- Feb 5, 2002
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I thought this might be helpful to all of you that suffer from these issues.
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How is a person with scrupulosity or OCD supposed to manage going about life when their condition interferes with achieving key life goals–like getting an education, finding a spouse, or holding a job?
Recently I received the following email (per my usual policy, I’ve edited it to remove any personally identifying details):
Hi Mr. Akin, I am a practicing Catholic, but also very scrupulous. (I do have the mental disorder of OCD)
My question is in regards to near occasions of sin. I think many things are near occasions of sin, some being real and some being scrupulous.
I have decided to go to a Catholic college. The major I am going into has both a 100% on-campus option and a 100% online option. I really want to go onto campus but I feel it is a proximate occasion of sin because I have the opportunity to avoid it.
The reason I see this as a proximate occasion of sin is because I struggle with chastity; almost every time I see a beautiful girl I have impure thoughts.
I do not want to offend God because I know that we as Catholics are required to avoid proximate occasions of sin that can be avoided.
I would very much appreciate it if you could give me your educated input on if I have a moral responsibility to avoid being on campus. I have spoken to my spiritual director and he said I need to weigh the pros and the cons and which one outweighs the other.
Thank you for your time.
I responded:
Thank you very much for writing. Your situation is a difficult one, but not an uncommon one. We all have challenges and temptations that we face, and the latter can be especially strong at your time of life.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you a simple, single answer to what to do in your situation regarding attending college on campus or not. However, I can sketch the principles that need to go into that decision...
Continued below.
http://jimmyakin.com/2020/06/scrupulosity-ocd-and-life-goals.html
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How is a person with scrupulosity or OCD supposed to manage going about life when their condition interferes with achieving key life goals–like getting an education, finding a spouse, or holding a job?
Recently I received the following email (per my usual policy, I’ve edited it to remove any personally identifying details):
Hi Mr. Akin, I am a practicing Catholic, but also very scrupulous. (I do have the mental disorder of OCD)
My question is in regards to near occasions of sin. I think many things are near occasions of sin, some being real and some being scrupulous.
I have decided to go to a Catholic college. The major I am going into has both a 100% on-campus option and a 100% online option. I really want to go onto campus but I feel it is a proximate occasion of sin because I have the opportunity to avoid it.
The reason I see this as a proximate occasion of sin is because I struggle with chastity; almost every time I see a beautiful girl I have impure thoughts.
I do not want to offend God because I know that we as Catholics are required to avoid proximate occasions of sin that can be avoided.
I would very much appreciate it if you could give me your educated input on if I have a moral responsibility to avoid being on campus. I have spoken to my spiritual director and he said I need to weigh the pros and the cons and which one outweighs the other.
Thank you for your time.
I responded:
Thank you very much for writing. Your situation is a difficult one, but not an uncommon one. We all have challenges and temptations that we face, and the latter can be especially strong at your time of life.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you a simple, single answer to what to do in your situation regarding attending college on campus or not. However, I can sketch the principles that need to go into that decision...
Continued below.
http://jimmyakin.com/2020/06/scrupulosity-ocd-and-life-goals.html
