Religious themed friends: in using ERP, how do you mentally develop exposures for the thought: God has rejected you and you are going to hell?

One idea I thought of was reading Scripture warnings against unbelief….

This theme is too hot for me to touch…it’s causing lots of problems, but undergoing treatment, hopefully it will get better…so I can’t even answer.

I get that. It would be too hot for me too if I was younger I think. I’ve had OcD my whole 38 years but this theme puts all the other ones I have to shame:)

@emmy sue I agree. Scrupulosity has definitely been my hardest theme to deal with.

Yeah, one of my biggest questions is how do you say "maybe, maybe not" or "accept the uncertainty" of going to hell? I haven't really done ERP for this because I don't know how to approach it.

Talking to others helps, maybe a pastor?

I have found that almost makes it worse since they understand OCD:)

@emmy sue Read Love Wins by Rob Bell

@Ríona Does he have OCD?

@Ríona that’s the opposite of exposure

@CaptainKierkegaard I think I have to agree on that one

@CaptainKierkegaard Thats true but depending on what kind of church you go to, you might just hear fire and brimstone all the time so getting some alternative viewpoints can be good.

The Puritans very much have a yin and yang thing going on. There’s the famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” More subtly, but more scary to me when I was younger and day-and-night burdened with the worry that I was destined for hell, is John Bunyan’s book Pilgrim’s Progress which has all sorts of descriptions of people who never make it to paradise (some of whom I saw myself in more than the main character). On the other hand, a more recent book, Gentle and Lowly, which is a very consoling book about Christ’s love for sinners (it has made me cry), draws a lot from the Puritans, particularly Thomas Goodwin, and contains things which are important to affirm. If you wanted to take a more ACT approach, Kierkegaard is the man but his thought and writing is very dense. Also you may find solidarity in the story of William Cowper, writer of hymns such as “There is a fountain, filled with blood” as well as an acclaimed Romantic poet and vocal opponent of slavery (along with his friend John Newton). He believed he was destined for Hell because of an intrusive dream he had, and attempted suicide three times. Anyway hope these help!

But just to be clear- it takes a lot of clever thinking to read this kind of stuff while in a religious themed episode to me- otherwise I use them for reassurance. It’s a balance between “ok this is what I’m going to read while the OCD thoughts are still with me. They are welcome to surface at any point”

So…I’ve had that phrase “sinners in the hands of an angry God” come up so much this past week. I know He’s not angry because I’m justified by Christ. But I can say, but maybe I’m not. Sheesh that is freaky!!! I read Gentle and Lowly this spring during the start of my recent religious theme. All the tears. So so so so good! Even tho I was struggling, it really spoke to me. And, it actually became an exposure for me to keep reading the Bible and praying- because I tend to avoid those when I’m obsessing. Thanks for the reminder of Cowper. I have one of his books somewhere. Pretty sure he had OCD before anyone knew what it was.

Hi there! Thank you so much for your vulnerability and willingness to reach out on here. The main thing with ERP is to develop statements that revolve around uncertainty. Saying “this may or may not happen.” I know that that’s very distressing especially when it comes to a higher entity like God, but it will decrease your distress in the long run. Have you talked about this with your NOCD therapist? Remember that OCD is strong, but you are stronger!