I’ve been on a long and difficult journey for most of my life, battling religious OCD. It has become an up-hill battle for me to break free from these intrusive thoughts, but I’m determined to make it happen.
The symptoms of Religious OCD have been dominating my life for so long that the fear of becoming “unsafe” with God has crippled me. I would beat myself down for the smallest things, creating feelings of constant guilt and unworthiness. I thought that no matter how hard I tried to escape those thoughts, they would always persist, making it extremely difficult to focus on anything else. It had also taken a toll on my relationships, as I felt overwhelmed by the fear of offending God at any moment.
I have been gradually taking steps towards improving my mental health and wellbeing by going through home treatment with mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation. Keeping track of my triggers is also a great help in finding peace within myself when anxious thoughts start to come up again. All in all, I am learning how to break away from the judgemental voice inside my head by stopping each thought or action driven by fear at its source before it spirals out of control.
Though I still struggle at times, I’m determined to keep breaking patterns that don’t serve me anymore and find balance in life once again.