I am 20 years old, and I have been suffering from mild forms of OCD since 18 years old.
Some of the thoughts that perpetuated my mind (and still do from time to time) include:
After large amounts of prayer and theological research, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) OCD is a mental disease that God created you with, and it is actually a blessing in disguise. God knows you have this disease, and he knows your situation and how you're feeling. He knows all. God does all things for your good. You have this challenge to overcome it, and with this challenge comes a potential for faith greater than the average person can attain had they not conquered a challenge such as this.
2) OCD Thoughts are NOT sins. The scripture tells us that "(...)God, who knows the heart, testified [and gave] them the Holy Spirit" (Acts 15:8). God knows our hearts and our desires. Your heart is made up of your mind, your will and your emotions. Your will is something that an OCD thought can never touch, and it is something that you must pray for confidence in. God knows your situation, he knows you have OCD, he is all knowing and all powerful. Those thoughts are just a symptom of a disease in your mind. Pray for confidence that your will is in line with God's word. Psalm 23 and 139:23-24 are great verse to repeat OUT LOUD with confidence. There is power in your tongue and what you speak into existence, I highly recommend these ones.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; See if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24)
3) God's forgiveness knows no bounds. Once you have accepted Jesus, you are positionally forgiven; your place in heaven is secured once you have accepted Jesus, making your past, present and even FUTURE sins forgiven. God still calls us to confession because he is our heavenly father, and just as when you sin against your earthly father, they are hurt by this. The act of truly mentally choosing Jesus will inevitably encourage a change in behavior, and a change of the heart. This change will cause us to feel guilt when we sin, because our hearts know better with the Holy Spirit within us. God offers us a way out of this guilt! Although already positionally forgiven, we are still called to confess our sins because of our own personal relationship that we have with God that is similar to our earthly relationships, but more full of love than we can even comprehend. This confession allows you to let go of guilt and shame, and God is just to forgive no matter what. Think of it as "getting it off your chest", God is always there to listen.
With that being said, keep in mind your thoughts from OCD are NOT sins. This is the hardest concept to grasp and keep in mind, as the goal of OCD, by its nature, is to enforce doubt. Trust God's promises. He knows you inside and out, and he will never hold you to thoughts that are undesirable to you. Do not give any OCD thought the light of day by praying about forgiveness for it. There is no need to confess these, no need to dwell on them, no need to pay them any mind, no need to feel shame. God ash already forgotten them, just as he has forgotten all wrongness within you--this means you should forget them too.
4) Diseases are meant to be overcome through the blood of Jesus. Through Christ's death, we are given dominion over this world. Mental disease is subject to healing just as any other disease. It is a cancer of the mind, and the word of God is your chemotherapy. I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand that God's word is absolute. The word is the only defense we have against the lies and tricks of the enemy. The tongue is referenced in the bible as being mighty powerful The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (Proverbs 18:21). Decide what consequences you want--the positive ones. The greek word for power is dunamis, the route word of dynamite, and it is used in reference to the tongue many times in the bible. The word of God is even referred to as a weapon against attacks of the enemy, so speak the TRUTH. Most importantly of all, do not try too hard. The harder YOU try to cast out the thoughts using your own reasoning, the worse they become. That is how OCD works. Rely on God's word, not yours. Trust 100% and completely that God's promises are true, and that you are completely saved. Stop trying to counteract your thoughts and actions as they come, the way to cope with OCD is actually to 'get used to them'. Do not be afraid, God is with you. They are just thoughts, nothing more. They do not define you. God wants to teach us to rely completely on him and not on ourselves. God is putting you through this. Dr. Osborn writes, "in OCD, we need to allow God to have complete control over the occurrence of obsessional fears, as well as the anxiety, uncertainty, and guilt that accompanies them. We need to allow the fears to be there for as long as God wants, and resist doing compulsions to escape them. We need to understand that this is all a part of His plan, a plan designed to show us our proper place before Him. Yes, we can hope that God will stop the testing. And we should certainly pray, but our prayer should be for the patience to allow God to do his work for our good". In many cases, prayer relentlessly is a compulsion, and counter-intuitively, it should be avoided. Not to say that you shouldn't pray, but in the wake of an incoming intrusional thought, you must give in and let God deal with it, use his word. Just tell yourself "I'm giving it up to you God". And of course Paul told us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Phil. 4:6). Give in, lean on him, give him control and let go of your constant struggle to maintain the battle in your mind, it is not yours to fight. he will "never leave you nor forsake you"
For reference, I suggest you also read Grantley Morris
http://www.net-burst.net/guilty/scrupulosity.htm
A christian psychiatrist doctor osborn
http://ocdandchristianity.com/
That is all I have, and I can tell you that I have tried coping with OCD to the best of my own ability, when in retrospect I wish I would have put God in control much sooner. God can heal. God can do all things. He loves you more than you can ever know, and you are already forgiven. If anyone has any other support, or any other concepts I have missed (I am sure there are a ton I just wanted to get a basic idea of how to cope), beel free to add. I pray that a peace that passes all understanding washes over your hearts, God bless you.
