Building faith while living with scrupulosity type Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Building faith while living with scrupulosity type Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Scrupulosity is a form of OCD in which the individual is overly concerned with living out a morally perfect faith. Living with scrupulosity type Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be an incredibly challenging experience. These conditions often bring about intense feelings of guilt, fear, and doubt, particularly in matters of salvation and atonement. Common symptoms are constant seeking reassurance, obsessions about sin and salvation, and compulsive religious rituals such as confession and prayer. Research supports that improvements are seen through psychotherapy approaches that include both cognitive and faith-based tools.
Do I have scrupulosity type OCD?
Scrupulosity is a form of OCD characterized by obsessive concerns about religious or moral correctness. Individuals may constantly worry about sinning, feel an overwhelming need for confession, or engage in repetitive rituals to alleviate their anxiety. This can lead to a cycle of distress and compulsive behaviors that disrupt daily life.
OCD, more broadly, involves intrusive thoughts and compulsive actions aimed at reducing anxiety. These thoughts can be about anything, from contamination fears to doubts about performing daily tasks correctly. Both scrupulosity and OCD stem from a desire for certainty and control in a world that often feels unpredictable.
How does an authentic faith heal my scrupulosity?
For many, faith offers a profound sense of community, purpose, and hope. Alternatively, for many in the Christian community, faith can open up doors of worry and insecurities over our performance in our faith walk. Scrupulosity is not a form of healthy faith. It is an obsession that focuses on punishment rather than the grace that is extended abundantly from Jesus. Scrupulosity can be an over devotion to service and worship and outward displays of faith in order to feel secure in one’s salvation.
A healthy faith is a personal experience in which the believer wrestles with good and evil and communes and communicates with the Lord with hope of finding peace eternal. Healthy faith recognizes that we, as humans, will never be perfect and that the Lord gives us a clean slate everyday. He wants to see us in heaven and while suffering was not his intent, he uses our trials to follow through with his intentional plans for our lives.
Scrupulosity is work. It is chronic suffering and anxiety centered on not feeling good enough for our Lord. Faith is work in a way that is rewarding and healing. I compare it to spending all day mending something worn into a new a beautiful creation. Faith is allowing room for our imperfections and mistakes. This room gives us resilience and persistence to carry on in the world. Scrupulosity is a binding, toxic relationship rooted in fear rather than grace.
So how do I break free from scrupulosity and OCD?
Mental Health Strategies for Managing Symptoms:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) are effective psychotherapy treatments for negative thinking patterns and behaviors
Learning to sit with uncertainty and resist the compulsion to seek constant reassurance is effective at riding the waves of emotions
Faith-Based Strategies for Spiritual Fortitude
Surrendering control: Trusting in God’s plan and relinquishing the need for absolute certainty
Meditative prayer and focusing on God’s love rather than fear of punishment
Surrounding oneself with a spiritual community or seek pastoral counsel for spiritual reassurance
As a Christian counselor, my work with clients is to recognize God’s voice over their “OCD voice”.
This takes discernment over what is anxiety and what are true faith convictions. This also takes a personal and intentional bible study and time in prayer. Learning to balance guilt with grace and works over worship.
If you are struggling with scrupulosity OCD my prayer is that you will learn to embrace the grace that flows freely from Jesus Christ. I pray that you will be able to, bit by bit, discern anxious thoughts from your true religious beliefs and needs. Lastly, I pray that you can find peace in seeking help. Incorporating professional help gives you additional support and accountability in your healing journey.
Combining faith with professional mental health treatment can offer a holistic approach to healing. Therapists who are knowledgeable about both OCD and religious concerns can tailor cognitive-behavioral strategies to align with your spiritual beliefs.
This integration ensures that your treatment respects and reinforces your faith, rather than conflicting with it.
Faith is a journey, not a perfectionist checklist.
Be well, Whitney
