OCD and Christianity

An obsession that often strikes Christians is the thought of committing, or of having committed, the “unpardonable sin.” Like other obsessions, when it hits it is accompanied by acute fear and frequently doubt or guilt. Like other obsessions, the afflicted individual feels that, at all costs, the concern must be addressed immediately. It is countered, […]

Read More

Perhaps a quarter of the people I see with OCD/scrupulosity have, at one time or another, suffered obsessions about committing “the unpardonable sin,” or “the sin against the Holy Spirit.” Nothing can give them satisfying reassurance that they haven’t done it. They ask their pastors. They pray about it. They read certain consoling bible verses […]

Read More

Often overlooked in treating OCD is the crucial importance of making assumptions. I have recently seen two OCDers who illustrate the point. One young man had the obsession “I don’t have sufficient faith.” It provoked hours and hours a day of various mental compulsions aimed at proving his worthiness in the eyes of his God. […]

Read More

Matt 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came […]

Read More

A difficulty may occur when Christians attempt to treat OCD with behavior therapy. It involves the use of a technique called  “exposure and response prevention in the imagination.”  (Readers unfamiliar with this form of therapy, please see Behavior Therapy for OCD and Example of E/RP in the Imagination.)

Read More

Obsessions are heartless intruders.  They come from outside of ourselves (“egodystonic”), and then relentlessly force their way in.   We try to resist them, but they only grow stronger.  Over and over we do things to put them right, yet they return with increased vengeance. It’s no wonder that the word obsession comes from the Latin […]

Read More

I’ve been surprised at how frequently this question comes up. The main concern is often put like this: “I’m not sure if I have OCD or not. This just doesn’t seem like a mental disorder. I’m not saying that I don’t have a mental disorder, but this doesn’t feel like one. It seems like a […]

Read More

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children… No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Heb 12: 7-11

Read More

The most terrified people I ever see are those suffering from clinical obsessions with sexual, violent, or blasphemous content. A loving mother is changing her baby’s diaper when she suddenly has the thought of performing sex on him. A good man is strolling through a park when, upon stopping to enjoy the site of a […]

Read More