Horrible thoughts

[SentinelofTruth]

Kathrin:

Do you mean, the thoughts led you to commit a sin, or do you eman the thoughts themselves were the sin?

I mean that entertaining them was a sin.

Kathrin:

Did you talk to a priest about this?

No.

Kathrin:

I just want to add that intrusive thoughts is a very known phenomenon and is associated with scruples and OCD…

I do not deny that thoughts can be intrusive, I am only saying that with enough force of will it is always possible to resist them. BTW what are scruples and OCD?

 

[JamesATyler]

Hey everyone,

For over a year now i have been having horrible thoughts. If i look at a crucifix or statue of Our Lord or Our Lady i’ll think about doing something sacrilegious to it. I get thoughts of killing people that i really like. If someone mentions something that’s maybe slightly impure ill start thinking some kind of sinful version of it. I basically start thinking anything i don’t want to think that’s bad, and I can’t seem to go more then two days after confession without thinking one of these thoughts. I’m sure this has to do with my scrupulosity.

Any advice on how to get rid of these thoughts/links to things that would be of help appreciated.

Thank you!

Some of these thoughts might be memory too. For example, if you once looked a crucifix and thought about doing something to it, you might just be repeating that experience because it is troubling to you. Do you have any real desire to do it? If you don’t, then it just a mental thing that occurs in your intellect. You might not be able to control your imagination/memory but you can teach yourself that these thoughts are not very important. I wouldn’t spend time trying to analyze them beyond determining if the desire to do these things are real or imagined. I think if the desire were real, you wouldn’t frame the situation as “Hey, I am having thoughts, what can I do?”. You would say “Hey, I truly hate Jesus and his Mother, is there any reason to care about them?”

 

[Kathrin]

I mean that entertaining them was a sin.

No.

I do not deny that thoughts can be intrusive, I am only saying that with enough force of will it is always possible to resist them. BTW what are scruples and OCD?

OCD is obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perople who have this are plagued by obsessive thoughts that they can’t get rid of and that cause much anxiety, and often have to carry out compulsive rituals in order to ease their anxiety. For example somebody might obsessively worry about having left the door open, even if it was just a minor minoreven after they had gone back twice already to check and found it closed, or somebody might worry about having germs on their hands even after having washed them, thus having to wash them again and again… Similarly, somebody with scruples (scrupulosity can be seen as a form of OCD) might worry about having committed a grave sin even if it was just a minor minor thing (like, having a quick, unintentional angry thought), and as a compulsion this person might have to call a priest, but maybe if the priest reassueres him or her, andother worry might come up (I have been there, and not just one time).

Taking it from there… somebody who is scrupulous and has an intrusive thought, an unintentional stupid little thought about something, as in that example about lokking at a cross… might then worry about it so much that he/she can’t get the thought out of their minds. And fear thinking it so much that they become afraid to even look at any religious picture, for fear the thought might come again… and if they do look at one, the fear of thinking the thought is present from the beginning and thus the thought may just come automatically, because by fearing it of course we somehow already THINK it… but not in an intentional way.

So i would be careful about saying that we have complete control about what we think… such a person must learn to realize that these thoughts are NOT intentional, thus lose the fear of them… I am not sure if I explained that well…

Kathrin

 

[SentinelofTruth]

Kathrin:

So i would be careful about saying that we have complete control about what we think…

I am not saying that, but the devil doesn’t have magic mind control abilities. I know from experience that he can be kept at bay by sheer force of will.

 

[Antrim]

Here is a prayer to Our Blessed Mother and if said every day it will help.
Take my hand O Blessed Mother.
Hold me firmly lest I fall.
I grow nervous while walking and
Humbly on thee call.

Guide me over every crossing.
Watch me when I"m on the stairs.
Let me know3 that you"re beside me.
Listen to my fervent prayers.

Bring me to my destination.
Safely along the way.
Bless my every undertaking
And my duties for the day.

And when evening creeps upon me.
I"ll never fear to be alone.
Once again, O Blessed Mother.
Take my hand and lead me home.

Pray the Rosary every day that is the best weapon against satan also when you are tempted say Come Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help you. I hope this helps you. God Bless You.

 

[Bookcat]

Yes such is an ancient problem (one finds in ancient writings say from the 15th century etc). Some with scruples can particularly tend towards this problem (again this has long been observed in those with such).

Also (we cannot give medical advice etc here) those with OCD suffer this sort of thing. But even those without scruples or OCD can experience such at times.

What to do?

Discuss the following with your confessor.

(for OCD one would seek treatment and counsel etc from a doctor etc --Jimmy Akin on such: jimmyakin.com/2005/04/a_crown_of_thor.html).

Ignore them.

Be calm.

Do not consent of course.

But do not try to knock them all on the head.

Do not try so much to directly oppose them (such will have the side effect often of increasing them).

Turn to God (or even some good thing) and let them pass by.

Look at the crucifix and continue your prayer etc (let them pass by).

For a thought that occurs to you to be a sin --one must consent to it. Endorse it with your will.

(and note too that all sorts of thoughts can “happen” to a person contrary to their wanting them and there be not even the slightest sin – nothing possible to confess or even).

 

[OliverR]

See a doctor, sometimes these thoughts can be overcome through talking therapies without any need to resort to medication. While it is true and accepted by many that evil tries to corrupt souls with methods like this by overloading our senses what better way to show the devil how weak and pathetic a creature he is than by asking for strength through prayer and simple talking.

God loves you.