To people with OCD/Scrupulosity(aka Religious OCD)

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CherieR

CherieR

Senior Member
#1
May 6, 2017
2,265
1,419
113
#1
It is ok to have negative intrusive thoughts whether blasphemy, sexual, profanity, or whatever else. You don't need to ask God to forgive you for such thoughts. Accept these thoughts and allow them to be there and leave when they are ready. I do not condone dwelling on them though. Dwell on good things such as the love of God for you. I know I have struggled with scrupulosity. I would ask God to forgive me for thoughts that popped into my mind(waste of time), wonder if I lied to God or in general, wondered if I prayed something right or well enough, and also repeated prayers. One thing I realized was that when we do sin, and we will, that God is like a loving Father. A loving Father would not say " you did not apologize well enough; you better repeat it" It is the same with God. If we ask God to forgive us one time for a sin, he is not going to ask us to repeat the prayer just because it wasn't "perfect". In fact, he doen't want us to repeat it. Remember that it is a waste of time to obsess over whether you sinned or not. Let God be the judge of whether you sinned or not. Let God be your judge, and Christ your advocate. " There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1. If you have believed on Jesus and the work he did on the cross and his resurrection and have received him, then you don't need to fear God's wrath. God's wrath was laid on Jesus at the cross. Look up the song Man Of Sorrows on YouTube. If you have received the Lord Jesus , then every sin is covered under the blood of Jesus.
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#2
#2
From what i've witnessed, with an ex who had OCD, is it's not so much the general thinking, but the 'attacks' of OCD. And this is when it becomes impossible to control the thoughts/anxiety that comes with it, particularly in religious areas. When my ex would question if she was still saved (which she didn't believe you could lose) all i could do was try to keep her from getting worse. No amount of talking or logic or anything phased her other than keeping her from getting worse. And sometimes she would anyways.
But that's the real issue with OCD, no matter how it plays out. Sometimes even people without it have the same issue. I once knew a woman that didn't have OCD and sometimes her fears would consume her, even when all evidence pointed to the contrary. It was like she couldn't be talked out of them.
I've been in similar situations. Even without OCD we can have those moments, but those with OCD i sympathize with after seeing what all my ex went through. So thank you for your post. I see many here that clearly do not grasp what OCD is or how it actually manifests, which often leads to making things worse for those here with OCD. So it's good to see someone say something useful and knowledgeable.
 
G00WZ

G00WZ

Senior Member
#3
May 16, 2014
1,313
447
83
37
#3
A few weeks ago i was telling one of my friends who struggles with this a lot, that we have 2 minds, the carnal mind, and the mind of Christ. A person will have these thoughts coming from the carnal mind, but it doesn't matter as long as they don't respond and act to them, they should be ignored and only thoughts that agree with God need to be focused and acted upon... Whatever a person focuses on they become alive to. We are to count ourselves dead to sin, and the carnal mind that is at enmity with God needs to be something that people count them self dead to.

Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:16 for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Romans 8:7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
 
CherieR

CherieR

Senior Member
#4
May 6, 2017
2,265
1,419
113
#4
Ugly said:
From what i've witnessed, with an ex who had OCD, is it's not so much the general thinking, but the 'attacks' of OCD. And this is when it becomes impossible to control the thoughts/anxiety that comes with it, particularly in religious areas. When my ex would question if she was still saved (which she didn't believe you could lose) all i could do was try to keep her from getting worse. No amount of talking or logic or anything phased her other than keeping her from getting worse. And sometimes she would anyways.
But that's the real issue with OCD, no matter how it plays out. Sometimes even people without it have the same issue. I once knew a woman that didn't have OCD and sometimes her fears would consume her, even when all evidence pointed to the contrary. It was like she couldn't be talked out of them.
I've been in similar situations. Even without OCD we can have those moments, but those with OCD i sympathize with after seeing what all my ex went through. So thank you for your post. I see many here that clearly do not grasp what OCD is or how it actually manifests, which often leads to making things worse for those here with OCD. So it's good to see someone say something useful and knowledgeable.
Click to expand...
I think what she could have used was for someone to lay hands on her to receive the Holy Ghost when it comes to assurance of salvation. I used to really struggle with calling God Father, but after I was prayed for to receive the Holy Ghost, I could finally call God Father. Even after that, I have prayed the sinners prayer more than once,but for me, receiving the Spirit really helped. I also speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is something that edifies oneself and I also do it when I am not completely sure what to pray for others. I have since stopped asking God to save me. Doubt with assurance of salvation can be a tricky thing. It is possible that the doubt may never go away completely.
 
