He Felt Like He Needed to Confess All the Time
Over my 10 years as a pastor, I often spoke with sincere and committed believers struggling with certain aspects of their faith.
One of them was a young man who struggled with deep shame. He felt like he needed to confess all the time. When he did confess, he would experience a short season of relief, and then the shame would return.
And while I didn't know it then, I know realise that many of these struggles had less to do with faith and more to do with obsessive compulsions that had developed, either through the traumatic impact of toxic theology or other factors.
Here are the top 3 issues I wrestled with often that require therapeutic, not just a pastoral, support.
Compulsive Confession: As mentioned in the young man’s story above, one of the hallmark symptoms of religious OCD is the compulsion to confess repeatedly.
This confession may be done verbally, in writing, or through rituals.
There is often a temporary relief after confessing, but the anxiety tends to return, leading to cycles of "cathartic dumping" (spontaneous and unfiltered release of pent-up emotions).
The worst part about this compulsion is that 99% of the things being confessed are irrelevant, unimportant, and irrational.
However, the person with the compulsion feels an overwhelming crush of guilt and shame that only disipates (temporarily) when a confession is made.
Excessive Fear of Sin: People with religious OCD often have an intense fear of committing sins or violating religious principles.
They may constantly worry about inadvertently engaging in immoral or blasphemous thoughts or behaviors, even when there is no real basis for concern.
This often leads a person to feel drawn to perfectionistic, behavioristic, or legalistic theologies and communities.
In other cases, this exessive fear is caused by the belief systems themselves.
Intrusive Religious Obsessions: When a person struggles with exessive fear of sin, they tend to "naval gaze" (think of themselves and their moral failures constantly).
The emotional damage of such thinking can then lead to the very thoughts the person wants to avoid.
Intrusive thoughts or images that are distressing and unwanted begin to harrass.
Most religious people will consider these temptations and pray against them, but they only get worse.
These obsessions can be persistent and can lead a person to despise themselves and suffer in silence.
As I said above, I had many conversations over the years with church members looking for pastoral support on issues like the above.
But while healthy pastoral support can be beneficial, scrupolosity of this kind is best addressed in a therapeutic relationship with a professional equipped to navigate Obsessive Compulsions.
To learn more about Religious OCD and how to heal, check out the following resources:
