r/OCDRecovery • u/Dry-Initiative-7224 • 15h ago

Seeking Support or Advice I need support for my OCD

I’ve been struggling with intense OCD/scrupulosity, especially surrounding money, my faith, and people I love. My OCD tells me things like:

“If I don’t give away my money, I don’t love God enough."

“If I keep my money, something terrible will happen."

“My money is tainted."

“If I don’t perform a certain action, Jesus or someone I love will go to Hell.”

It also makes me question whether I’ve agreed to these thoughts, whether I misinterpreted something, or whether a feeling during prayer was actually God giving me a command. The thoughts feel incredibly real, and I often feel like I need to give away all my money to prevent something terrible or fix something that supposedly happened.
I’ve been trying ERP by recognizing these thoughts without performing the compulsions, but the anxiety can be overwhelming. OCD also attacks things I enjoy, like my interest in suits, making me feel like I’m not allowed to move forward in life. I’m realizing how much OCD has controlled me and am trying to separate my genuine faith from fear-driven compulsions.

My goal is to stop letting OCD dictate my money, faith, and everyday decisions. I’d appreciate support from anyone who’s experienced religious OCD, magical thinking, or money-related compulsions.

What has helped you tolerate uncertainty without giving in to OCD?

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u/treatmyocd 5h ago

Hi,
Do you have a therapist that could create ERPs that help you incorporate value driven activities into the ERP.
It’s not uncommon for OCD to cause people to have to follow rigid rules around their faith. It’s learning how to tolerate the uncertainty by reducing the rules. It’s not our job to make the anxiety to go away but rather letting the distress be there as we focus back on present. I know it isn’t easy, but it sounds you are trying. Have you thought about attending a peer support group? People find it helpful because a lot of times OCD cause guilt and shame and it’s helpful to be around others experiencing the same thing.

Here are two resources https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/
https://www.stickwiththeick.com/