Does anyone else think that many Catholics are too preoccupied with thinking what could be a sin or not?

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Is the word ‘ scrupulous ‘ - in close proximity with ‘ being tormented ‘ ?

OCD ? - who’s talking about that ?
I’m not talking about OCD ?
 
You mean - if I look that word up - in Webster’s dictionary - it’ll hint at OCD ?
 
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Yeah, I think too many people are hung up on sin on here, but as I’ve said before, many of those worried about sin are young, didn’t receive good formation so their consciences aren’t well developed, may have come from some non-Catholic background that emphasized sin, and are probably just a lot more likely to talk about it than the majority of people who don’t worry as much about sin.
 
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TheAmazingGrace said:
My suggestion would be to treat scrupulosity the way we’d treat any other form of OCD.
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I thought we already did.
However, not every “is this a sin?” poster seems scrupulous.
Some of them seem to either be looking for some loophole to allow a particular sin, or else genuinely confused or in the dark whether something is a sin.
 
Oh, I would say that if you pay close enough attention there is just as many, if not more people on here, that suffer from a lax conscience. Its just that the internet is the perfect place for a scrupulous person to ask questions because its often embarrassing or fruitless when they talk to people about it in person. It took me a couple years before I could even work up the courage to talk to a priest about my scrupulosity. But i am glad I did because now I would say i’m 95% under control.
 
Yes. I’ve noted over the years on CAF that many Catholics suddenly learn that contraception is prohibited by the Church. Their surprise and dismay is palpable.
 
As a person who suffers terribly from Scrupulosity/OCD, I see it VERY often on this forum. In real life not so much.

Some people on this thread are confusing scrupulosity with piety. They are NOT the same. Scrupulosity comes from fear and doubt. Holiness comes from love and peace.

This essay is one of the best writings on Scrupulosity and how to treat it pastoraly that I have ever read. It is over 100 years old.

 
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“redbetta said:
From what I’ve noticed, it’s often the people who just started taking their Faith seriously who suffer from religious OCD. But, once they become more educated and settled into their new life as a Catholic, it dissipates.

Same thing often happens with people who enter into careers in medicine. It is called “everythingitis” Every bump or pimple is cancer, getting dizzy brings worry of a stroke, etc. etc. For almost all, it goes away eventually. It does however, bring a heightened awareness of what may or may not be serious. I think it is the same way with Catholics who have a pretty even spiritual temperament.
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64 million Americans suffer from some form of anxiety. OCD is related to this, as is scrupulosity. It has nothing to do with the faith and everything to do with mental and psychological states.
 
Out of 64 million “ sufferers “
Not one is because of their faith ?
 
It is not a faith of anxiety or unease. It is a faith which can provide the peace which surpasses…
surpass |səˈpɑːs|
verb [ with obj. ]
exceed; be greater than: pre-war levels of production were surpassed in 1929.
• be better than: he continued to surpass me at all games.
• (surpass oneself) do or be better than ever before: the organist was surpassing himself.
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…all human understanding.

Are you judging a faith by the worst of its practitioners, rather than what the faith teaches?

Just asking.
 
Where did you get the 64 million number - of sufferers - from ?
 
Yes, how much better would it be to focus on our love and kindness in how we treat each other.
 
From counseling estimates. 1:5 or 20%. US population @ 323.13 million (2016).

323.13 million X 20% = 64,626,000 more or less. This is much more easily observed on websites which deal with stress-producing issues.
 
This is so inappropriate. Making a psychological diagnosis for persons no one knows or will ever meet? Seriously? As a moderator on another forum that is not religion oriented, I’ve seen quite a bit over the years. Anonymous people posting irritating comments just to get a “rise” out of others. A few of them think it’s fun. Or bored posters who will start a thread just because they feel like it. Or frustrated people who, because if they don’t have a real dog to kick, find some topic and just start giving others a hard time to release their anger because the boss yelled at them, or they just had a bad day. And others who suffer from “I can’t prove it but trust me” who post nonsense and their own perceptions as if it were the gospel truth. In one case, I had to address a poster who wrote an article, just like a newspaper article, giving the full details of why we decided to do something at the company where I work. It was 100% false but it was written well. So, I had posted a reply as a rep of our company and asked him: “Were you there at any of the meetings? Did you provide any planning or (name removed by moderator)ut? Were you there when the final decision was made?” No, of course he wasn’t.
 
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