health circles obviously, and in some pastoral circles in the Church but sadly isn't well know outside of those so sufferers often go through mental hell without realising what is happening. From my own experience not knowing what it was, it was devastating to my Christian walk, and life in general leading to deep depression and OCD breakdown and burnout. A number of famous Christians have suffered from it, Martin Luther also certainly suffered from it, and John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim's Progress) and wrote about his experience with it in 'Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners'.

Anyway here are two important links, first a general medical breakdown:

Scrupulosity: Religious Obsessions and Compulsions - HealthyPlace

And the next is very important, it's a series of pages written to those suffering scrupulosity by a Christian therapist, very Christ focused but very good at both explaining what is happen, why it is, and addresses the issues you face and why you don't need to fear as God understands it is your OCD acting concerning the very things you least want to do. I would recommend carefully making your way through them, as they are full of testimonies of people like ourselves, and really gives you a clear picture of what going on, why, put everything in the perspective of Christ's absolute hold, acceptance and love for you, and gives you some clear directions forward.

Scrupulosity: Salvation worry. Severe guilt.

(these ones will really help, I believe, so do take a look at them ).

Also since my account is still functional, if you do want to talk or discuss things, just pm me, and I'll be happy to talk about it as a fellow sufferer.

God bless you, protect you and lead you to the full realisation of His total and absolute love and acceptance of you in Jesus the Messiah, and to know that He will never abandon, forsake or cast you away, not now, not ever.

 

[PinkFlowers]

Hi PinkFlowers, to be honest I didn't expect to be back here, and I only briefly popped in earlier to see if my account was still here, however that is neither here nor there, but I did catch this thread.

The important this is yes it is a result of your OCD, and it is a known form of OCD one that either manifests purely as this, or those like yourself who already suffer from OCD disorder in other areas may have it manifest in this area as well. Those who have OCD or similar have given some good advice but I'm afraid those who don't are giving precisely the wrong advice to those who suffer from this form of OCD.

What you are showing symptoms off is the form of OCD I suffer from (a lot) it's call scrupulosity, and quite allot of Christians suffer from it, it is known about within mental health circles obviously, and in some pastoral circles in the Church but sadly isn't well know outside of those so sufferers often go through mental hell without realising what is happening. From my own experience not knowing what it was, it was devastating to my Christian walk, and life in general leading to deep depression and OCD breakdown and burnout. A number of famous Christians have suffered from it, Martin Luther also certainly suffered from it, and John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim's Progress) and wrote about his experience with it in 'Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners'.

Anyway here are two important links, first a general medical breakdown:

Scrupulosity: Religious Obsessions and Compulsions - HealthyPlace

And the next is very important, it's a series of pages written to those suffering scrupulosity by a Christian therapist, very Christ focused but very good at both explaining what is happen, why it is, and addresses the issues you face and why you don't need to fear as God understands it is your OCD acting concerning the very things you least want to do. I would recommend carefully making your way through them, as they are full of testimonies of people like ourselves, and really gives you a clear picture of what going on, why, put everything in the perspective of Christ's absolute hold, acceptance and love for you, and gives you some clear directions forward.

Scrupulosity: Salvation worry. Severe guilt.

(these ones will really help, I believe, so do take a look at them ).

Also since my account is still functional, if you do want to talk or discuss things, just pm me, and I'll be happy to talk about it as a fellow sufferer.

God bless you, protect you and lead you to the full realisation of His total and absolute love and acceptance of you in Jesus the Messiah, and to know that He will never abandon, forsake or cast you away, not now, not ever.

Thank you so much! This is very encouraging.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Thank you so much! This is very encouraging.

The Psalms contain many varied emotions and feelings: the highs, the lows, the sense of temporary despair before the reminder of faith, the joys, the deep sense of confidence, and so forth.

Maybe reading the Psalms regularly would be a help?

Blessings.

 

[PinkFlowers]

The Psalms contain many varied emotions and feelings: the highs, the lows, the sense of temporary despair before the reminder of faith, the joys, the deep sense of confidence, and so forth.

Maybe reading the Psalms regularly would be a help?

Blessings.

Yes, thank you! I read through the Psalms last year and it did help. Doesn't hurt to go through them again I suppose. :]

 

[jb]

A lot of my OCD obsessions have lately been around my relationship with God and my relationship with my boyfriend. So as you can imagine, these being two of the most important parts of my life, I am really struggling right now. My worry is that I am sinning by being with my boyfriend, because he isn’t “Christian enough” and that I am rebelling against God by being with him, and am therefore not truly saved. I worry that if I were to die while being in a relationship with him that I would be sent to hell. I feel like this is my OCD, but I worry that it isn’t, or that it’s God telling me to do something and I am ignoring it. I am really worried about this because I love my boyfriend and I don’t want to lose him, but at the same time, more than anything, I don’t want to displease God. I want to do whatever it is He wants me to do. I am just worried that being with my boyfriend is displeasing God. These thoughts started about a month ago and I get so much anxiety about it. I worry that the only way to get rid of the anxiety is to break up with my boyfriend, but I don’t know if that is the right thing to do because I really have felt like he would be the one I marry, you know, like I don’t want to be with someone else. I really want to be with him. But at the same time if I knew God was telling me to do something like break up with him, I would do it. I am really confused and anxious about this. I think it’s OCD but at the same time I don’t want to write it off as that if it isn’t. Can anyone relate? I need help!

These thoughts that you are having are NOT OCD!

When you get these nagging, condemning, accusing thoughts, they are NOT from God, but the Devil! The Devil IS the "accuser of the brethren", he accuses man to God and God to man (continuously)! Job chapters 1 & 2, Rev 12v10

He is also a liar, indeed he is the father of lies! John 8v44

When the Lord speaks to us, He speaks in the most tender gentle and loving way, EVEN when He disciplines us. He is kind, gentle and lowly! 1Kings 19v11,12, Matt 11v28-30, 1John 4v8,16

Reject these condemning thoughts, draw close to God and He will draw close to you and LET the peace of God keep, guard and protect your mind, spirit and soul! John 14v27, Rom 8v1, Phil 4v6,7

James 4v6-8 states: "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

You can find a few studies Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here to help you with your Christian walk...

Yahweh Shalom...

 

[faroukfarouk]

Yes, thank you! I read through the Psalms last year and it did help. Doesn't hurt to go through them again I suppose. :]

PinkFlowers: Yes, re-reading thing familiarizes the reader more and you'd be surprised how much you would remember and how much would still be fresh also. It's an amazing book.

Blessings.