I’ve been thinking about becoming a Christian. I’m not trying to force myself to believe in god. But after I read people’s experiences on becoming a Christian. Their lives improved a lot. I just wanted a peaceful life. Can anyone share your experience of being an atheist, then becoming a Christian?
Nope, it didn’t help me in my life at all—it made things worse in some ways. No religion or spiritual belief helped and the existence of god or an afterlife also doesn’t make any sense.
I have religious ocd and God will improve your life in all areas. Woth ocd, family, your life etc...
I don’t think religion will improve your OCD. Their are people who have religious OCD.
@Anonymous I’m not trying to improve my ocd through religion. I just want a more peaceful life. So I wanted people to share their experiences.
True, religion won't improve OCD, and there are religious themes. But many Christians with OCD will tell you that God has helped them in some way with their OCD, i.e. God being the one that gives them peace and motivation
Here are my thoughts (I am a Christian, but I will try to keep in mind both viewpoints while responding). Being plain with you, Christianity will not necessarily make your life more peaceful. It could even make it worse through persecution. The Bible talks in a parable about scattered seeds where some grew strong but others did not; simplified, I've heard that that verse is often used to explain that the reason why you believe is important and can make you a strong believer, or if you believe for the wrong reasons persecution may diminish your faith. So peacefulness isn't the best reason to become a Christian, there are better reasons to. The reason why Christianity can be so uplifting is because of the belief that Jesus died for your sins because He loves you, and because of that you can not only go to heaven but are also able to be reconciled with God. What do you believe? Is Christianity true? Then of course you should follow the truth! Nobody's going to force you to believe it, of course. Are you unsure, but think it might be the right thing? Then look into it, take some time to think about it, but don't put it off because this is important. Try reading one, or a few, or all, of the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). If you would like, I could show you a YouTube video that might help paint a clearer picture of what I'm trying to say here. Or if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Also, perhaps talk to a pastor. There are different denominations of Christianity, with different beliefs, some small differences and some large, so that's something to keep in mind. (I personally don't "follow" any specific denomination, I just claim to be a "Bible believing follower of Jesus".) If you can't get a hold of a pastor through phone call or email, or if you would rather, you could attend a church service and seek to speak with the pastor after service
Personally, what motivates me religiously is the search for truth. I think the truth is very important. Jesus says He is the truth.
I think it’s a person to person thing. I’ll share a small bit of my own experience. I was raised Christian and reconverted at the age of 23 and was actually personally happier but I know from experience that others had the opposite experience. I converted to a non-Abraham of religion about a year ago after dabbling in atheistic paganism for a year before that. I’m happy with my spiritual path but it is my path and I don’t believe I have found the one true path or anything so I can’t say I recommend anyone else do the same. If you want to see how it goes, and it’s just curiosity and not OCD driven I think it’s worth a try. My conversion had no effect on my OCD in either direction but it did give me some scaffolding to start rebuilding my life with. I’m not entirely sure if this is what you weee looking for or not but hopefully it’s in the ballpark. I hope you find what it is you are looking for, friend.
There are great books about Christianity and OCD. It can be helpful!
@Anonymous The OCD Healing Journey by Mark DeJesus was instrumental in my recovery! He also had free videos on YouTube
i think finding Jesus will help you tremendously in all aspects of life. even tho i suffer from religious OCD, i still know that Jesus loves me no matter what i might think/have a weird thought about Him. God is my foundation for all of my decisions, morals, and while it can be difficult to do His will instead of what i want to do, i know that doing His will will always have the best outcome. Jesus has saved me when i was suicidal and depressed. He has always been there for me, through the good and the bad. i really hope you believe and become baptized in the name of the Father and pf the Son and of the Holy Spirit 🩷 God is calling you☺️
I was confirmed in the Catholic Church 5 months ago and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
Welcome home! 🙏
I know that in my experience-I was Christian for a few years and then stepped away for many years. When I was actively in the church-my life was happier, I felt lighter and had a positive community of people to interact with. That decision is ultimately up to you though. If you want to make that decision for your life-it’s yours alone don’t let me or anyone else sway you ❤️
As a Christian myself, I do recommend Jesus. Has always been there for me & even in hard times you know you are not alone & someone will provide for you! Jesus is not a religion, it’s more like an intimate relationship. He knows what you’ve done & still wants to have a relationship with you! He loved you so much, he died for you, so that you can spend time with him in the afterlife! God loves you & I do too! 🤍
I'm pagan and minus my ocd I think my morals and goals help to keep my life peaceful. It takes work and has taken hard decisions but no life is perfect. I think if your beliefs are aligned with Christianity that's great jump in but as it was said it won't just make it easier that takes work. If you don't follow their belief 🤷🏻♂️ study some anyways. It's always great to learn about someone else's beliefs.
