Thank you Mary for sharing this story, It's very brave of you to bare your soul like this and I appreciate it. I too have suffered from religious OCD and like you it took me ages to work out what was wrong with me. My struggles have actually brought me closer to God and I am actually now thankful for them.
For me the problem isn't so much the intrusive thoughts any longer, it's about the groinal response they create. One day i suddenly had a sexual intrusive thought, i I thought "did I want this" and automatically checked if there was a response and I've been stuck ever since. The thoughts have gotten gradually worse and I'm really struggling at this point in my life. I know im supposed to ignore the thoughts but how do I go about ignoring the intrusive response and the feelings that says it's me and I like it? The thoughts surround my faith and most of them are of unforgiveable sexual intrusive thoughts/acts and blasphemy 😔
Hey there! We're so sorry to hear that you struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts, that sounds really difficult and we can only imagine it's challenging to separate who you are from those thoughts. We'd really encourage you to seek professional help through a trained counsellor or psychologist who will be better equipped to help you navigate how to respond to those thoughts and take back control from your OCD. In the meantime, we hope you'll draw encouragement from our community of like-minded people who understand the struggle! Feel free to join us over on socials or subsribe to our mailing list at anxiousfaith.org so you can be the first to hear about upcoming events, Q&A's and more. Our first episode in the new year is actually with a girl whose OCD focussed around sexual thoughts, so you might like to listen to that one when it comes out in a few weeks! Our team is praying for you in your struggle.
Thank you Mary for sharing this story, It's very brave of you to bare your soul like this and I appreciate it. I too have suffered from religious OCD and like you it took me ages to work out what was wrong with me. My struggles have actually brought me closer to God and I am actually now thankful for them.
For me the problem isn't so much the intrusive thoughts any longer, it's about the groinal response they create. One day i suddenly had a sexual intrusive thought, i I thought "did I want this" and automatically checked if there was a response and I've been stuck ever since. The thoughts have gotten gradually worse and I'm really struggling at this point in my life. I know im supposed to ignore the thoughts but how do I go about ignoring the intrusive response and the feelings that says it's me and I like it? The thoughts surround my faith and most of them are of unforgiveable sexual intrusive thoughts/acts and blasphemy 😔
Thanks for the guidance 🙏
Hey there! We're so sorry to hear that you struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts, that sounds really difficult and we can only imagine it's challenging to separate who you are from those thoughts. We'd really encourage you to seek professional help through a trained counsellor or psychologist who will be better equipped to help you navigate how to respond to those thoughts and take back control from your OCD. In the meantime, we hope you'll draw encouragement from our community of like-minded people who understand the struggle! Feel free to join us over on socials or subsribe to our mailing list at anxiousfaith.org so you can be the first to hear about upcoming events, Q&A's and more. Our first episode in the new year is actually with a girl whose OCD focussed around sexual thoughts, so you might like to listen to that one when it comes out in a few weeks! Our team is praying for you in your struggle.