Fighting O.C.D. With God

I read the book Brain Lock by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz which helped me a lot with my fight against my O.C.D. intrusive thoughts, but I think there is a faith element of this book that is missing in the fight against these intrusive thoughts. The Christian faith gives us a strong basis to stand in truth against the lies that fly around in our heads. This has been made clear to me, and I hope that what I have learned could be helpful for you in your fight against O.C.D.. God loves you and he wants you to experience the freedom that he offers in a relationship with him and the truths that he has made true of you. So without further ado let’s get into it.

 

What is O.C.D.?

 

O.C.D. stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (O.C.D.) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.”  Here is a list of common obsessions that people suffer from.

Common Obsessions in O.C.D.

1. “worrying constantly about catching a deadly disease and/or that you will contaminate others with your germs
2. fears about contamination with environmental toxins such as lead or radioactivity
3. an intense fear that something horrible will happen to a loved one
4. profound worry that you will do something extremely embarrassing, like screaming out an obscenity at a funeral
5. believing you may hit someone with your car or injure someone unknowingly
6. aggressive or disturbing ideas, such as thoughts of murdering your partner or child
7. disturbing sexual and/or religious imagery that might include sexual assault or inappropriate sexual acts
8. a strong need to reorder things until they feel “just right””

• a fear of harming inanimate objects

These obsessions can lead to behavioral compulsions, this would be something you feel like you have to do in order to be safe from something you fear. Some people feel like they have to wear gloves in order to protect themselves from diseases in everyday life, while others might have to check the lock on their front door three times before they can leave the house. Compulsions show that these obsessions can have a major impact on our behaviour as well as our ability to function in life. When O.C.D. is not held in check it can become a destructive force in our lives, that’s why it’s important to learn about the ways to fight and treat O.C.D.  

My Story

It was about two years ago when I experienced some of the most crippling, seemingly unavoidable fears that I have ever felt. I had a tangible feeling that at any moment I could do something that would ruin my life forever. I was very ashamed of these feelings and thoughts because I felt this was a spiritual issue that meant I wasn’t a “good Christian.” I developed perceived defense mechanisms in order to protect myself from harming other people or myself. I didn’t choose to have these thoughts or feelings, but at the same time, I couldn’t get away from them. I remember one day laying in my bed at 3:00 in the afternoon convinced that I was going to somehow ruin my life.

One of my intrusive thoughts/feelings was that I was going to drive my car off the road and either hit someone or something. I can’t fully describe this, but I had a feeling in my left arm that it was going to steer the car off of the road and hit something. I know that sounds stupid or crazy, which it was, but I knew that this was what I was feeling. Deep down I knew also that I didn’t want to steer my car off of the road, so I would take my left hand off of the steering wheel and just let my right hand drive. Sometimes I would put my left arm behind my back in order to keep it away from the wheel. This and many other intrusive thoughts/feelings lead me to a point of shame and insecurity where I could no longer bear this information on my own.

One night I decided to talk to one of my close friends at the time about these thoughts/feelings I was experiencing and the shame that they had given me. Roy (close friend) was understanding and empathetic, he expressed that I should share these thoughts/feelings with my other close friends and that I should find truth in order to fight away these thoughts and feelings. Roy’s understanding reaction allowed me to see that these thoughts and feelings didn’t make me a horrible person. As I began talking with my friends about these thoughts and feelings, they expressed that it sounded like O.C.D. and it might be a good idea to go to counseling in order to build an understanding of how to fight O.C.D.