-Blake
Some of the thoughts that perpetuated my mind (and still do from time to time) include:
- Betting and/or selling my soul to the devil
- Being unforgivable
- Doubting my faith
- Dreams or Supernatural signs
- Overall: doubt of my salvation
After large amounts of prayer and theological research, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) OCD is a mental disease that God created you with, and it is actually a blessing in disguise. God knows you have this disease, and he knows your situation and how you're feeling. He knows all. God does all things for your good. You have this challenge to overcome it, and with this challenge comes a potential for faith greater than the average person can attain had they not conquered a challenge such as this.
2) OCD Thoughts are NOT sins. The scripture tells us that "(...)God, who knows the heart, testified [and gave] them the Holy Spirit" (Acts 15:8). God knows our hearts and our desires. Your heart is made up of your mind, your will and your emotions. Your will is something that an OCD thought can never touch, and it is something that you must pray for confidence in. God knows your situation, he knows you have OCD, he is all knowing and all powerful. Those thoughts are just a symptom of a disease in your mind. Pray for confidence that your will is in line with God's word. Psalm 23 and 139:23-24 are great verse to repeat OUT LOUD with confidence. There is power in your tongue and what you speak into existence, I highly recommend these ones.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; See if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24)
3) God's forgiveness knows no bounds. Once you have accepted Jesus, you are positionally forgiven; your place in heaven is secured once you have accepted Jesus, making your past, present and even FUTURE sins forgiven. God still calls us to confession because he is our heavenly father, and just as when you sin against your earthly father, they are hurt by this. The act of truly mentally choosing Jesus will inevitably encourage a change in behavior, and a change of the heart. This change will cause us to feel guilt when we sin, because our hearts know better with the Holy Spirit within us. God offers us a way out of this guilt! Although already positionally forgiven, we are still called to confess our sins because of our own personal relationship that we have with God that is similar to our earthly relationships, but more full of love than we can even comprehend. This confession allows you to let go of guilt and shame, and God is just to forgive no matter what. Think of it as "getting it off your chest", God is always there to listen.
With that being said, keep in mind your thoughts from OCD are NOT sins. This is the hardest concept to grasp and keep in mind, as the goal of OCD, by its nature, is to enforce doubt. Trust God's promises. He knows you inside and out, and he will never hold you to thoughts that are undesirable to you. Do not give any OCD thought the light of day by praying about forgiveness for it. There is no need to confess these, no need to dwell on them, no need to pay them any mind, no need to feel shame. God ash already forgotten them, just as he has forgotten all wrongness within you--this means you should forget them too.
4) Diseases are meant to be overcome through the blood of Jesus. Through Christ's death, we are given dominion over this world. Mental disease is subject to healing just as any other disease. It is a cancer of the mind, and the word of God is your chemotherapy. I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand that God's word is absolute. The word is the only defense we have against the lies and tricks of the enemy. The tongue is referenced in the bible as being mighty powerful The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (Proverbs 18:21). Decide what consequences you want--the positive ones. The greek word for power is dunamis, the route word of dynamite, and it is used in reference to the tongue many times in the bible. The word of God is even referred to as a weapon against attacks of the enemy, so speak the TRUTH. Most importantly of all, do not try too hard. The harder YOU try to cast out the thoughts using your own reasoning, the worse they become. That is how OCD works. Rely on God's word, not yours. Trust 100% and completely that God's promises are true, and that you are completely saved. Stop trying to counteract your thoughts and actions as they come, the way to cope with OCD is actually to 'get used to them'. Do not be afraid, God is with you. They are just thoughts, nothing more. They do not define you. God wants to teach us to rely completely on him and not on ourselves. God is putting you through this. Dr. Osborn writes, "in OCD, we need to allow God to have complete control over the occurrence of obsessional fears, as well as the anxiety, uncertainty, and guilt that accompanies them. We need to allow the fears to be there for as long as God wants, and resist doing compulsions to escape them. We need to understand that this is all a part of His plan, a plan designed to show us our proper place before Him. Yes, we can hope that God will stop the testing. And we should certainly pray, but our prayer should be for the patience to allow God to do his work for our good". In many cases, prayer relentlessly is a compulsion, and counter-intuitively, it should be avoided. Not to say that you shouldn't pray, but in the wake of an incoming intrusional thought, you must give in and let God deal with it, use his word. Just tell yourself "I'm giving it up to you God". And of course Paul told us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Phil. 4:6). Give in, lean on him, give him control and let go of your constant struggle to maintain the battle in your mind, it is not yours to fight. he will "never leave you nor forsake you"
For reference, I suggest you also read Grantley Morris
http://www.net-burst.net/guilty/scrupulosity.htm
A christian psychiatrist doctor osborn
http://ocdandchristianity.com/
That is all I have, and I can tell you that I have tried coping with OCD to the best of my own ability, when in retrospect I wish I would have put God in control much sooner. God can heal. God can do all things. He loves you more than you can ever know, and you are already forgiven. If anyone has any other support, or any other concepts I have missed (I am sure there are a ton I just wanted to get a basic idea of how to cope), beel free to add. I pray that a peace that passes all understanding washes over your hearts, God bless you.
-Blake
