Religious OCD: Causes and Treatment

Religious OCD is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a psychological disorder affecting some people that is connected to religion and belief. A person experiences unfamiliar thoughts related to their religion and its symbols, making them fear that these thoughts will cause them to incur sins or commit wrongdoing. The following report presents the medical opinion alongside the ruling of Islamic law on this psychological problem.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Rates of OCD in general, and religious OCD in particular, have increased. While OCD can make a person obsessed with certain personal and everyday matters, especially cleanliness and order,

religious OCD causes a person to experience obsessions associated with their beliefs and to begin doubting their faith. The person may wash their hands repeatedly and perform ablution again if they come close to something that could invalidate it, or repeat a prayer from the beginning if they begin to doubt its validity.

OCD and its treatment

Obsessive-compulsive disorder related to religion is a psychological disorder. It therefore requires visiting a doctor and seeking advice and treatment to overcome this problem, which affects the person’s life and their relationship with religion and other people. There are many treatment methods, depending on the severity of the condition and its symptoms.

Available methods for treating this type of OCD include the following:

• Drawing closer to God, seeking refuge from Satan, and frequently asking for forgiveness until the person feels psychological comfort, thereby absolving themselves of the intrusive thoughts that trouble them.
• Making productive use of free time through activities such as exercise, prayer, and glorifying God, so the mind has no time to dwell on these negative thoughts.
• Performing certain psychological and behavioral exercises in which the person associates the negative thoughts with something unpleasant or painful. They then remember that thing whenever the thoughts arise, until the mind gradually drives them away.
• Addressing the thoughts that enter the mind. When they arise, the person should not think about them but should instead tell them to stop and leave the mind. The person repeatedly says “Stop” or “That is enough” to the mind until it becomes accustomed to rejecting these thoughts rather than engaging in or analyzing them.
• Using medication under medical supervision. This is an important step in severe cases, in which the patient receives anti-obsessional medication that helps restore the balance of brain chemistry.

Symptoms of religious OCD

A person with religious OCD experiences a range of symptoms that cause them to adhere to certain strict religious and moral rules because they constantly feel anxious about their religiosity and relationship with God. Among the most important symptoms of OCD are the following:

• Severe anxiety about committing sins or disbelief.
• Repeated obsessions that the person’s ultimate fate will be punishment, fire, and hell, and that they are constantly sinful.
• The person loses the ability to control their emotions regarding any problem or issue connected to religion and becomes extremely irritable during such discussions.
• The person avoids any place or person they believe may cause them to commit sins.
• Praying excessively while being rigid about every detail and ritual.
• Constantly and frighteningly imagining religious places and phrases.
• Repeatedly reciting certain passages and sentences from sacred religious texts, which remain excessively fixed in the mind.
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OCD involving insults toward God

Religious OCD is not limited to a person’s excessive performance of religious rituals or the cleanliness associated with prayer and religious practices. For some people, the problem may intensify until the person experiences rejection of divinity.

The person may silently insult God or hear voices in their mind that cast doubt on God’s existence. The patient then feels shame and disgrace because their mind rejects what they hear and feel. They go to religious scholars and tell them, “Religious OCD has destroyed me.”

The person believes that such obsessions make them an unbeliever and remove them from their religion. Religious scholars hold that if these obsessions arise from psychological disorders, occur against the person’s will, and are not their fault, then the person bears no sin because God does not hold a mentally ill person accountable.

The affected person should try to remove these obsessions from their mind by thinking about other matters. If they find their mind returning to these subjects, they should quickly think about something different or speak with other people until the subconscious mind becomes accustomed to overcoming and forgetting them.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder related to religion is a psychological disorder of a particular kind that allows negative thoughts connected to the person’s beliefs to enter the mind. It is not a simple matter, but it deserves attention and treatment because it negatively affects the person. They experience thoughts that conflict with their true ideas and religious beliefs, leaving them tense and anxious because they believe they are involuntarily committing sins. Their fear grows, and they fall prey to feelings and fears of guilt and may enter a cycle of depression. Prompt treatment is therefore best so that the person can return to their normal state and their psychological condition can improve quickly.