Christians and ERP question: My OCD revolves around religion (Christian) and harm, often tying them together with arbitrary scriptures from the Old Testament. My compulsions are usually answering the questionable passages with things that help me resolve the uncertainty of the passage and how it relates to me. My therapist wants me to do exposures of reading these scriptures without finding the answers through research or even my own logic. Just let the question be there. This is so very hard because it threatens to pull my faith out from underneath me if I don’t answer it. Some of the questions are so anxiety-provoking because they are Old Testament laws of wrath and punishment. I know all the Christian answers to these, and I could easily answer it. Sometimes this will bring relief, other times it won’t. So, my challenge is simply not answering it, which then leaves me in a state of deep confusion. Anyways, since these are questions many people have and struggle with that don’t have OCD, I wonder how this can be OCD?? I’ve had OCD in other themes (HoCD, harm ocd), but this just seems so different because they are valid and legit questions and I just want to resolve them! Anybody have any insight into this?

I am a Christian also. I somewhat understand. I have harm OCD and I have stood on Biblical truths to live through this. I would say this…I know for a fact and beyond a shadow of a doubt OCD can make you question EVERYTHING and will try to shake you to your very core. I would say that OCD is causing doubt when it comes to even the fundamental Biblical principles. It has done that to me and no matter how much logic and truth you tell yourself OCDwill make you doubt. To me it is the most maddening aspect of my OCD. Does this help?

I AM THE SAME WAY! I am a deep thinker and I have in the past thought on deep theological questions for days. It would be all consuming. Yet I’ve learned that this is not healthy. It takes practice but try to understand you don’t have to answer it immediately. Believe me I know it’s difficult. In our minds it’s life or death but ultimately it’s not. With that said you CANNOT allow OCD to control you in a way that keeps you from your faith. If you do I promise it will keep taking from you! It’s never satisfied. So keep doing your studies. Just when you get to a theological question just take a deep breath and SLOWLY solve it. Also, when OCD makes you question things you already know…recognize it and don’t engage it. The less you engage it the less the OCD will scream and belly ache. And just like a child when it gets thru throwing it’s tantrum the thought will fade.

Absolutely! You’re are the right track. Keep fighting the good fight my friend.

Also, if the questions cause you to get anxiety, or strong urge to argue with your thoughts and figure it out or same thoughts repeatedly then it’s OCD. Here’s something that will help you. If you think it is an OCD thought then it needs to be treated as an OCD thought. Checking and arguing with it will only make the doubt grow.

I just can't be religious for this reason mostly.

I deal with Scupulousity. It eats me up alive at night.