I

imfinallyfree

Banned
#5
Dec 17, 2013
822
7
0
#5
I don't have OCD but I can appreciate where you are coming from.
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#6
#6
CherieR said:
I think what she could have used was for someone to lay hands on her to receive the Holy Ghost when it comes to assurance of salvation. I used to really struggle with calling God Father, but after I was prayed for to receive the Holy Ghost, I could finally call God Father. Even after that, I have prayed the sinners prayer more than once,but for me, receiving the Spirit really helped. I also speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is something that edifies oneself and I also do it when I am not completely sure what to pray for others. I have since stopped asking God to save me. Doubt with assurance of salvation can be a tricky thing. It is possible that the doubt may never go away completely.
Click to expand...
She only had this concern during her OCD attacks. When her OCD wasn't pushing the matter she didn't give it much thought. But that is the disease. Unless God chooses to heal it won't go away.
We receive the Spirit upon salvation, though. So no need to pray for a separate filling. And i am anti-charismatic so i would never encourage that kind of prayer or speaking in tongues.
Perhaps the 'Father' business has nothing at all to do with OCD. I have issues with the idea of loving God. Not just God, but people outside of my dad and whoever i'm dating. I've been told by others they can tell i love God, but for me to see love in that way feels extremely foreign. I could, in my own head, say i only love two people, and one of them it would be extremely awkward to verbalize it. But that's just an issue in my head, perhaps even self imposed. I'm still trying to work through it all. But i can't label it as being a mental disorder.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#7
Feb 7, 2015
22,418
413
0
#7
Another aspect of OCD behavior often overlooked is the propensity to go ahead and act out on the compulsion to perform that behavior... even if it is suppressed for often a couple of weeks, or more. People often think OCD is behavior that strikes suddenly, making a person act like a fruitcake, in a flurry of action.

What it really is..... is more the undeveloped mechanisms of learning appropriate control and release of desires. For a couple of months, I totally tried to deny that my instructor in this area had any idea what he was talking about.
 
CherieR

CherieR

Senior Member
#8
May 6, 2017
2,265
1,419
113
#8
Ugly said:
She only had this concern during her OCD attacks. When her OCD wasn't pushing the matter she didn't give it much thought. But that is the disease. Unless God chooses to heal it won't go away.
We receive the Spirit upon salvation, though. So no need to pray for a separate filling. And i am anti-charismatic so i would never encourage that kind of prayer or speaking in tongues.
Perhaps the 'Father' business has nothing at all to do with OCD. I have issues with the idea of loving God. Not just God, but people outside of my dad and whoever i'm dating. I've been told by others they can tell i love God, but for me to see love in that way feels extremely foreign. I could, in my own head, say i only love two people, and one of them it would be extremely awkward to verbalize it. But that's just an issue in my head, perhaps even self imposed. I'm still trying to work through it all. But i can't label it as being a mental disorder.
Click to expand...
I realize that speaking in tongues is a controversial subject. I was raised baptist, so I didn't always believe in it. When I was prayed for, I was not seeking tongues, just the Holy Spirit. I was encouraged to speak in tongues and I did. If you read the book of Acts, speaking in tongues and prophesying are in there. And that through the laying on of hands and prayer. I cannot deny my experience with receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was a big deal for me that I was able to call God Father right after that experience. It has changed my relationship with God for the better. Romans 8:16 says that the Spirit testifys with our spirit that we are the children of God. That is how I felt after I was prayed for.
 
CherieR

CherieR

Senior Member
#9
May 6, 2017
2,265
1,419
113
#9
Willie-T said:
Another aspect of OCD behavior often overlooked is the propensity to go ahead and act out on the compulsion to perform that behavior... even if it is suppressed for often a couple of weeks, or more. People often think OCD is behavior that strikes suddenly, making a person act like a fruitcake, in a flurry of action.

What it really is..... is more the undeveloped mechanisms of learning appropriate control and release of desires. For a couple of months, I totally tried to deny that my instructor in this area had any idea what he was talking about.
Click to expand...
I think that what you are saying is that the compulsions people engage in is a choice. That it doesn't just take them over all of a sudden. I don't quite understand about the underdeveloped mechanisms.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#10
Feb 7, 2015
22,418
413
0
#10
CherieR said:
I think that what you are saying is that the compulsions people engage in is a choice. That it doesn't just take them over all of a sudden. I don't quite understand about the underdeveloped mechanisms.
Click to expand...
This is, basically, applying more mental and emotional effort in overcoming what we can. It is surprising how many personal resources God has already given us, or is standing-by with additional answers.
 
A

ajmo

New member
#11
Nov 14, 2021
1
0
1
#11
I feel so alone and suffer from these thoughts. I try to fight them but they tend to get worse. I wonder where my relationship is with the Lord. I’m so sad and afraid. I feel like I’m the only one going through this. I feel like he’s left me.

QUOTE="CherieR, post: 3100196, member: 255831"]It is ok to have negative intrusive thoughts whether blasphemy, sexual, profanity, or whatever else. You don't need to ask God to forgive you for such thoughts. Accept these thoughts and allow them to be there and leave when they are ready. I do not condone dwelling on them though. Dwell on good things such as the love of God for you. I know I have struggled with scrupulosity. I would ask God to forgive me for thoughts that popped into my mind(waste of time), wonder if I lied to God or in general, wondered if I prayed something right or well enough, and also repeated prayers. One thing I realized was that when we do sin, and we will, that God is like a loving Father. A loving Father would not say " you did not apologize well enough; you better repeat it" It is the same with God. If we ask God to forgive us one time for a sin, he is not going to ask us to repeat the prayer just because it wasn't "perfect". In fact, he doen't want us to repeat it. Remember that it is a waste of time to obsess over whether you sinned or not. Let God be the judge of whether you sinned or not. Let God be your judge, and Christ your advocate. " There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1. If you have believed on Jesus and the work he did on the cross and his resurrection and have received him, then you don't need to fear God's wrath. God's wrath was laid on Jesus at the cross. Look up the song Man Of Sorrows on YouTube. If you have received the Lord Jesus , then every sin is covered under the blood of Jesus.[/QUOTE]
 
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