- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
I grew up in a church and I currently identify as agnostic. I 100% believe that even the most devout religious people have doubts and fears. I also stand strong in my convictions that it does not make you a bad person for questioning the existence of God. I question a lot of things about life (because it's so wonderful and there are so many things to learn! ?). Know that you are not alone and you are not your thoughts.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you ❤️
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- 5y
@faith I have been dealing with the same doubts for almost my whole adult life, and I agree with hedgehogger that every else does too, we just don’t talk about it. A few years ago my ocd got ahold of the existence ofGod thing and whether God exists and whether I believe in God and what if I’m losing my faith. It’s been really shitty. I identify as a Christian, but the things I believe in have changed a lot. No one really knows whether God exists—if faith was that easy no one would have trouble believing. Mostly I now just think that God is so much bigger than I thought God could be. I can’t tell you or me definitively that God exists, but I am choosing to shape my life around the premise that he does, because doing so makes sense to me and brings me structure and foundation that I want and need. And I try to model the grace and love that Jesus showed to those around him. And that’s all I can do. I can’t force myself to believe anymore than I do, and faith will probably always be like sand in my gears. All I can do is hope. If you are a reader, I have found people like Nadia bolz-Weber, Richard rohr, Pete enns, and Frederick bruechner to be so helpful to me through this deconstruction. I see death and resurrection all around me, and the deepest hope of my being is that that is true in ways that I don’t even realize.
- Date posted
- 5y
That’s a really great and helpful answer, thank you ?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y
Im going through the same thing. These past couple days ive been experiencing intrusive thoughts about leaving my faith because then I will be ''free". Ive also struggled with a variety of other doubts including the existence of God, and im a very active believer, trying to live out my Christianity so this is all very hard. I have a journal where ive written down evidences for my faith, including blessings or things that have happened in ny life that I attribute to God, but I know that can easily lead to reassurance.
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- 5y
That’s a good idea! I’m just scared to get into thinking about it too much and documenting it, etc because then I feel like I’m being compulsive
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y
@faith_v_e Yeah, its hard to navigate. I started doing that before I realized it was OCD so I would recommend seeking professional help.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 5y
The worst thing is that you start to doubt yourself and lose touch with what you yourself actually believe, feeding the anxiety and feeling of being stuck. I experience relationship ocd as well so I try to remember that when I doubt that it is OCD.
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- 5y
God wants you to question. If you do not question, you would only be a follower, not a believer. Religion is the search for truth, so do not be afraid. God has always been inside you and will always be there to guide you through. Even when u can't feel him there.
- Date posted
- 5y
❤️
Related posts
- Date posted
- 18w
How do I deal with the thought that my OCD thoughts because of their nature are separating me from God? The one night I couldn’t sleep and prayed about it and just said God if I die and go to hell over this just know I’m doing the best I can. This isn’t me and I don’t want it. — I know that it doesn’t work this way but if you have any advice please share. And also please be nice and respectful of my beliefs. Thank you a struggling Christian.
- Date posted
- 18w
So about 2 years ago I gave my life to Jesus. I've always been a "Christian" but never truly lived liked one. Honestly never truly felt love for them until 2 years ago. It was the best couple months of my life!!! I felt so happy and loved and unstoppable! I thought this fire for God & Jesus will never burn out. One day I had a thought about is God real? It bothered me so bad and I went into a massive spiral. Doubting everything. My faith. if I was good enough. Am I really saved? Do I have enough faith? Is my doubt real? Is it too much? Have these blasphemous made God not want me anymore? Or Jesus? :( But I knew I was and that they were real! I know I've heard them. Then I started having horrible blasphemous thoughts but then it would go back to doubting thoughts then back to the blasphemous ones. I hated the thoughts and doubts. The thoughts are so mean towards God, Jesus & HS. It’s anywhere from evil thoughts to cussing thoughts to rejection thoughts/denying. Demonic thoughts. Literally anything bad you could think of! Even thoughts of if I really love them or wanna follow them. I learned about OCD from what I've looked up but I've been dealing with this for about 2 years now. It's hard. I doubt if it’s OCD. Definitely feel like I'm trapped or my faith isn't the same. Which makes me sad because I want my faith! I feel like I've gotten lazy and honestly that I don't deserve them or am "too far gone" from them. I feel like idk how to be a Christian or how to have faith or just exist tbh. I wanna love God & Jesus! I want faith! I just feel kinda stuck. Has anyone gone through this or has advice or tips?
- Date posted
- 8w
I really struggle with trusting myself. I never really believe anything I say and the second I say or think anything i doubt if I actually feel that or mean it, and worry that I am lying to others/and or myself. I doubt that I experienced anything bad, I doubt my emotions and worry that I am just dramatic or seeking attention, I worry about my intentions and if they are bad or impure I worry that the thought I had must mean I am bad and then I obsess on how to be better and then I obsess over learning how to be the “best” friend, sister, person, Christian, etc. I obsess over how to be a Christian in the best way that considers all possible facts and opinions and finds the best ones that are perfectly true and that interpret God in the best/most correct way possible. I am either in full on obsession and mental compulsion/checking/research mode, or in avoidance mode trying to avoid being triggered. I notice that I obsess over how to know for sure if I have OCD, and how to know the best possible way to heal and no solution satisfies my mind because I doubt it and think there must be a better solution and maybe I didn’t consider one small detail that could change the way I should approach my brain. I worry that no matter how hard I try to do things right and be kind and good- that I will just disappoint others and myself no matter how hard I try. And when I try to accept that I am imperfect it only helps for a second because then I worry that if I stop trying to be the “best version of myself/best person I can” then that will mean I just don’t care and I will accidentally hurt people in the way my parents accidentally hurt me because they never tried to heal. I feel exhausted. I compulsively tell everyone everything I am thinking all the time. I overshare with my mom, my friends, and even my therapists and clearly on this app because I worry if I don’t it maybe means I’m lying but also sometimes even when I don’t want to overshare it feels like I can’t help it and do it against my own will. I feel like no matter how hard I try to make things better for myself and others I just end up making things worse. Then I end up feeling very numb and indifferent to the idea of life- which is so counter to my usual desire to live life to the fullest. My biggest trigger words are “lukewarm Christian”, “hypocrite”, “fake” etc because then I immediately worry those words must describe me and maybe I just don’t realize it. I spend hours going over my thoughts, feelings, experiences and researching endlessly to feel less anxious or give me the feeling that I can find a solution that will fix it- when deep down I know there is no perfect solution probably. Basically I say all this just to feel heard and so someone else maybe feels understood or seen. But I don’t want reassurance or anyone to engage with my actual fears. I’m open to any advice on how to approach this from an ERP standpoint though.
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