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The twin burdens of OCD sufferers are ruminations of past event and worries about the future. If we don’t watch it, we can live our entire lives without ever enjoying the blessings of the present moment. Since obsessions usually have a future referent, and since OCDers worry excessively anyway, the future is their major source […]

“These things may seem ridiculous to others, even as ridiculous as they were in themselves, but to me they were the most tormenting cogitations.” —John Bunyan This quote was used by the great Christian author John Bunyan to introduce his autobiographical work Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. The book describes his struggle with […]

The crucial time for dealing with OCD is the moment when an obsession strikes.  This is the moment of truth.  Whether we allow a fearful thought to take hold and stir compulsions, or whether we make progress with the disorder–it all depends on what transpires here.  We can give in to the fear, or, with […]

When people first develop OCD, their response to the disorder ranges from a nagging sense of alarm to outright terror. I’m not referring here to the sudden episodes of anxiety caused by obsessions intruding into the mind; but rather to the emotional reaction that occurs with the recognition that one has suddenly begun to have […]

Last week I was talking to an OCDer with the obsessional fear that she is not contributing enough to her church, because what she gives is less than a full ten percent tithe.  She worries that she is displeasing God. What blessings will she miss?  What if something terrible happens? When the obsession strikes, fearful […]

Two times are important when dealing with OCD: the moment an obsession hits (when we must attempt to gain a therapeutic perspective), and the time spent on exercises designed to lessen OCD’s strength. Of the various exercises that are helpful, the most proven is “exposure and response prevention,” or ERP. It employs the process of […]

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, […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]