When Your OCD Is About Your Faith

OCD is made up of intrusive thoughts that you can’t control around a particular issue–that’s the “obsession”–and those thoughts cause an incredible amount of anxiety unless you complete a certain action you feel compelled to do–that’s the “compulsive” part. Within the family of OCD, there are a number of different subtypes. But what if your OCD is about your faith? This episode we’re chatting to Mary, a young woman in the UK who has religious OCD or “scrupulosity”, a type where the obsession and intrusive thoughts are all focused around religion and faith. Having grown up in a Christian family, this has been a difficult journey for Mary. For Mary and others suffering with the religious type of OCD, their intrusive thoughts are focused on questions such as whether God is real, and if the Bible can be trusted. While these are questions that we might all ask during our faith journeys, for those with religious OCD, these thoughts are persistent and inescapable. -- Mary's blog piece: I Wish I'd Known It Was Religious OCD -- Anxious Faith website Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Subscribe on Youtube Support Anxious Faith -- Anxious Faith is a production of Our Daily Bread Ministries. If you’re struggling with trauma or addiction yourself, please talk to someone to seek help. That might be a friend, family member, pastor, or your doctor. If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, there’s a list of helplines you can call here.