I am a 57 year old male who has suffered on and off from OCD since my early 20’s. I am a survivor. I have learned by God’s grace to manage it. I decide to start writing some truths I have learned in my over 30 years with this disease to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Things I wished I know in my twenties.
1. OCD is an anxiety disease that effect both Christian and Non-Christian the same. Is not moral issue in the sense that if you experience it you direct disobedience to God.
2. The content of the thoughts are irrelevant because it is anxiety disease. The anxiety disease is the source of the thoughts. The content does not reflect your character or personhood.
3. Having random bad thoughts does not make one a bad person. The suffer obsessives that having these bad thoughts could eventually make you do something that is against his will. I cannot emphases more the word obsessives. For the suffer, the brain becomes lock in a loop of fear and anxiety in one’s mind. One of the most freeing thoughts for me as examine my life is I never acted out a bad random thought that I have obsessive about.
4. Do not internal analyze these bad thoughts. For the OCD suffer the bad thoughts our random and our result of the anxiety disease. Analyzing just makes them worse and gives them value.
5. God uses medicine to address mental disease the same way he does physical diseases. It is not a cop out to take medicine.
More to come.
Things I wished I know in my twenties.
1. OCD is an anxiety disease that effect both Christian and Non-Christian the same. Is not moral issue in the sense that if you experience it you direct disobedience to God.
2. The content of the thoughts are irrelevant because it is anxiety disease. The anxiety disease is the source of the thoughts. The content does not reflect your character or personhood.
3. Having random bad thoughts does not make one a bad person. The suffer obsessives that having these bad thoughts could eventually make you do something that is against his will. I cannot emphases more the word obsessives. For the suffer, the brain becomes lock in a loop of fear and anxiety in one’s mind. One of the most freeing thoughts for me as examine my life is I never acted out a bad random thought that I have obsessive about.
4. Do not internal analyze these bad thoughts. For the OCD suffer the bad thoughts our random and our result of the anxiety disease. Analyzing just makes them worse and gives them value.
5. God uses medicine to address mental disease the same way he does physical diseases. It is not a cop out to take medicine.
More to come.