Anyone with Religious OCD want to chat? (First time on here)

Hi! :) Do you also have religious OCD?

I feel like I am always disrespecting G-d. Lots of guilt, repeating things, redoing things, there’s so much. I don’t know where to begin

Yes I’d love to talk! Is there private messaging on here I don’t know how the app works yet haha

@apops Unfortunately no

@Twrecks I can give you my Snapchat or something

@Twrecks Oh here is fine then. What are your obsessions? Symptoms? Compulsions? Ways you cope??

@apops My biggest obsession for a long time was what if I made a vow to God that I couldn’t keep. And I also have contamination ocd and I mix that in with religion so I think if I don’t wash my hands then I’m sinning because I wouldn’t be loving my neighbor. Also I had an obsession where I thought I felt convicted but it was just my ocd.

@Twrecks And when covid was really bad I thought about how I might be jnfecting others and how it was a sin

@Twrecks Interesting. The washing hands and that relating to G-d resonates with me. I often find myself connecting things to disrespecting G-d that I’m not sure how they are related. What are ways you’ve coped?

@apops It’s tough honestly I guess the fact that God knows our thoughts completely helped me and just being with friends and doing things and trying not to get too down in the dumps try to be proactive

@Twrecks G-d knowing all of our thoughts though makes me feel more disrespectful! He knows my immediate bad thoughts

@apops Double edged sword I suppose but for me knowing that he knows I’m not trying to make vows and that I’m just having ocd trouble it’s helpful

@Twrecks Just curious is the “G-d” thing a compulsion?

@Twrecks I was raised going to a Jewish school and we were taught to do that. I would feel disrespectful if I didn’t. Idk. I really struggle to know what’s disrespectful and what’s not.

@apops Ok I see, are you a practicing Jew or Christian or what?

@Twrecks I’m Jewish. You?

@apops Christian here

@Twrecks The thing about OCD is no matter what the obsession is it’s all the same in the solution so you have to learn to be ok with uncomfort regarding disrespecting God. And just don’t do the compulsions.

@Twrecks So for example if someone finds it uncomfortable to touch the sink because it’s “unclean” and after they do it they feel the need to wash their hands the best way to deal with it is not wash your hands because ur kind of giving that fear validation if that makes sense

@Twrecks I just don’t know what’s a compulsion sometimes. And thinking something is not a compulsion feels like “an easy way out” of disrespecting G-d, if that makes sense. Idk I’ve had OCD for I think 20 years and only learned this in the last few years.

@apops But with ROCD, it’s like,Dont apologize when you think you disrespected G-d. But if I actually disrespected him, then that’s terrible??? Why should I not apologize?

@apops I can relate, it sometimes feels like a cop out to coll something a compulsion, but God wants us to be rational about our thinking. I think there are some really great sources on finding out how ocd works and how we can learn to not let it have power over us.

@apops I understand how it feels but think about it this way. When someone with contamination ocd is told not to wash after touching something they view as dirty they would think the same thing but in life you have to live with the possibility of being dirty or accidentally disrecpting God. Also I believe God is a loving God he’s not watching and waiting for us to slip up and disrespect him

@Twrecks That’s why I resort to thinking I must be such a bad person for having these thoughts and I deserve to feel this way

@apops Do you have a therapist? That would probably be a really good next step.

@Twrecks Yea I have for years haha. Very different experience talking with others though, and she suggested this. So I definitely appreciate all the support on here and sharing experiences

@apops Yea I’m glad to talk friend, I’m heading to bed but I pray you would have a good night .

@Twrecks Great talking to you :)

Ah ok, I am a Christian