cuts84
12-08-2008, 10:01 PM
Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone else here has religious obsessions, i.e. scrupulosity? Its something I have always struggled with, but moreso over the past 5 or 6 years...it comes and goes. I would describe my faith as christian universalist...I am a Christian and believe that Jesus is the son of God but I don't believe in an eternal hell or that God sends people to hell just because they were born into a different religion, etc. However, my religious obsessions revolve around the idea of hell and the thought that I could go to hell. I worry that maybe I am wrong and picked the wrong religion. For example, what if Islam is the correct religion and because of that I will go to hell. Or I even worry that God will say that I wasn't really a Christian and will send me to hell. I start thinking about eternal hell and how awful it would be and the uncomfortable feeling just kind of lingers in my mind all day. I used to obsess over whether there was really a God or not, but not so much anymore. I figure if there is no God, I will not go to heaven or hell...I will just cease to exist, so I would never even realize it anyway. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar obsessions and how they dealt with it. The religious stuff seems to be the hardest part of OCD for me to defeat because the consequences of what I am worrying about are so great...going to hell!
I was just wondering if anyone else here has religious obsessions, i.e. scrupulosity? Its something I have always struggled with, but moreso over the past 5 or 6 years...it comes and goes. I would describe my faith as christian universalist...I am a Christian and believe that Jesus is the son of God but I don't believe in an eternal hell or that God sends people to hell just because they were born into a different religion, etc. However, my religious obsessions revolve around the idea of hell and the thought that I could go to hell. I worry that maybe I am wrong and picked the wrong religion. For example, what if Islam is the correct religion and because of that I will go to hell. Or I even worry that God will say that I wasn't really a Christian and will send me to hell. I start thinking about eternal hell and how awful it would be and the uncomfortable feeling just kind of lingers in my mind all day. I used to obsess over whether there was really a God or not, but not so much anymore. I figure if there is no God, I will not go to heaven or hell...I will just cease to exist, so I would never even realize it anyway. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar obsessions and how they dealt with it. The religious stuff seems to be the hardest part of OCD for me to defeat because the consequences of what I am worrying about are so great...going to hell!
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Kathrin74
12-11-2008, 02:11 PM
Hi there,
scrupulosity is my biggie.... just recently I have been struggling with it a lot. For me it's not so much general questions like do I follow the right religion, it is little things that I get stuck on, that I feel guilty about... I do believe in a loving God and I don't think I am really afraid of Him punishing me so much than I am of my own fear, of having to live with something weighing me down like that... and then the obsession stops again until I come up with something new...;)
Kathrin
scrupulosity is my biggie.... just recently I have been struggling with it a lot. For me it's not so much general questions like do I follow the right religion, it is little things that I get stuck on, that I feel guilty about... I do believe in a loving God and I don't think I am really afraid of Him punishing me so much than I am of my own fear, of having to live with something weighing me down like that... and then the obsession stops again until I come up with something new...;)
Kathrin
SarahSultana
01-30-2009, 09:15 AM
I worry about this a lot too! In fact when I was like 15, I was afraid that I sold my soul to the devil just because I thought that I wanted too even though I didn't! It's a little embarrassing now, lol, that I was that stupid. It took me weeks to confess to my mom what was worrying me so bad, weeks of hardly any sleep because I kept worrying about it, so the less sleep I got the less logical I was about it. I didn't know what OCD was then, and I only figured out about a year ago. I had always thought it meant someone with an obsession with cleaning or germs.
I have obsessive thoughts about religion on and off all day long. Mine are similar to Kathrin's in the way that I usually change my obsession or thought the moment I get used to it. It's frustrating. It has helped me a lot to know that these thoughts were OCD, a real disorder, and not just something freaky about me.
I hate saying the thoughts I have out loud because they are so blasphemous. I probably need Prozac, but since I'm 17 I'm still too young. I sure would like some though....haha.
I have obsessive thoughts about religion on and off all day long. Mine are similar to Kathrin's in the way that I usually change my obsession or thought the moment I get used to it. It's frustrating. It has helped me a lot to know that these thoughts were OCD, a real disorder, and not just something freaky about me.
I hate saying the thoughts I have out loud because they are so blasphemous. I probably need Prozac, but since I'm 17 I'm still too young. I sure would like some though....haha.
Kathrin74
01-30-2009, 11:56 AM
Sarah,
have you talked to a doctor?
I didn't take Prozac until I was like 26 but maybe I should have started earlier, it might have spared me a lot of suffering... But then, I tend to say, things happen the way they do for a reason...
In fact when I was like 15, I was afraid that I sold my soul to the devil just because I thought that I wanted too even though I didn't!
Ah, those intrusive thoughts... I can relate to this fear. That just thinking something might cause something. That it somehow means I want it. NO NO NO!
God is gentle, loving, caring; we can imagine Him hugging us, telling us: "It's ok, those are just OCD thoughts..."
Kathrin
have you talked to a doctor?
I didn't take Prozac until I was like 26 but maybe I should have started earlier, it might have spared me a lot of suffering... But then, I tend to say, things happen the way they do for a reason...
In fact when I was like 15, I was afraid that I sold my soul to the devil just because I thought that I wanted too even though I didn't!
Ah, those intrusive thoughts... I can relate to this fear. That just thinking something might cause something. That it somehow means I want it. NO NO NO!
