Could do with some guidance please

[Katchit]

Hi everyone.

I used to suffer really bad from OCD/anxiety, it was actually through God i have been able to feel better, this has made me more religious, i pray to God numerous times each day, and God is very important in my life.

However, has OCD picked up on the fact that i love God, and God is a major part of my life.

For example, i just had a thought...

I was listening to a psalm i recorded, as the words are comforting. However, i wanted to get something from the kitchen, which would have meant pausing the recording. I couldnt allow myself to do this, i had to wait until that psalm had finished, before i moved, otherwise i felt that i would have been disrespectful, and then worry for the next few hours about what i had done.

That was OCD right?

It was though if i did that, i would have been disrespectful and would have been punished, or felt condemned, etc...

With me having anxiety, i find it hard to sit with anxiety for long, therefore if i have a bad thought, i cant seem to shift it sometimes, therefore dwell on it, which becomes a sin. I get a feeling that i just have to pray at that moment, otherwise i feel God would be angry with me, and that i would just feel not right.

After i have said my evening prayer and asked God for his amazing forgiveness at the end of the day, if i then go to bed and sin further (through a thought i cant shift, etc...) then i have to get up and go to a quiet room, shut the door, and pray and ask for forgiveness and then go back to bed, the other night this happened about 3 times, getting up in the space of 10 minutes on 3 occasions.

Could someone provide some words of help, advice please as it is quite difficult at the moment.

Thanks you!

 

[dysert]

Hi Katchit,

I'm sorry that you struggle with OCD and anxiety. I have anxiety problems myself. One thing to remember is Romans 8:1 -> "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." As a born-again believer, you don't need to worry about all the sins that creep into your life (as they do all our lives). Your sins -- past, present, and future -- are covered by Jesus' blood. Sure, you'll want to confess and ask forgiveness so that your fellowship with Him is not impeded, but to keep jumping up every 10 minutes whenever you get a sinful thought is I think the OCD controlling you. Try to rest in the fact that God loves you even through the sin. And keep the conversation alive with Him.

 

[Katchit]

Thank you for your reply, that is very helpful!

Sorry to hear that you too have anxiety problems, i know how much it get frustrate and it makes me feel really low!

Thank you for your words, and yes, that is a reading from the Bible which i will have to remember more often, i know that, it just seems that i cant seem to walk in the faith but i walk in my own feelings most of the time which is probably why i frustrate myself so much.

Thank you again for your help, it was just the feeling i got in my mind saying "if you pause the recording, and leave, something bad would happen or God would be angry"

Thank you!

 

[dysert]

Thank you again for your help, it was just the feeling i got in my mind saying "if you pause the recording, and leave, something bad would happen or God would be angry"

Thank you!

Another verse to remember is 1 Thes. 5:9 -> "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ". Personally, I don't think that He's going to get all bent out of shape if we postpone our reading/listening to the Word to get something else done. He's not a God of wrath toward His children.

 

[Katchit]

Thank you dysert, i have no seen that line before i dont think, and i thank you, that is lovely!

 

[gracealone]

Hey Katchit,
Welcome. I don't think I've seen you post before.
First off. Yes this is OCD and it's making you hyperscrupulous. Next, you cannot shift the thoughts because trying to makes them get stuck all the more. That's the nature of OCD. You should not be trying to shift them, or praying for forgiveness when they come on. These thoughts are referred to as unwanted/instrusive. Are they unpleasant? Yes! Do they make you anxious... oh yes! Should you attend to them? Absolutely not! I know that's hard but if you keep on doing what you are doing your prayer sessions may become longer and longer.
This is what the Docs. refer to as "Religious OCD". It's attacking that which is most important to you which is namely your relationship with God through Christ Jesus.
Learn all you can about a therapy called; "Exposure and Response Prevention" What this basically means is allowing the thoughts to come into your mind and sitting there with the anxiety they produce but refusing to engage in the compulsive side of the disorder which in your case would be the need to ask God forgiveness repeatedly for having the thoughts. I know they feel like they are coming from you but the only reason they bother you so much is that you have OCD. If you didn't you'd just be able to say..."What? That's crazy.. I don't feel that way at all" and then just turn around and forget all about it. But the OCD makes you feel extremely anxious in response to the thoughts which in turn makes you feel like you must do something to counteract them and that's where we OCD'ers begin to get mired in an unending cycle.
Hope this helps a little. You'll need to change how you're responding to the thoughts.
Praying for you,
Mitzi

Hi everyone.

I used to suffer really bad from OCD/anxiety, it was actually through God i have been able to feel better, this has made me more religious, i pray to God numerous times each day, and God is very important in my life.

However, has OCD picked up on the fact that i love God, and God is a major part of my life.

For example, i just had a thought...

I was listening to a psalm i recorded, as the words are comforting. However, i wanted to get something from the kitchen, which would have meant pausing the recording. I couldnt allow myself to do this, i had to wait until that psalm had finished, before i moved, otherwise i felt that i would have been disrespectful, and then worry for the next few hours about what i had done.

That was OCD right?

It was though if i did that, i would have been disrespectful and would have been punished, or felt condemned, etc...

With me having anxiety, i find it hard to sit with anxiety for long, therefore if i have a bad thought, i cant seem to shift it sometimes, therefore dwell on it, which becomes a sin. I get a feeling that i just have to pray at that moment, otherwise i feel God would be angry with me, and that i would just feel not right.

After i have said my evening prayer and asked God for his amazing forgiveness at the end of the day, if i then go to bed and sin further (through a thought i cant shift, etc...) then i have to get up and go to a quiet room, shut the door, and pray and ask for forgiveness and then go back to bed, the other night this happened about 3 times, getting up in the space of 10 minutes on 3 occasions.

Could someone provide some words of help, advice please as it is quite difficult at the moment.

Thanks you!

 

[suzybeezy]

I want to encourage you to not to lose hope but to seek help from both mental health professionals and spiritual advisors (like your minister or christian counselor). May God minister to this area of your life and make you whole again.