I started counseling for O.C.D. about a month after I had first talked to Roy about the thoughts I had been having. The counselor I saw asked me a bunch of different questions to learn about me and was very non judgemental towards the responses I was giving him. Sharing my intrusive thoughts with my counselor was a very freeing experience, I had felt like these thoughts and feelings had made me unloveable. As I shared more with the counselor we started to discuss more ideas about how to fight these intrusive thoughts. One thing we discussed was standing up to the O.C.D thoughts and the fears that were behind them in the moments that they were stuck in my head. For example, my counselor wanted me to try to keep my left hand on the wheel when I was feeling those O.C.D. thoughts about veering off of the road. The thought of doing this made me uncomfortable, but I decided to try it anyway. For the next couple of months I would keep both hands on the wheel and I wouldn’t allow these intrusive thoughts to control my actions. The more that I did this the more that I saw these thoughts and feelings didn’t have control over me.

A couple months into counseling my counselor and I decided to read a book, he suggested Brain Lock, which was written by Jeffrey Schwartz a professor at UCLA who had done a lot of research on O.C.D.. This book gave me a strong framework in which I could fight my O.C.D. thoughts. Here is a basic layout of the framework.

 

The 4 R’s of fighting O.C.D.	Description
Relabel	When you recognize an intrusive thought label it as an O.C.D. thought, and not your own.
Reattribute	Attribute the thought to a chemical misfiring in your brain. (O.C.D. is related to a chemical imbalance in the brain)
Refocus	After you have done the first two steps, try to refocus your mind on something that is not the intrusive thought.
Revalue	Slowly over time as you practice the other three you begin revalue the fears and thoughts you have connected to O.C.D..

 

This methodology of fighting intrusive thoughts and seeing progressive change in the evaluation of your thoughts reminded me of the biblical model for change. Here is a layout of the biblical model for change. 

Acknowledge Wrong Actions→Discover Wrong Beliefs→Learn Right Beliefs→Practice Right Actions→Experience Gradual Change

I discovered during my fight with O.C.D. that all of my intrusive thoughts were connected to fears that I had, and most fears are directly connected with the things that we value. I valued my reputation among people and how they would perceive me. My fear was that I would do something to harm my reputation and that I would not be loved in the ways that I desired. The intrusive thoughts that I couldn’t shake were thoughts of me hurting myself or someone else in a way that would ruin my reputation. As I practiced the 4 R’s and fought the feelings that my intrusive thoughts had given me, the intrusive thoughts became less and less powerful and I was able to revalue the thoughts themselves. The intrusive thoughts were less intimidating and often more fleeting.

Over this time I also decided to take medication that would help with the chemical imbalance in my brain. The medication that I took gave me more serotonin in my brain, which is a chemical which gives you the feeling that everything is okay. Between what I learned in counseling and the medication I took I gained substantial victory over my O.C.D. intrusive thoughts. The third thing that gave me freedom from my thoughts and helped me to fight my fears was my relationship with God. God’s loving view of me and his intimate involvement in my life offered deep truths and a level of security that greatly impacted the way I was able to fight O.C.D..  For the rest of this paper I would like to show you how your relationship with God can offer a significant amount of help in your fight against O.C.D..

God Knows You

 

1 Samuel 16:7 “Man looks at the outside appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

God knows everything about you, he has seen your deepest darkest thoughts. God has seen everything you have done, thought and felt. In Psalm 139 13 David said to God “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” So not only does God know your heart but he intricately crafted you before you were born. He knows more about us then we know about ourselves.

 

God is With You

 

John 4:16-17 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

When you accepted Christ as your savior God put his Holy Spirit inside of you. This means that God lives inside of you and he is there with you throughout your whole life. In Ephesians 1:13 the apostle Paul says that we are sealed in the Spirit, this means that His Spirit will not leave you.   

God Loves You

 

Romans 8:37-39 “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

God loves you as you are right now, he loved you as you were three years ago, and he will love the future you three years from now. God’s loving view of people defines them more than all of the ways they see themselves. His love is all-encompassing, you cannot get rid of it. The fears and thoughts that we have cannot make God love us any less than He does now. Unlike our thought life, he is stable and bears his love in all things. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a picture of real love, the kind of love that God has for us. He never turns his back on us, he bears in all things, believes while in all things, Hopes in all circumstances, and His love never fails. This truly unbelievable aspect of God’s character frees us to live our lives knowing that we are never alone and we are never without His love. When we are fighting O.C.D. intrusive thoughts we can always turn to this comforting truth and see that we are absolutely loved by the almighty all powerful creator of the universe!