God is gentle, loving, caring; we can imagine Him hugging us, telling us: "It's ok, those are just OCD thoughts..."
Kathrin
SarahSultana
01-31-2009, 07:50 PM
Sarah,
have you talked to a doctor?
I didn't take Prozac until I was like 26 but maybe I should have started earlier, it might have spared me a lot of suffering... But then, I tend to say, things happen the way they do for a reason...
No, my mom called the nurse about it and she said that Prozac wasn't good for teens and young adults. I think I have more control over the thoughts now too, that I know what they are.
Ah, those intrusive thoughts... I can relate to this fear. That just thinking something might cause something. That it somehow means I want it. NO NO NO!
Or, worrying that if you think something long enough you'll start to mean it. Though I don't know how anyone would want that, that would just be dumb! :p But I still worry about this sometimes anyway. haha
God is gentle, loving, caring; we can imagine Him hugging us, telling us: "It's ok, those are just OCD thoughts..."
Kathrin
Exactly, and God knows that we don't mean it, because He knows eveything. He knows it even better than we do that we don't mean it. Also, when he saves us he already knows every single thing we will think and every single sin we'll commit throughout our entire lives.
Something I've noticed that really helps these thoughts for me, and maybe this will help someone else, is socializing as much as posssible, and staying busy. The busier I am, the less logical they seem.
Also, exercising can help some too, and getting some sun.
have you talked to a doctor?
I didn't take Prozac until I was like 26 but maybe I should have started earlier, it might have spared me a lot of suffering... But then, I tend to say, things happen the way they do for a reason...
No, my mom called the nurse about it and she said that Prozac wasn't good for teens and young adults. I think I have more control over the thoughts now too, that I know what they are.
Ah, those intrusive thoughts... I can relate to this fear. That just thinking something might cause something. That it somehow means I want it. NO NO NO!
Or, worrying that if you think something long enough you'll start to mean it. Though I don't know how anyone would want that, that would just be dumb! :p But I still worry about this sometimes anyway. haha
God is gentle, loving, caring; we can imagine Him hugging us, telling us: "It's ok, those are just OCD thoughts..."
Kathrin
Exactly, and God knows that we don't mean it, because He knows eveything. He knows it even better than we do that we don't mean it. Also, when he saves us he already knows every single thing we will think and every single sin we'll commit throughout our entire lives.
Something I've noticed that really helps these thoughts for me, and maybe this will help someone else, is socializing as much as posssible, and staying busy. The busier I am, the less logical they seem.
Also, exercising can help some too, and getting some sun.
Kathrin74
02-01-2009, 10:23 AM
Exactly, and God knows that we don't mean it, because He knows eveything. He knows it even better than we do that we don't mean it..
Very well said, we really need to remember that!
Something I've noticed that really helps these thoughts for me, and maybe this will help someone else, is socializing as much as posssible, and staying busy. The busier I am, the less logical they seem.
Distraction is good.
Have you read Jeffrey M. Schwartz's book "Brain Lock"? Among other things, he recommends distracting yourself for like 15 minutes before acting on a compulsion, and see if it goes away....
I ahve also found, especially with such way-out-there twisted, complicated thoughts, that it is best to catch myself early and not even start letting them run their course, if you know what I mean. Distract myself immediately and not start dwelling on it at all. Almost as if it is harder to get rid of a thought once it has had time to carve itself into my brain...
Kathrin
Very well said, we really need to remember that!
Something I've noticed that really helps these thoughts for me, and maybe this will help someone else, is socializing as much as posssible, and staying busy. The busier I am, the less logical they seem.
Distraction is good.
Have you read Jeffrey M. Schwartz's book "Brain Lock"? Among other things, he recommends distracting yourself for like 15 minutes before acting on a compulsion, and see if it goes away....
I ahve also found, especially with such way-out-there twisted, complicated thoughts, that it is best to catch myself early and not even start letting them run their course, if you know what I mean. Distract myself immediately and not start dwelling on it at all. Almost as if it is harder to get rid of a thought once it has had time to carve itself into my brain...
Kathrin
SarahSultana
02-02-2009, 06:05 AM
Distraction is good.
Have you read Jeffrey M. Schwartz's book "Brain Lock"? Among other things, he recommends distracting yourself for like 15 minutes before acting on a compulsion, and see if it goes away....
I ahve also found, especially with such way-out-there twisted, complicated thoughts, that it is best to catch myself early and not even start letting them run their course, if you know what I mean. Distract myself immediately and not start dwelling on it at all. Almost as if it is harder to get rid of a thought once it has had time to carve itself into my brain...
Kathrin
No, I haven't. It sounds pretty good, I might have to look at that next time I am at Barnes And Noble.
I agree! If I don't stop it early, I will think about it for forever and make myself crazyy! :dizzy:
Have you read Jeffrey M. Schwartz's book "Brain Lock"? Among other things, he recommends distracting yourself for like 15 minutes before acting on a compulsion, and see if it goes away....
I ahve also found, especially with such way-out-there twisted, complicated thoughts, that it is best to catch myself early and not even start letting them run their course, if you know what I mean. Distract myself immediately and not start dwelling on it at all. Almost as if it is harder to get rid of a thought once it has had time to carve itself into my brain...
Kathrin
No, I haven't. It sounds pretty good, I might have to look at that next time I am at Barnes And Noble.
I agree! If I don't stop it early, I will think about it for forever and make myself crazyy! :dizzy: