Christians and Mental Illness: When OCD Gets Spiritual (Scrupulosity)

The following is an excerpt from the book "The Obssesive Compulsive Trap: Real Help for a Real Struggle" by Christian Psychologist Dr. Mark Crawford.

I trust some out there needs to read this....

In Chapter 3 we discussed the biological basis of OCD. Even though research has taught us much about the physiological causes of OCD, it remains a disorder that is frequently misunderstood by the general population. As a psychologist who works frequently with Christians, I am surprised to see how misunderstood and often how mishandled OCD is within the Christian community. Because obsessions and compulsions can have religious or spiritual themes, there are some within the Church who see OCD as a “spiritual problem.” I have even spoken with some who claim that the symptoms of OCD are caused by demonic oppression or even demonic possession. For a Christian already tormented by anxiety cause by OCD, having someone suggest that these symptoms are caused by demonic involvement can literally push them over the edge.

I’ve seen too many Christians with OCD who have been harmed by well-intended church members who suggested that if they only had more faith or prayed more, their symptoms would disappear. I’ve also heard far too many stories of Christians with OCD who were told by church members (or even church officials) that their symptoms were present because of “unconfessed sin “ in their lives. This type of uneducated advice can be extraordinarily harmful to someone with OCD whose symptoms include obsessive concerns that their normal, everyday behaviours are sinful; fears of not being a “good enough Christian”: or fears of being condemned because of bad thoughts. For example, I worked with a young man named Scott who was constantly tormented by anxiety and guilt. He described almost constantly feeling as thought he “might have lied” to someone during the course of a normal day. Since Scott believed that lying was a sin, he was constantly praying for forgiveness, and he frequently returned to the people to whom he feared he lied in order to clarify himself and to ask for their forgiveness. When I asked for an example, Scott offered the following: “This morning, I stopped by a bakery and ordered a bagel. The woman behind the counter asked if I liked cream cheese on my bagel. I told her no. After I left, I started to think that sometimes I do put cream cheese on my bagel. Today I didn’t want cream cheese on my bagel but sometimes I do. Therefore, I felt like I lied to her because she asked me if I liked cream cheese on my bagel I said no, and that is a lie since there are times when I do.” When I asked what he did in response to his thoughts, he replied, “After I left and had driven about 2 miles away from the bakery, the guilt overwhelmed me aand I had to turn around and go back. I went back inside the bakery and tried to explain to the woman that I lied to her about not liking cream cheese on my bagel. She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I am”. To tell this young man that his problems would disappear if he simply prayed more, had more faith, and got rid of all of the unconfessed sin in his life would be inaccurate, unethical and extremely harmful.

If you suffer from OCD, or if you know someone who suffers from OD, please understand that OCD is a biological condition caused primarily by an imbalance in brain chemistry. It is not caused by demonic involvement. To suggest otherwise is as ridiculous as suggesting that individuals who suffer from nearsightedness, diabetes, or crooked teeth are possessed by demons or suffer their malady because of sin in their lives.

The symptoms of OCD often do manifest with religious or spiritual themes. This is particularly true of Christians and people of other faiths for whom their beliefs are an integral part of their lives. Here are a few examples.

Obsessions over Committing the “unpardonable sin”

One of the more frequent obsessive thoughts/fears for Christians suffering from OCD is the fear that they may have “committed the unpardonable sin”. They may also express this as the fear that they may have “blasphemed the Holy Ghost” Almost without exception, these individuals quote the verse from Matthew 12:31 that reads, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against thee Spirit will not be forgiven men”; or the verse from Mark 3:28-29 that reads, “assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation’ – because they said, “he has an unclean spirit. These verses serve as the source of torment for many Christians with OCD who are incessantly tormented with the thought or fear that they may have somehow brought eternal condemnation upon themselves by “committing blasphemy against the Spirit”. Few of these people can tell you clearly what they actually did that qualifies as blasphemy against the Spirit.

Theological scholars have debated the meaning of these scripture verses. However, many leading scholars suggest that these passages refer to rejecting any and all promptings of the spirit of God that convict mankind of his sinfulness and need for salvation. It is ironic that the very individuals who feel” condemned” are applying a passage of scripture that refers to those who feel no conviction from the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, even the more articulate and educated expert on the scriptures would have a difficult time convincing most Christians who suffer from this and other religious obsessions. Many people with OCD simply use emotional reasoning (a term that refers to reaching a conclusion based on how one feels rather than on facts and data.) Therefore, the OCD sufferer describes that they feel unforgiven and condemned, therefore they must be.

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Update From Joe:  This post has over 13,000 hits since I posted it  - so if you think you are alone, you're not!

For further reading that may be helpful I invite you to read my personal testimony as a Christian with this illness here: A Beautiful Mind . Or watch it on youtube. Much love and encouragement, Joe.

Also there are some great strategies in this article for dealing with OCD ( It is a short summary dapted from Schwartz, J.M. (1996). Brain Lock: A Four-Step Self-Treatment Method to Change your Brain Chemistry. New York: Harper Collins. ) here: Managing Compulsions and Obsessions