- Username
- shahsand
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Unfortunately that’s literally impossible to know. For anyone who believes in God, it’s entirely a matter of faith. But even if God isn’t real, that’s okay too. Many people don’t believe in God and live very fulfilling and meaningful lives. Some even argue that they’re more meaningful (if you dig into specific philosophies on the meaning of life.) But as far as your ocd goes: it’s never going to get an answer that it likes. Because ocd is insatiable. It will always want more. It’s better to stop feeding it. You can choose faith and starve your ocd. Or you can choose agnosticism or atheism and starve your ocd. You don’t have to subscribe to any given theology. But you do have to stop trying to “prove” your intrusive thoughts right or wrong through compulsions that never bring long term relief.
i love being muslim but it makes me doubt the thing that i always lean upon. we are not allowed to have sex before marriage or drink, and i get bothered by what if god isn’t real and i’m doing all this for no reason
@shahsand That’s the risk you take with faith! You can’t be sure you’re right. And you have to simultaneously make peace with potentially being wrong. If being Muslim is important to you though, who cares? You’re part of a community who have decided to live by these rules and find meaning in doing so. Even if there’s no God, it doesn’t necessarily have to be for “no reason.” It can simply be because you’ve decided that it’s important to you and in line with your personal sense of morality.
@pureolife ur right. i’m just so confused as to how i can remove this ocd thought. Do i force myself to not deep think as soon as the question pops up or do i stop myself and leave the anxiety at the point of deep thinking where it’s the worst
@shahsand You can’t remove the thought! And actually, trying to remove it is exactly what’s causing you this problem. That’s a compulsion and it’s feeding your obsession. Let the thought be! Let it be exactly as it is. Don’t argue with it, trying to prove/disprove it, wish it away, try to neutralize it, try to change it, or anything else. Those are all compulsions. What you need to do is to let the thought be, feel that doubt, and let it dissipate and leave on its own.
@pureolife Doubt is a natural part of life and faith. We have to accept that these thoughts will come and to let them happen. We also have to choose not to engage in compulsions when they make us uncomfortable and distressed. We are so much more capable of handling that discomfort than we think. And, these thoughts tend to not feel like such big deal when we do.
@pureolife thank you so much
@pureolife what technique would u recommend me to do with this thought to make it easier and make the anxiety lower
@shahsand I would recommend doing nothing! You’ll see the most progress when you stop trying to making things easier and better. Just have the doubt and accept it to yourself “I’m having a doubt that my faith is real right now.” And just sit with it. Feel it be there until it leaves on its own, which it eventually will.
@pureolife so don’t ruminate it at all?
@shahsand Exactly. Don’t engage in whatever mental gymnastics your ocd wants you to do (like figuring out exactly how sure and exactly how right and exactly how much you believe etc.) don’t answer the doubt, just have it. “I am having this doubt.” Period. Sit.
@pureolife sounds good just one last question do i want to sit with the anxiety just when the thought pops in or go to the point of deep thinking about it where the anxiety hits me the most where i feel like i’m beyond this worl and sit with it?
@shahsand Deep thinking about this is probably a compulsion. Just sit with the initial intrusive thought and go no further.
@pureolife ok great thank you. are you doing therapy with nocd
@shahsand I have an ocd specialist in my area (not through the app)
@pureolife oh how’s it going with it fo u do need or just erp
What if you think about what would make a meaningful life if God doesn't exist (I'm not saying he/she doesn't), what would make life valuable to you if that were the case though? Then, in either case, God or no God, you would have purpose and value and meaning. If there is no God, there is still love, there is still kindness, there is still beauty, humor, helping others, the joy in the laughter of children, sharing the experience of life with others, there's so much good and so much good that can be shared and given and received. Even if there isn't a one all powerful mastermind behind everything, we are all amazing, all connected, and we live on an amazing planet with magical creatures and plant life, and in an amazing universe. And in that case, everything is divine and part of creation, and we are all creators. Either way is beautiful. And it's totally ok to not know if there is or isn't. You just need to make the most of the present moment and look for where you can find the beauty and ways you can share it, too. Then I think you'll have meaning, whatever the case may be.
yeah but i love islamic prescience within my life and childhood i don’t wanna lose that and thank you so much for the advice
That's tricky, because in one sense you could justify figuring out if science backs your faith because that's generally a good thing to know. But you also need to be careful of feeding your ocd. If you feel that doing research would feed your ocd, then accept those thoughts, acknowledging their intrusive nature, and try to say "okay i had that thought, but it doesn't matter because I know what I believe"
Lucky for you in fighting your OCD, this is an unprovable question to answer, so I cannot reassure your OCD. I can only share beliefs based in faith, which do not satisfy OCD. It will not be easy to fight, but I HAVE FAITH in your ability to fight the OCD. Best wishes! You are not alone! https://youtu.be/edCqF_NtpOQ
thank you
I d k
Read "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel or watch the movie and you will find that God is undeniably real. But even if you read it and are convinced, ocd will still put doubts in your head as to whether God is real. You have to discern whether you are searching for info to deepen your faith, or if you are reassurance seeking.
i believe in God but my ocd keeps giving thoughts like scientifically do u really even think god is real
@shahsand The answer to your troubles has been answered by yourself in the first four words of this comment, you believe in God period, I’m Catholic we all have doubts from time to time but faith means moving forward through the uncertainty all you need is to believe in Him He knows you love Him and trust me God is real and he saved me from the darkness I was in months ago due to ocd, I’m not much better thanks to God and the therapy He sent me, remember Jesus’s words, Have faith in God. Bless you friend
@sesr bless you too even though your catholic and i’m muslim i think i just realized that all of us we’re not that different because at the end of the day we all believe in one God
@shahsand You’re right, we are all created by the same God and loved by Him equally font give up faith
Hi everyone, I think I’ve struggled with OCD since I was a child but it’s seriously effecting my life now. I think I have what you would call Philosophical/ Existential OCD. I can’t stop questioning my reality, the truth of reality and the universe, enlightenment, Christianity, solipsism, god, myself, my own existence. It never ends. I don’t really know what to do anymore. I think I have Pure O, but I also compulsively google my questions and search through the answers for hours until I feel calm. The peace lasts all of 5 minutes and then I’m googling another question. It’s so stupid because I know the meaning of life isn’t found on the internet but I can’t handle it all on my own in my head.
Hi everyone, struggling at the moment with existenal OCD, keep getting thoughts of "how do I know that everything i see, feel and touch is real" ...like literally everything... how do I know its just all not made up in my head? Its the most terrifying thought and not sure how to deal with it? .. anyone else suffer with this same thought?
I believe have developed it. I’ve been thinking for hours at a time whether or not we are real. Whether I am real and no one else is. That I’m alone. This has given me episodes where I feel like I’m losing my insanity. It hasn’t been as bad as my ROCD but yesterday at my girlfriends house, I was playing with her cat and the cat wasn’t scratching me as she usually does. I started freaking out because she seemed not attracted to my girlfriend. So I started being rough with the cat so that she would bite me / scratch me. Finally she did and I went outside to talk with my girlfriend. It was a compulsion I assume but this seems like a very difficult subtype to deal with. I’m also scared it might develop into religious ocd besides the fact that I don’t really believe in a god. Get back with what advice you have, it is music appreciated:)
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