- Date posted
- 29w
Scary religious people
[Long Post] I have spent a long time coming to terms with my OCD and how it has affected my beliefs and my spirituality. I went through a period where discussions about religion triggered my OCD in such a way that it made my stomach hurt. I felt like I needed to run to the bathroom and puke or scream or cry. I would always feel that dread deep down that I wasnt doing enough; that I was wrong or selfish and would burn for my beliefs. It's taken a long time to get to a place where I feel comfortable, content and happy, but it seems like my parents could undo all of that. My dad and stepmom are religious, but theyre religious in a way that makes me very uncomfortable, triggering my OCD in such a way that it makes my stomach hurt. My stepmother is obbsesses with the afterlife and those videos that talk about what heaven looks like. She talks also talks about speaking with the dead and predicting the future, seeing ghosts and dark figures in the house. Hearing the devil??? I've had moments in my life where I thought that god was speaking to me and telling me bad things, or a presence that I thought was god only for me to get a scary image of it in my head and trying desperately to convince myself it wasnt real. So you can imagine my extreme disinterest in this topic of conversation. Then there's my dad. My dad keeps trying to get me to go to church, read the bible, and contort my beliefs. This morning he texted me a link to a bible app which I deleted. I tell him that I believe that being kind and loving is more than enough, and he tells me it's not. That that's not enough for god, that you have to go to church and fellowship and all that in order to do right by god. I hate all of it! That type of talk from him scares me, and it makes me feel that one day he'll try to convince me that I'm blasphemous and that god is disappointed in me, like being loving isnt enough. What sparked me to make this post was an incident from a couple of days ago. My dad came across a video on his IG fyp, and it was a pastor (i believe, possibly a deacon) who was talking about lies Christians have told people. He said some very comforting things like you dont have to be Christian in order to get into heaven, as well as some controversial claims like God sending Jesus to live, not die. It was an interesting video and it didnt seem to have any malice, but my dad immediately went "This man is dangerous" and then proceedes to go through all of the reasons why he was wrong out loud to me and my little sister. I eventually walked away, but he just kept going. I ended up looking up the page (compulsively) and was actually interested in what he was saying, but the comments held the same sentiment as my dad. I felt that awful feeling in my stomach again. I dont feel normal whenever they talk about this, it's like I disassociate. My religious OCD is warring with my genuine beliefs: love, comfort, kindness, acceptance. I hate how my parents make me feel. I feel like I need to run away, I feel like theyre trying to convert me. Apologies for my panic, I'd just like to know if I'm alone in this discomfort. Or perhaps I'm just looking for a little comfort and kindness<3
- Religion & Spirituality OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- LGBTQ+ with OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- Existential OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD