I have a question for other people with Religious OCD or anyone that can help. Is it normal to feel guilty about not praying, worshiping, reading, etc enough? I struggle everyday feeling like I’m not doing enough and i also struggle to feel God’s presence. Like if I’m doing something or just relaxing enjoying myself I get this feeling like I could read right now and do more. I normally read at night before bed because its the time I’m most alone and not around family (I just like the be able to be personal with God) but when i wait till bed i get this feeling that I’m doing something wrong like that i should have done it at a different time and it would be better. And then I start worrying I’m not putting God first when i try to but i alway fall short. I try to pray every time before I eat, pray generally throughout the day and before bed. I try to listen to Christian music when i can but when i chose sometimes to listen to older music even though there isn’t anything wrong with the songs I feel so guilty because I should have listen to Christian music. I also feel guilty when i enjoy a gift or get a paycheck because its like i don’t want to put anything before God and i don’t want to enjoy this thing because its of the world in a way. Its materialistic. I try to read at least a devotional and the verse of the day and any verses that go along with the devotional i try to take to heart. I do that daily unless I absolutely cant i don’t normally miss a day of that ( i know devotions cant replace reading the Bible by yourself. I try to read like more of the Bible daily but reading the Bible itself sometimes triggers me to worry so Im slowly trying to get into more of my own personal study) I’m really lost in what to do. My anxiety was doing better and i was able to feel God. But for a past few months its been dead I don’t know if I’m worrying to much or something. I try to get into the Bible but everything has become so much more stressful because of how much I worry about how I’m doing in my walk as a Christian. Its like i want to feel God and i want to be better so bad but it wont happen. I know i cant earn anything i just don’t know how to do better. I know i could read more everyone could but what if im not doing it right or just not enough heart put into reading. I have tried but im not sure what to do.

I’ve struggled a lot with this same thing. Having this feeling that if I’m not perfect I will be punished somehow. But I don’t believe God wants us to be miserable. We are His children and he loves us and wants us to be happy. He knows we can’t be perfect and I don’t think that’s the point anyway. We are here to learn and grow and lots of these trials are given to us so we can become better more empathetic humans. I was listening to another program today where they were talking about ‘divine neglect’. It’s the concept that you can’t possibly do everything you ‘should’ do every day so you do your best and let God make up the rest. He loves us and wants us to be at peace and will help. Hope this helps in some way!

It’s like reading my own story! The things you mentioned, I happened to think about that before. What helped me was my therapist said that don’t beat myself so hard about it. That God is everywhere, I can feel Him even in small things like appreciating the air I am breathing, looking at the nature etc. And I kinda exposed myself to the intrusive thoughts. Like if I feel guilty that I wasn’t able to do daily devotion, I will just let it be like that and say to myself that’s it’s okay. Before if I miss it, I will pray so hard and ask forgiveness to God. Don’t get me wrong, I still have Religious OCD, just shifted to different topic right now, my anxiety and guilty are so bad this past few days. I am resisting to do compulsions of searching Google and bible and ruminating. I am hoping it get better soon and that I am doing the right thing.

I can relate but unfortunately I have no solution

Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing on here. I’ve definitely experienced this even though I don’t think it was OCD related. I always felt like I wasn’t doing enough in my relationship with Christ. Have you brought this up with your therapist? You can do some exposures around this obsession. It will be distressing at first, but it will be very helpful to decrease your distress overtime. You could come up with some uncertainty statements such as, “I may or may not be doing enough in my relationship with Jesus.” Sitting with that uncertainty until your distressed lessons by 50% will be very helpful in the long run. I’m so sorry you’re experiencing such distress, but remember that you are stronger than OCD!

I think it’s really important to understand what God “actually” expects of us. Set some time aside to learn about that in the scriptures or from trusted religious leaders. Im a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so I do have a bias towards it’s principles. The scriptures say “feast upon Christ’s word”. Idk about you, but I feast maybe a max of 30min before I am too full to eat more. I believe god expects me to study his word, but has never specifically said for how long or how much. So for me, I feel 30min each day is sufficient. Set a realistic time goal, stick with it, and don’t do more out of compulsion.