Scrupulosity and Pride

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DianaCC

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Does scrupulosity stem from pride? Because generally what cures a condition is the opposite of what causes the condition, like getting more air cures being suffocated. Scrupulosity is cured by obedience to a spiritual director, and the opposite of obedience is disobedience, which stems from pride, so therefore scrupulosity is a kind of disobedience? Please explain.
 
I am not a psychologist. I don’t even play one on TV. But here goes:

“Does scrupulosity stem from pride?”
–No. It may stem from fear, namely, fear of breaking rules…or fear of the consequences of same. It also may stem from the classic illness of “being messed up,” in that it’s inconsistent with a normal functioning conscience.

“…Because generally what cures a condition is the opposite of what causes the condition, like getting more air cures being suffocated.”
–Is scruplosity a “condition?” I don’t know. Since I don’t think scrupulosity is caused by pride, I’ not sure the statement is accurate or relevant.

“Scrupulosity is cured by obedience to a spiritual director…”
–No, it’s cured by a healthy conscience. How we get there is another matter.

“…and the opposite of obedience is disobedience, which stems from pride…”
–Disobedience need not stem from pride. It may stem from a misguided conscience, or a simple unconcern for being right or wrong.
 
Scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder–it is OCD working itself out within the framework of religion. Someone who is scrupulous needs to educate themselves concerning the disorder and place themselves under the direction of a competent spiritual director. It does not help the scrupulous to frame their struggle in terms of the questions you pose: Am I obeying or not? Am I proud or not? This is counter-productive and simply serves to tighten the noose that is already strangling them…

The key to victory in the battle against scrupulosity is this: When I cease to demand that my anxiety go away, it will cease to have power over me…
 
Brywan said:
Scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder–it is OCD working itself out within the framework of religion. Someone who is scrupulous needs to educate themselves concerning the disorder and place themselves under the direction of a competent spiritual director. It does not help the scrupulous to frame their struggle in terms of the questions you pose: Am I obeying or not? Am I proud or not? This is counter-productive and simply serves to tighten the noose that is already strangling them…

The key to victory in the battle against scrupulosity is this: When I cease to demand that my anxiety go away, it will cease to have power over me…
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hmm I would disagree with this… I have scrupulosity, and the only thing that’s ever helped me, is when my spiritual director gave me certain rules to follow by obedience and gave me advice on acquiring humility. Obedience is helpful because I think at least a part of scrupulosity does come from pride… at least for me. Maybe not for others. But the reason this helped is because my SD tried to help me to rely on Church teaching regarding what is a mortal sin, vs me trying to rely on my own judgement over God’s. Maybe for others with scrupulosity, it’s less related to pride… I’m only talking about myself here.

On another website someone said “Scrupulosity is connected with pride because we trust ourselves and wanting to be “safe” then trusting God’s mercy and forgiveness.” That is very true, that is what my priest said as well. Obedience to a spiritual director or confessor helps because it allows the person to learn to trust in something other than themselves.

Scrupulosity can be related to other things like it could be a trial, a temptation, or part of OCD perhaps, but - pride is also a factor.

God bless 🙂
 
Well I’ve often wondered if I suffer from scrupulosity due to being a little more on the anxious side of the spectrum. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a spiritual director.

Just going to confession is a battle b/c I am too scared to waste the priest’s time but feel compelled to go.

I wish it was like in the old days when confessors WERE your spiritual directors.
 
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