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I am writing in this forum after many months. Please I need help! its urgent!

Kostilaks

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2 years ago, I tried to make a rush promise to Gods in order to force myself not to do a ocd compulsion. I canceled the promise as I was finishing my prayer because I came to my senses. The canceled promise was

"must not return home just to get napkins"

which was what ocd was ordering me to do.

Today, as I was walking down the street, an old lady in front me had her receipts fell from her hands on the street. She was old and had difficulty bending to get them. When I saw them, in front of me, I freaked due to the canceled promise and tried to pass/avoid them, because I feared them being paper napkins, but as I was passing them, as an instict, my body turned to them and pretended to try and help the old lady pick them up because I did not want to look like unpolite, even thought i was not planning to touch them. luckily, the old lady picked them.

I worry for many reasons. if the promise was valid,

1)did I break it just because I acted as if i was going to pick the paper napkis if in case they were paper napkins?

2) what if for a second, i did not pretend? also, at first, I tried to avoid them and as I was avoiding them as a reflex, I pretended that I was going to grab them. does that count as returning to get napkins if they were napkins? I was avoiding them sideways but suddenly, my body, automatically, turned to them and pretended grabbing them. does the way I turned my body, after ignoring them, counts as "returning"?

3) did I broke the promise or not?

the canceled promise was:

canceled promise: Must not return home just to get napkins

me: I avoided some paper thing which could be paper napkins and then, I turned my body and pretended I was going to grab them without planning to do it. my body automatically did that in order not to look unpolite.

4) What if the promise was not specific and it was only "must not return to get napkins"?

5) what if my movements count as "returning"? I think i was specific when making the promise and I said something like "must not return home to get napkins" but i am not sure, if i said the word "home".

6) if I did not say that. does that mean I broke the promise? i wanna an answer specific to what I am asking.

7) is the promise valid for only returning home from outside just to get napkins or for whatever place I am in general?

8) does my body movements count as "returning" or not? I was not going to touch them, I just pretended. does that break the promise?

I am ill and please right now, I need some help. can someone answer most of my questions with each number? i do not want to send me Bible verses. I want someone to answer the questions i ask. please do not judge me bad for the old lady. my anxiety was high.
 

solid_core

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2 years ago, I tried to make a rush promise to Gods in order to force myself not to do a ocd compulsion. I canceled the promise as I was finishing my prayer because I came to my senses. The canceled promise was

"must not return home just to get napkins"

which was what ocd was ordering me to do.

Today, as I was walking down the street, an old lady in front me had her receipts fell from her hands on the street. She was old and had difficulty bending to get them. When I saw them, in front of me, I freaked due to the canceled promise and tried to pass/avoid them, because I feared them being paper napkins, but as I was passing them, as an instict, my body turned to them and pretended to try and help the old lady pick them up because I did not want to look like unpolite, even thought i was not planning to touch them. luckily, the old lady picked them.

I worry for many reasons. if the promise was valid,

1)did I break it just because I acted as if i was going to pick the paper napkis if in case they were paper napkins?

2) what if for a second, i did not pretend? also, at first, I tried to avoid them and as I was avoiding them as a reflex, I pretended that I was going to grab them. does that count as returning to get napkins if they were napkins? I was avoiding them sideways but suddenly, my body, automatically, turned to them and pretended grabbing them. does the way I turned my body, after ignoring them, counts as "returning"?

3) did I broke the promise or not?

the canceled promise was:

canceled promise: Must not return home just to get napkins

me: I avoided some paper thing which could be paper napkins and then, I turned my body and pretended I was going to grab them without planning to do it. my body automatically did that in order not to look unpolite.

4) What if the promise was not specific and it was only "must not return to get napkins"?

5) what if my movements count as "returning"? I think i was specific when making the promise and I said something like "must not return home to get napkins" but i am not sure, if i said the word "home".

6) if I did not say that. does that mean I broke the promise? i wanna an answer specific to what I am asking.

7) is the promise valid for only returning home from outside just to get napkins or for whatever place I am in general?

8) does my body movements count as "returning" or not? I was not going to touch them, I just pretended. does that break the promise?

I am ill and please right now, I need some help. can someone answer most of my questions with each number? i do not want to send me Bible verses. I want someone to answer the questions i ask. please do not judge me bad for the old lady. my anxiety was high.
OCD is a disease and there is no sense in playing by its rules and trying to solve its obsessive "problems".

You must either ignore your OCD thoughts or find a medical professional help if you cant control/ignore it.
 
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Not Perfect

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I feel for you friend. My OCD has focused on promises and vows for years. I've attached an article that gave me a lot of peace of mind about this issue:

What Every OCD Sufferer Should Know About Vows and Promises
The TL;DR of this article is that every promise has limits. If it is unreasonable to keep a promise, you don't have to keep it. Most people would consider it pretty dysfunctional to not turn around to check on an old lady who dropped some things, just because of a compulsive promise you made to yourself two years ago (I mean this in the nicest possible way; I do things like that all the time, so I don't mean to criticize or ridicule at all. However, I hope you can recognize that most people would consider that overly rigid and not normal). Because most people would consider it abnormal to keep a promise like that, you are probably not under any duty to keep the promise. Likewise, promises made under compulsion are not real promises. If someone was holding a gun to your head and forced you to make a promise; you aren't obliged to keep it later. You made the promise, not of your own free will, but to get the guy to stop pointing a gun at your head.

Your promise was compulsive. Your brain was sending you the message that you just had to go back to the house to get those darn napkins. You just couldn't stop thinking about it. Those thoughts made you anxious and uncomfortable. You didn't want to go get the napkins. Maybe you realized you didn't need them, or maybe you knew that the desire was irrational. But, you couldn't shake the feeling this sense of impending dread that if you didn't go back it would be very, very bad. So, in a desperate attempt to make that feeling go away, you did the ol' switcheroo on that compulsion. You promised to do the opposite thing. Did you make that promise in good faith, out of your own free will, in response to a real need? Of course not. Your OCD was holding a gun to your head, and you would do anything to get rid of it. You made that promise to get rid of the OCD thought (and learned the hard way, as I have, that "counter promises" usually don't work). You are under absolutely no compulsion to keep the promise, because it is clear that you were not fully in your right mind when you made it.
 
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Not Perfect

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Also, are you seeking help for your OCD? It sounds like this is interfering a lot with your quality of life. If you are seeking treatment, have you discussed this issue with your therapist? If you are not currently seeking help, you might benefit from professional treatment.
 
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Of the Kingdom

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Welcome again, my friend. I think about you once in a while; I'm glad to continue praying for you knowing that you are still having issues.

Of course, I'm sure you know the answer, that compulsion to pick up or not to pick up is OCD talking. God is not alarmed because you made a promise to help you with your OCD two years ago, nor is He expecting you to keep such a promise now that you do not need it.

I wish you well, am praying for your ability to minimize and overcome these OCD attacks. May God bless you and keep you, and make His face to smile upon you.
 
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