- Date posted
- 48w
Religion
Hey y'all, I've been noticing a lot of people on here are religious. It's been years since I've been religious myself, and I'm just curious as to whether it helps and how it helps with OCD.
Hey y'all, I've been noticing a lot of people on here are religious. It's been years since I've been religious myself, and I'm just curious as to whether it helps and how it helps with OCD.
From my perspective, it alleviates both fear and grief because everything is ordained by God, so there's no need to worry about what has already been determined. It also aids in accepting uncertainty by trusting in an All-Knowing Entity, who embodies Absolute Truth and certainty, known as God.
Makes sense, thanks so much for your insight!
I've kind of had a "falling out" of religion as of late but there was a 2 year time period when i was as close to God as i could've been. He helped me out of my ruts, He helped me stay calm and focusing on Him and our relationship gave me a purpose and a sense of security, I knew that no matter what I thought about He understood my heart and what I truly wanted or needed. He knew my struggles and I wasn't alone. That was my experience anyway
Thats lovely, thank you for sharing
Thats lovely, thank you for sharing
Yes, ocd is hard as are many things inife! I really feel.whole heartedly that God and my religion (Catholic) has gotten me as for as I have come. If I told you all that I have been through younwould not BELIEVE it. Yet, Inam still here and I give thanks to God for that! Did anyone ever heard of St. Padre Pio??? Look him up. He believed in not worrying!!! He has many pray etc but one he would always say is, "PRAY, HOPE, ABD DON'T WORRY!" One daybat work a customer cane up to me and said she had sonething fir me. She reached in her purse and handed me a coin with Paste Pup's PUCTURE on it and this prayer on the back! She said he mom had handed them out w
Sorry...my phone sent without me finishing. Anyway, she handed me a coin that had Padre Pio' s picture on it and this prayer on the back. Then lady told me he mom had handed these coins out when people were trying to get Padre. PIO canonized a saint! She said she had one left in her purse and she thought shed should give it to me. It was many years since this coins were being handed put....butbthe factvshe had one left and said she wanted to give it to me touched my heart! I told her I was going through so much and the fact she chose me to give that coun to wash unbelievable!!!! Her mom had died she told me some years earlier but she had one voin left.....and gave it to me...a stranger! She was never in your store abd never returned! I often pray to SaibtbPadre PO, God, Jesus, Mary, St. Rita thecsaint of the impossible, abd St. Jude the saint if hopeless cases. I pray you all the saints but those are some. I firmly believe TV at all i have gone through abd SLL I am going through I a for s the have been helped and am being gelped! OCD is hard abd it effects my entire life. However, I am getting stronger and HAVING God,,Jesus, Mary, and all the saibts and angels on my side when things get tough is just now I AM GETTING THROUGH THIS! My family does nit help. They ridicule me. They havecno understanding, compassion, empathy. With God, Nary,,Jesus, tgecangeks abd saints....I feel they see what I am going through abd they don't judge me. They help ne get stronger! I can donthis...AND YOU ALL CAN, TOO!!! :D
Thank you so much for sharing, your vulnerability is powerful - I definitely have to look up Padre Pio
@hemlocctea What did you mean that my vulnerability is powerful? I am confused.
@Anonymous - Talking about your own personal experiences and what helps you personally puts yourself in a vulnerable position, but it helps me understand and I'm sure it helps others too.
@hemlocctea So did Inhelp you? I hope so! I don't get how it makes me vulnerable. Maybe I am too honest and open?
Hello! It has been well documented that OCD can manifest itself in the form of religious rituals. There is a fine line between genuine piety and OCD. For those of you who have struggled or are still struggling with this, have you sought the guidance of a religious figure in addition to a therapist? Meaning, that you attend therapy with a therapist who works with you on ERP exercises, but also have a rabbi, priest, or imam who you use for guidance in determining what is actual piety versus behavior that is OCD?
Hi everyone. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for dealing with religious OCD. I'm a Christian and I struggle with Harm OCD but then somehow, my religious beliefs got mixed into this where I am suddenly asking all these questions on whether God/Jesus is even good. And as a result, I feel so distant from my faith which makes dealing with my harm OCD so much harder 😢 Any advice would be appreciated.
I realize this may not work for everyone, particularly those who are struggling with moral or existential forms of OCD, but as someone struggling with relationship OCD, here’s my proposition and what’s worked- 1. ERP and resisting compulsions involves intentionally exposing yourself to distress and not trying to do anything about it, but just sit with it. It is a fundamentally ascetic and meditative practice. 2. Resisting compulsions also means overcoming your bodily desire (because more than anything OCD is a nervous system response, not a rational one) for relief from distress, and instead aligning yourself with a higher principle that overcomes your temporal state. 3. OCD also operates similarly to addiction, and recovery outcomes for addicts are significantly improved through belief in a higher power. Higher power is actually one of the core elements of AA programs because it makes self discipline a lot easier. 4. ERP/CBD is effective, in part, because it already fits within the psychology of someone with OCD. What I mean by this is that it involves homework, specific procedures done at regular intervals, intense self discipline, and is overall pretty formulaic/ritualistic/somatic in nature. And we know that it works, and this method of addressing OCD tends to really excite and appeal to those who suffer with it. We act like the totality of OCD psychology is bad, but it also seems to be the key to reversing OCD, and may be a kind of superpower when properly utilized. 5. We have countless religious traditions that are thousands and thousands of years old which have developed techniques and rituals precisely for what OCD recovery needs- Getting out of a reactive state, getting into a state of gratitude and meditation, developing ascetic skills to overcome temptation (compulsions), being okay with uncertainty, creating a place of inner peace and compassion, having a system of accountability and reminders which keep you from slipping back into compulsive patterns, and doing all of this in community with people who experience the same struggle. So far, religion has been *the most* helpful thing I’ve done for my OCD. Here’s how this has played out in my own life: -Hesychastic prayer. This is an Eastern Orthodox tradition where you project the Jesus prayer, in repetition, channeling it not just from the mind or mouth but from the heart. It is deeply psychosomatic, with the goal of creating ego death and achieving a state of seeing God in all things. It creates a calm, warm feeling in my chest that feels identical to a psychedelic afterglow. It takes me out of my head and into my body, and the first time I tried it, with a prayer candle lit beside me, I experienced very rapid relief and was able to sleep for the first time without having any nightmares. I now do this consistently, along with other kinds of prayer and hymn recitation, and gratitude before meals, and it’s something I genuinely enjoy and look forward to. Since doing it, my compulsions have gone done by like 70%. Every time I feel myself slipping into compulsions, instead of doing them, I pause and pray. Prayer fills me with warmth, gratitude, and comfort. I feel connected to something greater than myself, my body becomes calm, my heart stops racing, and afterwards, I no longer feel compelled to perform my compulsions, because I know that it is harmful to myself and those around me, and that God is watching over me guiding me to act in a more thoughtful and wise way. This has single-handedly brought me more long term relief than any other OCD technique or treatment has. Not only has it relieved my OCD, but I have so much more energy, motivation, and self discipline in other areas of my life. It’s like I can feel my neurochemistry balance itself in real time. I’m eating healthier, my relationships are richer, I’m a better student, I feel more creatively inspired, and I have so much more self discipline to resist habits that are bad for me. I hope this may be helpful to anyone else who might be struggling. I’ve searched online and there’s really no information out there that I could find on religious ritual being an effective OCD treatment, but it’s been completely revolutionary in my life.
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