- Date posted
- 1y
is it okay..
is it okay to take a break from reading your bible once in a while? sometimes my ocd gets really bad and reading scriptures and verses sometimes make it worse. but i feel bad for not doing it.
is it okay to take a break from reading your bible once in a while? sometimes my ocd gets really bad and reading scriptures and verses sometimes make it worse. but i feel bad for not doing it.
Yes I would say so, it’s not healthy to have it feel so much like a chore with reading words getting too ritualistic which is not good for OCD at least in my case, this happens to me too and I feel like I’m reading it just to say I did and not get anything out of it. Try to let God guide you towards reading scriptures at the right time and discern things to take out of the Bible rather than just reading it as if you’re on autopilot is better to me. Taking a break would certainly help I’d say since the OCD is making you feel bad for not reading it but we have to break that feeling, as long as you don’t completely detach yourself from reading it altogether you should be fine. Hope this helps ❤️
@VictoriaCatherine#88 thank you!!
How come you steer away from reading? Do you have triggers to some words ? but also, sometimes steering away from something because your ocd makes you feel anxious from this certain thing, can sometimes make your ocd get worse in other area
Would it help to keep the routine of reading something reflectively, but read/do something else? Like reading religious poetry, a different liturgy that’s not the actual Bible (Kate Bowler has a lovely collection of prayers specifically for terrible times), or making reflective or religious art. I even saw a coloring book inspired by the psalms! At least for me, the part of regular religious practice that’s healing is setting aside time in my day to reflect and connect with something bigger than myself, but if reading the Bible every single day is not healthy for you, then I would not feel pressured to do that. Maybe you can take out time to do something else that rejuvenates you, even if it’s not directly religious
@RatDad thank you!
Hey, I’ve been trying to grow in my Catholic faith, but my ocd makes it very hard. I read a passage about a saint going through a great ordeal and start panicking that I need to give up everything and be martyred painfully. I seem to always hyperfocus on unhelpful book passages that make me afraid of God and see Him as a tyrant. I admire those who can read others words on faith, but I get suicidal, self harm, or turn away from God because I get sucked in so deep. That’s the obsessive part of ocd. Do you have any tips on how to get past this?
Nearly a week since I stopped in the middle of a compulsion and I still feel stressed and tempted to finish it. My throat, ears, head, chest, legs,arms, my body has been hurting since then. And if I finish it will it stop? But what's stopping me is.. I've been trying to trust God to handle it. Idk what to do rn, Ive been trying to set up a schedule for this week but it ended up not working out so I will try again next week, and School work I'm years behind (I'm in yr 10), I don't rlly have any friends either to help me. But anyways I try not to think about school that much since I have alot more to think about. And I don't even have any talent or anything I want to be I just want to be a good person but I'm horrible I just need to do focus on stuff Like getting closer to God. looking after myself. The OCD thoughts which. I can't do any of these tho because the OCD makes me so stressed I just want to hit the OCD in the face but I can't obviously so I do it to myself, And they make me want to do more to myself but I don't because ✝️ And I don't want to. Anyways I can't even do the basic things to look after yourself, and The OCD thoughts keep saying about death all the time, and illness. I don't like hearing it in my head all the time I can't do anything properly. And Those thoughts are active when I try read the Bible. Even when I used an audio bible. And a app where u read 1 verse at a time it's still hard. But basically what do I do My throat keeps feeling weird like burning without the feeling hot ughhshsheh I don't want to go back into that life when I was 12-13 where I was worrying about my health and checking with doctor all the time
So I am a practicing Catholic, and I've gotten into reading the Bible this year, praying the Rosary, things like that, and while I love to do that, my OCD has been seeming to take over, in ways such as like I have to read the Bible for a certain amount of time before I'm satisfied with the time read, or something along those lines, and it's starting to make the thought of praying and reading the Bible unenjoyable, which is really hurting me inside, because I used to and want to enjoy it so bad, but now this is making it really hard to, because it feels like I don't have control over my own thoughts, and little things trigger the thoughts, it's just so annoying. If there's anything anyone thinks I can do to combat this please let me know.
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