OCD

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Can any practising Catholic recommend for me a book on overcoming scruples/ocd? Does anyone know of any Priest/Religious who has suffered or suffers from this affliction?
 
Apologists on this forum have recommended this book:

Understanding Scrupulosityby Thomas M. Santa C.Ss.R.

amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764803735/qid=1111990396/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-8031447-1667909?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

My fiance bought me this book, and I’ve read bits of it. It seems very good. It has the stories of two scrupulous saints, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Alphonsus Liguori.

A part of it is in the question and answer form, where priests answer common scrupulous questions (this has been very helpful for me). The next part has commandments for the scrupulous and other things. I have not read it yet.
 
what does OCD here mean?:confused:
I only know it’s acronym for “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”
 
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abcdefg:
what does OCD here mean?:confused:
I only know it’s acronym for “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”
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Exactly that. Scrupulosity is often a sign/symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
 
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Hermione:
Apologists on this forum have recommended this book:

Understanding Scrupulosityby Thomas M. Santa C.Ss.R.

amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764803735/qid=1111990396/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-8031447-1667909?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

My fiance bought me this book, and I’ve read bits of it. It seems very good. It has the stories of two scrupulous saints, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Alphonsus Liguori.

A part of it is in the question and answer form, where priests answer common scrupulous questions (this has been very helpful for me). The next part has commandments for the scrupulous and other things. I have not read it yet.
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Thankyou i do have that. It is good.
 
I am very sorry, but what exactly do you mean by ‘scruples’? I was under the 40 year impression that having scruples was a good thing, kinda like a man of ethics was a good thing? Do you know how many fist fights I have had and laws I’ve broken over scruples? And someone suggests that scruples, which I’ve been taught to have all my life, is now some kind of personality disorder? Obessive Compulsive Disorder, in my life experience, does not equate to having scruples. I’ve been admired in my life for having scruples! Unscrupulous behaviour is equated with piracy in my life experience. So what do you mean by ‘scruples’?
 
Kevin Walker:
I am very sorry, but what exactly do you mean by ‘scruples’? I was under the 40 year impression that having scruples was a good thing, kinda like a man of ethics was a good thing? Do you know how many fist fights I have had and laws I’ve broken over scruples? And someone suggests that scruples, which I’ve been taught to have all my life, is now some kind of personality disorder? Obessive Compulsive Disorder, in my life experience, does not equate to having scruples. I’ve been admired in my life for having scruples! Unscrupulous behaviour is equated with piracy in my life experience. So what do you mean by ‘scruples’?
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I don’t know if you have read any of my posts, but imagine constantly writing down your sins, things that could possibly be sins, and questions about whether fairly trivial matters are sinful.

Imagine feeling extremely overwhelmed by all this, and feeling like you cannot avoid sin no matter how hard you try, and like it never ends.
 
John of Woking:
Can any practising Catholic recommend for me a book on overcoming scruples/ocd? Does anyone know of any Priest/Religious who has suffered or suffers from this affliction?
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Books are okay, but the best thing you can do is to find one confessor, tell him your problem, and then stick with him. Let him be the driver and don’t look back. Follow his advice because he will be able to tell you to leave stuff in the past where it belongs. Make sure you trust him enough, because it involves denial of self.
 
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Hermione:
Imagine feeling extremely overwhelmed by all this, and feeling like you cannot avoid sin no matter how hard you try, and like it never ends.
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I recognize the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but where do ‘scruples’ fit into this?

I have always prided myself on being a man of scruples, and the unscrupulous person is essentially a pirate or a bandit? So am I missing something in the translation? Thanks.
 
Kevin Walker:
I recognize the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but where do ‘scruples’ fit into this?

I have always prided myself on being a man of scruples, and the unscrupulous person is essentially a pirate or a bandit? So am I missing something in the translation? Thanks.
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Scrupulosity as used in this context has more to do with obsessing over imagined or trivial faults than it has to do with ethics. The word is being used in a specialized sense here. It is not the opposite of “unscrupulous.”

I liken it to a government worker who is overly concerned with making sure that every regulation is followed in great detail. Believe me, if that were done consistently, nothing would ever get accomplished.

I remember Father Tom Santa from when he was stationed in my area. He would never order out for pizza during the Christmas season, as he was afraid they wouldn’t take him seriously. (“This is Father Santa, and I’d like to order a pepperoni. Hello?”
P.S. His pamphlet on scrupulosity is very good.
 
It is akin to righteous and self-righteous. The one is a holy state and the other is an unholy state.

By the by, OCD is more than merely a “personality disorder.” I know that as a Psy.D. I am rather anal about such things, but it is truly much more than simply a “personality disorder.”

I know someone who after having received absolution for a serious past sin can not seem to quit living in its memory, nor the guilt, nor the shame of it. Despite their absolution they routinely drive themselves down for and even, IMHO, fail to forgive themselves of it. This is the most dangerous form of Scrupulosity, for it neglects the forgiveness of God. As a future priest - by the Grace of God - I am very conscious of this trap. While I want to be a holy, honest penitent, I do not want that desire to warp into the evil of scrupulosity.

Fr. Levin (last name correct?) of EWTN’s “Web of Faith” fame has done much work on this recently… very good stuff.
 
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