 

God Has a Plan For You

 

Philippians 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

 

When I was at my lowest point I questioned if there was any good purpose for my life, I felt that I could put myself in a place where God couldn’t use me and my life couldn’t be used for good. This was a lie that I believed because I didn’t see myself as God saw me. I learned that God has a plan for us and wants to use us in other people’s lives to share his powerful message of love and salvation. He can use us at any point in our lives, no matter how bleak, to offer this life-altering relationship he has initiated with us to other people. This truth gave me a tangible hope that my life could have a real purpose as long as I chose to be used by God.

God Gives Us An Ultimate Hope

Revelation 21:3-7 “3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.””

As Christians we have an ultimate hope in what lies ahead. We have eternal life in Heaven with God to look forward to! When we are with God in Heaven there will be no more pain or suffering and he will provide for us as our righteous ruler. When Jesus comes back the fallen world that we live in will be destroyed, and a new heaven and new earth will be created.   No matter how overwhelming this life gets we can always look forward to a better life with God.

 

Practical Advice For Fighting O.C.D. in a Relationship With God

 

Pray through your identity

 

It is easy when you are fighting O.C.D. thoughts to go down a slippery slope where you take one event in your life and envision it having disastrous repercussions.  When we envision disasters in our life it’s easy to feel out of control or like we are total failures. On the other hand when we see ourselves how God sees us we often are able to see things clearly and recognize faults in our thinking. Praying through your new identity in Christ and talking to God about how he views us and is in control can make a huge difference in fighting intrusive thoughts. When we recognize God’s love and endless grace we give ourselves a chance to see through what feels like impending doom.

Ephesians 1:3-14 is a great passage that describes aspects of our identity in God. This passage talks about how God has adopted us as His children. He is our perfect father who always loves us as His kids. He has an inheritance laid up in heaven for us, the life He has prepared for us is better than the one we have now. God has sealed us in His Holy Spirit, and this is a stamp of the salvation we have in Him. God has forgiven us for our sins past, present, and future. This means we can rest knowing that we are completely and utterly forgiven by the ultimate judge of the universe. He has revealed the mysteries of his will through Jesus’ death on the cross.

 

Appropriate God’s grace

The Gospel message of God’s free gift of salvation to humanity is the main message of the Bible. This message can free us from our guilt and shame if we choose to accept it for ourselves. Jesus’ death on the cross was a payment for all of the mistakes we have ever made, or ever will make. This means that God has completely forgiven us for all time. We don’t have to live a life of guilt and shame when we view ourselves the way that God views us. Choose to see yourself in God’s grace, completely forgiven, and totally loved.  You are enough as you are because God has made you that way through His son’s death on the cross. It’s important to regularly think and meditate on what Jesus did on the cross and to focus on how his payment applies to you.

Talk to God about your O.C.D. thoughts

When you realize that God will never love you less than he loves you right now, you are able to freely communicate with God about your most embarrassing and fearful thoughts. God can help you find truth’s to help you fight these thoughts, and his love can give you hope during the darkest times. When we tell God about the things that are bothering us we often can feel comforted, or less alone, knowing that He is in this with us.

Talk about your intrusive thoughts with close friends

 

One time at work I came to the  extremely unlikely conclusion that I had contracted HIV by touching something that one of my clients had touched. In one sense I knew that I was jumping to an unfair conclusion, but in another sense I was starting to believe that I had gotten HIV. On the car ride home from work I couldn’t get this thought out of my head and I was extremely scared. When I got home I didn’t know what to do and I felt like my life could be spiralling out of control. When one of my friends came home I decided to talk to him about the thought that I had been having.  I explained to my friend how I had came to the thought that I had contracted HIV. As I told him about my train of thought I was able to see a lot of issues in my thinking, and he was able to help me see just how unlikely my conclusion was. Talking to my friend gave me a lot of clarity and helped me not feel isolated and in my head.

