I also struggle with OCD…

Last updated on: October 19, 2009 at 6:24 pm by Natasha Helfer

I also struggle with OCD… 2009-10-19T18:24:00-05:00 Natasha Helfer

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I am responding as an LDS male who struggles with some similar issues. Thanks for the term ‘scupulosity’, I have never heard of that and yes, that is something that can happen to LDS people with the combination of OCD and GAD given the intense and continual guilt-based sermons in the church. I learned from my wife that most members shrug off things heard from the pulpit that do not apply to them, but I just take everything too literally and absorb everything at a subconscious level, even if I try to ignore it.

There is always hope, but you must learn to ignore the ignorant who will say stupid things to people who are suffering this way, and just look for the accommodations you need to survive. That may including limiting church participation and ‘deprogramming’ the false ideas OCD has led one to create about the church. I had to do this for years, attending only a few times each year, the stress was just too much for me. Now I have a calling I can do on my own time and I am usually able to attend sacrament meeting once or twice a month, but that is all. The rest of the Sundays I find ways to strengthen my spirituality on my own, and that works well.

Many of these conditions include hyper-active libido, and with OCD that is a real challenge nobody can appreciate who has not experienced it. Having this challenge is biological and not a sin, but it is good to find a way to not become stuck in a downward guilt spiral believing there is no hope. There are answers and solutions. It starts with a good psychiatrist, getting the brain balanced, then finding and work on the underlying health problems, usually including digestive (food allergies) and liver detox problems.

Good luck!

Thank you for writing in with your personal experience. Much like someone with physical disabilities, those with mental disabilities may also need to learn how to function in a different way than what may be considered the “norm.” I very much appreciate your description of how you were able to find a way to stay active in the church taking into account your limitations. One of my favorite scriptures is that of not running faster than we have strength (Mosiah 9:17). What inspired counsel!!! Knowing oneself, accepting that which one may not be able to change, embracing one’s strengths to find ways to stay engaged and move forward- what a goal for all of us to be striving towards. Thank you.

The following link to Wikepedia may be helpful in addressing OCD in regards to sexual obsessions.

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