God and Philosophy OCD

So I’ve been suffering from OCD about big questions for awhile. If did go away but now is back this week. I’m just looking for any suggestions or things that have helped people with this? I have always been Christian and this is really debilitating to this. I find myself researching different things wondering if god loves me or is real. It did help me when I looked at the discoveries found in the Bible as some evidence but I know this just makes my ocd worse. My biggest one now is my ocd just says your not a I and yourself is just an illusion. When I’m doing something fun it will tell me this might be fake. One thing that’s helped is looking at neuroscientists research and they are pretty adamant on how the brain works and amazing it is. I used to be really afraid to die or be forgotten but I found comfort in how even though we all die our legacy and actions live on in ways we won’t fully see. Thanks for any help much appreciated! I just want to get back to where I was a week ago!

Anonymous

Date posted: 16h

I am also a Christian and also deal with OCD. These are all OK questions to wrestle with in our minds, but what I’ve found helpful for my OCD is to just realize when I’m having OCD thoughts, identify them as such, and allow myself not to try to answer all of them. As a person of faith, I need to leave up to faith all the questions that I know aren’t addressable in this life; there are things that we won’t be able to know with 100% certainty in this life, and we need to be able to live with that and be OK anyway. The Bible does have answers, but going back to them over and over again for reassurance can be a compulsive behavior, so you need to develop the discipline to be able to interrupt that cycle, and simply choose to have faith, where you might not have perfect knowledge or understanding.

Matthew7124217

Date posted: 16h

@Anonymous That’s very helpful thanks! I also keep researching neuroscientists that are religious. It’s just a constant cycle. Thanks for your advice!

mopoQ

Date posted: 15h

I’m also a Christian and had a childhood of religious OCD that remained fairly intense through college and occasionally flares up still in adulthood. The idea of accepting that we can’t understand and prove everything is right in the Bible actually and often coordinates well, I feel, with ERP. I find comfort also in knowing God literally said his ways are beyond full human comprehension so if it doesn’t all seem proveable/understandable enough to me that’s not really a red flag. God said it would be that way. And thanks for what you said about legacy and actions :) I love that. I’ve had the same fear.

Matthew7124217

Date posted: 15h

@mopoQ This really helped me thanks!

Cher54

Date posted: 10h

Well I know one thing u CAN be certain of, God DOES love u and everyone. Remember John 3:16-“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” When u doubt that, remember that verse and repeat it in your mind or out loud. I think it’s ok to do that. Satan wants us to think these doubtful thoughts and man does he mess with us ocd’ers! But I know what u mean about researching things! I’m always googling things like, As a Christian, how do I get over guilt and regret or As a Christian, how do I get over things that I did that I can’t get over? How do we get over this loop of insanity? Idk but reading peoples comments are informative and encouraging.

Matthew7124217

Date posted: 8h

@Cher54 That was so helpful thank you!! My ocd will try to say to me well how do you know if the Bible is true but I do find comfort in a lot of the historic evidence in the Bible that’s been discovered. I also found a survey and it showed a suprising number of scientists I think 60 something percent were not atheist and in India 90 something were not atheist. I’m just trying to get back to where I was and my original beliefs but it’s hard. Thanks

Cher54

Date posted: 8h

@Matthew7124217 That makes me feel so good that I could help. My regular dr referred me to a psyche n.p. and they called me today and I’m not in their network. I have been to therapists however. My big thing is rereading the same sentence over and over and over again and counting in my head while doing it. The same with bathing and cleaning. I can’t do anything normal. It’s soo frustrating. How do u stop it? If I say stop or it’s not me, it’s my ocd well that doesn’t help because I’m the one doing it. Any helpful tips?

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