Often when we are entertaining intrusive thoughts in our mind we can feel extremely isolated. I felt the last thing I would ever want to do is tell people about the intrusive thoughts that I had stuck in my head. I was scared that other people would think I was crazy or that they would be afraid of me. Many times I was just blowing things out of proportion in my head, and I didn’t want to work through the shame that I had about these thoughts. When I decided to talk to people about my intrusive thoughts they were able to give me an outside perspective and helped me find clarity in my thinking. Sharing these feelings helped me to experience God’s love and see that I wasn’t all alone. I think it’s especially important to share your thoughts and feelings with fellow believers who understand God’s love and grace.

Memorize relevant scripture

 

Memorizing scripture can be a great way to remind ourselves of the truths that we have in a relationship with God that can help us fight the power of intrusive thoughts. We can use God’s word to fight lies, intrusive, or any other strange untrue thought in our minds.

 

Philippians 4:6-7 “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

This passage reminds us that we can talk to God about anything, and that we are able to cast our anxieties on him.  

 

1 Corinthians 10:13 “13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”  

 

This passage tells us that we are not alone, and that God will never give us a temptation or fear that we can’t handle when we choose to rely on him.

 

Psalms 23 “1 The Lord is my shepherd;   I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3     He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk   through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff  protect and comfort me.

5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me  all the days of my life,and I will live in the house of the Lord

   Forever.”

 

This passage talks about how God relates to us as our shepherd, guide, loyal friend, and savior.

 

Put your trust in the Lord’s sovereignty

 

I think this is the most important point in fighting O.C.D with God. God is the all powerful creator of the Universe, and he is also omnipotent (all knowing). These two attributes of God contribute to the legitimacy of another attribute He has; God is sovereign. This means that God is the supreme authority in control of the universe. God has the ultimate authority over the things that go on here on Earth. This is comforting especially when we trust is God’s loving nature. God is intimately involved in your life, and the issues he has allowed you to face are not too much for you to handle (1 Cor 10:13).

When we choose to trust God with our lives, and anything that is out of our control; we can find a strong sense of the freedom that we have in Christ. God can use us no matter where we are in life as long as we choose to listen to his guidance. God will communicate to you what you need to know in life; that doesn’t mean we won’t have times of confusion and doubt, but it does mean we can continue to move forward in life trusting that he has communicated what we needed to know for the current moment that we are in. God can teach us things through the trials and times of suffering that we face, so even when life sucks and we don’t know what is going on, we know that God could be using this for a bigger purpose. God helped me learn how to fight my O.C.D. intrusive thoughts so that I could help other people with intrusive and embarrassing thoughts that may have. My O.C.D. is also connected with the ability God has given me to critically think and my capacity to see things from multiple points of view. I am confident that God will teach you things as you learn to fight your O.C.D. intrusive thoughts and that those lessons can be used for a greater purpose.

 

Resources

 

Schwartz, Jeffrey, and Beverly Beyette. Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior: a Four-Step Self-Treatment Method to Change Your Brain Chemistry. Harper Perennial, 2016.

 

Cited Sources

 

“BibleGateway.” NLT – – Bible Gateway, Bible Gateway Blog, http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Genesis&qs_version=NLT.

 

Kelly, Owen, and Steven Gans. “Obsessions Are More Than Everyday Worries: They Cause Major Anxiety.” Verywell Mind, Dotdash, 2018, http://www.verywellmind.com/about-ocd-obsessions-and-compulsions-2510672.

 

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml#part_145347.
Schwartz, Jeffrey, and Beverly Beyette. Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior: a Four-Step Self-Treatment Method to Change Your Brain Chemistry. Harper Perennial, 2016.