In a secular world, faith is rarely mentioned as a form of healing. If you believe in God, know that you are not fighting this battle alone. Before this episode of ocd, I had kind of put my faith on the back burner. Going through this has helped me return to God and has strengthened my relationship with Him like never before. I am going to have to put in work, but I trust that He will help me get through this. Just posting this because relying on God has given me incredible peace, and I thought it could be helpful for some of you. Just a thought :)

I’m sorry you face those difficulties. I love that you are using this as an opportunity to grow in faith. It’s a great way to find peace in a time of suffering and make something good come out of it. I’m so happy that you are working towards growing closer to God. Best of luck to you :)

@Anonymous Thank you for this! And it is sad to do it this way, but i hope my heart eventually opens to god and i get cured and find peace within myself

@SilentMind I believe that you will. Praying for you :)

Hi! I was afraid of that at first too, but then I realized that I can still pray and rely on my faith without compulsing. I am accepting that I’m going through something difficult, and I’m not pushing it away, but I know I’m not alone because God is with me. I am praying for strength and patience and trying really hard to accept my intrusive thoughts without assigning meaning to them or engaging with them. Hope that helps.

I also think this experience can have one of two outcomes: it can strengthen my faith and help me in the long run, or it can cause me to lose my faith completely. I’m choosing the former.

I don't think the goal is to become overly independent. It's okay to need support, whether from people in your life or from your faith in God. I am very religious and it is not a compulsion, I just have to watch myself that I'm not obsessing over disappointing God. Why not rest in His comfort from time to time? :)

@MaryContrary Yea I think I'm just so afraid of failing and doing ERP wrong. I'm suffering in my emotional and thoughts and I feel like the point is to become comfortable with them.

@Kory Rozich I understand, it is scary. Maybe reframing it would help? Like, trying to see God as a resource instead of a weakness. When I'm really stressing, I pray for help and I feel more peaceful. I know it is hard to distinguish between seeking help and a compulsion, but people without OCD do the same thing. They call on Him for help as well.

@Kory Rozich It doesn't usually make the thoughts go away, just feels easier to handle. That's my experience, anyway.

@MaryContrary Thanks for sharing. I'm scared to even considering it knowing my penchant to compulsively pray, not knowing at the time it was OCD or a compulsion.

@Kory Rozich Maybe it would be best to start with something other than prayer until it feels safer to you. Like reading scripture, listening to godly music, or attending a church service. If that feels like something you can handle, of course.

@MaryContrary It's very much at a distance. Only thing I can really do is listen to some Christian/spiritual music. Scripture has felt empty to me, but perhaps similar to mindfulness, you don't read scripture in order to experience a positive outcome. Do you have any favorites?

@Kory Rozich I get that, sometimes it feels that way to me also. Other times, I get a lot out of it. Really depends on where my mind and spirit are at. I'll gather a few of my favorites. :)

@Kory Rozich Matthew 12:43-45, John 12:46, John 14:18 & 27, Exodus 18:17-19 (we can't do it all alone), Numbers 6:24-26 A couple from the Book of Mormon, if you're interested. Enos 1:27, 1 Nephi 18:16

@MaryContrary Thank you 🙏🏻🤗🤙🏻