Choosing to believe in God and to have a personal relationship with God is definitely a personal choice. For me, I am a Christian. I still started struggling with OCD regardless of my faith, and the OCD even started messing with my faith! BUT for me, my faith in God and knowing Jesus HAS helped my life in many ways, OCD recovery included. I found this book called The OCD Healing Journey by Mark DeJesus, and it has been such a huge part of my recovery! Mark is a Pastor who also struggled with OCD and now helps others. He also has tons of OCD videos for free on YouTube. The book is reconnecting me to the love of God in Christ, and for me it’s making all the difference.
Does anyone have any tips on how to move on from intrusive thoughts when you’re constantly afraid that if you ignore them God will be mad at you?
Do you ever have a situation in front of you and you genuinely don’t know the best way to get through it? Like a difficult situation but the question is do you grind it out or use self compassion and give yourself breaks? There are so many different philosophies to follow, even if they’re not formal philosophies. For example, I have watched a lot of David Goggins and Jocko Willink on YouTube. Both of them have very extreme philosophies of discipline and how to handle hardship. Both of their philosophies have helped me during times of hardships in my life. But other philosophies have also helped me at other times of hardships in my life, philosophies that have more to do with self kindness and self compassion. So sometimes it seems like there’s so many approaches to how to live life that it’s paralyzing. Were any of y’all able to overcome the seemingly endless amount of choices towards mindsets to approach life with? How were y’all able to overcome this?
hi. so one big factor of my OCD is rumination. i met a guy who i have a crush on the idea of (idea bc there are red flags). my biggest fear is not finding true love, my ex told me no one else would deal with what i have (my ocd, specifically reassurance seeking and getting overstimulated after intimacy). a few weeks ago, my friends and family all gathered and tried to give me advice that sounded like “you’re shy and you’ll never find someone.” after that, i’ve felt off. i’ve been using an unhealthy coping skill, daydreaming, and i’ve just felt unbalanced. my ocd makes everything feel different sometimes, i can’t explain it. life, myself, almost like being in a dissociated state. has anyone else experienced that? i don’t know how to remain balanced during my off times and i know pms exasperates it all. i take ashwaghanda and omega 3s in a multi vitamin daily. i take them all together in the evening but i’ve missed three days recently and also messed with my rocky sleep schedule because of fun times with friends. i hope these supplements work, because i don’t know if i’d be brave enough for medication. i had a bad reaction on prozac and often am forgetful. i just have been battling my OCD consciously for almost ten years now and unconsciously for longer. i am so tired, as my mental health extends beyond my OCD. i’m in talk therapy with some cbt aspects but i only see her twice a month. i’ve broken down so many times and promised myself id get on track or that certain things would work, but it’s like i am stuck in a circle that gets smaller when i’m able to help myself. i just want to be normal. i want to be able to mess up my sleep schedule to enjoy good times and not suffer horrible consequences or fear that i will be entirely thrown off balance. i don’t want to worry or doubt or feel so dissociative that i squint my eyes for a moment and wonder why i feel so unreal. i will never understand why god has allowed me to go through this. i cannot let it be for nothing but i don’t know how much more to bend and contort my body and brain to get somewhere stable but how lovely it would be if i could. i don’t have much of a schedule right now, i get apathetic and give in with things from time to time. one thing can trigger me and i am back to square one wether in a week or month. any advice, any and all is so helpful. your stories, your thoughts. maybe feeling less alone and knowing what has helped you is exactly what i need right now. thank you 💗
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