Scrupulosity Faith Vs Mental Illness

 

My experience with scrupulosity that I suffer with makes me think that I can control my intrusive thoughts. My intrusive thoughts tried it’s best to make me believe those thoughts reveal my true character. All of us have intrusive thoughts from time to time. For example, some people may get distracted while praying as their minds drift off to other things, but then they can refocus and not worry about it.

 

People with scrupulosity like me can have intrusive thoughts while praying and think we are going to hell, we feel like we are being under spiritual attack. Let me speak for myself, well I thought I was, and that caused me a great deal of distress for many years.

 

People who are locked in their sin are not aware of intrusive thoughts. I know that I am walking in the spirit of God and something is raging war against my mind. I know that I love God with all my heart. I want to please him and I want to live by his will. Sometimes I am a perfectionist when it comes to this, I want to please God.

 

My behavior is under control, but inside of me I have no power against the intrusive thoughts forming in my mind, it is like my mind is being raped or violated.  I have power with the Holy Spirit not to entertain those intrusive thoughts and keep it captive.

Scrupulosity is a type of OCD in which someone becomes mentally and emotionally consumed by matters of religious practice and morality. They question whether they are doing the right thing regarding their religious practice, and for some, whether they are maintaining a high moral standard. They become stuck in their intrusive, obsessive thoughts and decision-making.

Scrupulosity is not associated with any particular religion. The specific fear will depend on the person’s specific religious values, and the following signs can indicate someone may be suffering from it:

• Obsessing over whether they have sinned

• Living in constant fear of angering God

• Fearing they are not perfectly following their religion’s doctrine or practices

• Spending excessive time praying and worrying they aren’t praying the right way

• Seeking constant assurance from a religious leader

• Thinking they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit

 

More symptoms of scrupulosity?

Common obsessions seen in scrupulosity include excessive concerns about:

Fear of committing blasphemy, or offending/angering God

§  Fear of having committed a sin

§  Behaving overly morally

§  Excessively striving for purity

§  Fear of going to hell or being punished by God

§  Fear of being possessed

§  Fear of death

§  Fear of the loss of impulse control

§  Doubting what you truly believe or feel

§  Needing to acquire certainty about religious beliefs

Along with excessive worry about religious and moral issues, scrupulosity sufferers engage in mental and/or behavioral compulsions and avoidance of triggering situations.

Behavioral compulsions may include:

§  Writing prayers to check they’re done “correctly”

§  Excessive confession 

§  Repeatedly seeking reassurance from religious leaders and loved ones

§  Repeated cleansing and purifying rituals

§  Acts of self-sacrifice

§  Treating attendance of religious services as obligatory when they are not actually so

 

Mental compulsions may include:

• Excessive or repeated prayer

This could involve saying a prayer over and over again until it is done “just right” out of fear that it will be rejected by your higher power unless it is done perfectly.

• Repeatedly imagining sacred images or phrases        
• Repeating passages from sacred scriptures in one’s head   

This could be done to assure that the meaning of the passage is 100% understood so that you will not stray from the message and accidentally do something that would be seen as wrong in the eyes of a higher power.

• Making pacts with God

This is often phrased as, " I promise this is the last time and if you will assure me that something bad will not happen then I will never ask you about this ever again," or something similar to that.

• Mental efforts to neutralize, erase, or replace “bad” thoughts

This is often done so that there will be no sin on the soul and it will be seen as pure by a higher power.

• Scanning for level of faithfulness     

Avoidance may include:

Avoiding religious services where a moral error may occur or cause something bad to happen

Not reading religious texts is seen as triggering

How can scrupulosity be distinguished from typical religious practice?

Unlike typical religious practice, scrupulous behavior usually exceeds or disregards religious law and may focus excessively on one area of religious practice while other, more important areas may be completely ignored. OCD can masquerade as religion. 

To others, someone with OCD may appear to be very devoted to their religious practices potentially due to the nature of one's compulsions - for example, spending hours researching religious doctrine - however, this excessive behavior is typically in an effort to alleviate the anxiety caused by the obsessions. OCD is never helpful and can create barriers to practicing one's faith traditions.

 

The behavior and mental life of scrupulous individuals are typically inconsistent with that of the rest of the faith community. In addition, scrupulous behavior is motivated primarily by distress and leads to functional impairment. Functional impairment can look like avoiding worship, missing work, isolating from loved ones, and experiencing extreme discomfort in situations where others might feel peaceful or calm.

 

 

Scrupulosity Faith Vs Mental Illness 

by Trey Knowles