The Devil and OCD

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LemmyC

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Does anyone here ever feel that the Devil tries to use OCD to lead you away from good things? I just went through an experience where I felt that he was. I feel that he was trying to trick me into thinking that I don’t love the girl I’m dating as much as I really do.

It was over something completely ridiculous. Last night, I noticed that her voice sounded kind of like her mother, who was my third grade teacher years ago. At first I just shrugged it off, but after I got home and saw Reese Witherspoon on TV and noticed she had a sexy voice, it made me feel awkward that I thought that my girlfriend sounded like her mother. And besides, my girlfriends voice is just fine, she still sounds young and youthful. This couldn’t have been God trying to tell me that she isn’t right for me, right? I mean, come on, this is ridiculous, I have been praying ever since we started dating and God has sent me LOTS of signs that she’s right for me. I have now realized that this whole thing was just a product of Satan. Does anyone else agree with me that this was the devil’s doing?
 
Satan will try to do anything to take your mind off of God. Even if that means getting you to focus on something as silly as someones voice.
 
bpbasilphx said:
What makes you think you mean so much to the devil?
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He doesn’t mean anything to the devil - none of us do. He means a LOT to God, though, so the devil would be inclined to try to drive him away from God in any manner whatever.

That’s why we have so many diseases, hardships, etc. Satan lead us to sin and wants us to keep sinning. Luckily, our Saviour will hunt for us until He finds us and brings us back, which I’m sure upsets the devil to no end.

We should never get too confident that Satan has bigger fish to fry than us - musicians, politicians, movie stars, etc. Yes, they are more public figures, and their downfall is disenheartening to all who view their lives, causing a lot of dispair. But the devil wants all us little individuals, too. The more the un-merrier, right? Just a precautionary statment. We should never become over-confident that we’re too “unimportant” for Satan to want to bring down.
 
I’m pretty confident that God wasn’t trying to tell me she wasn’t right for me for a number of reasons:

-Noticing how much she sounds like her mother doesn’t change how I feel about her at all. I still have a very deep emotional attachment to her and I still find her very attractive.

-She still sounds like a 23-year-old as opposed to a 53-year-old.

-By the time we’re that old we will have been together so long that things like that won’t matter any more to us

-I probably would have noticed this with just about any girl I could have dated, even if I had just met her mother and she wasn’t my former teacher.

-Comparing her to Reese Witherspoon just makes me seem shallow

-She’s still the same person inside that she has always been.

-The fact that we have known eachother since childhood kind of gives her a youthful charm that I wouldn’t have if I had just met her. In fact, I probably would have been more weirded out if I was dating a girl I had just met and noticed she was a lot like her mother because I wouldn’t have any memories of that girl from childhood.

Over the weekend I have been praying about this situation, and the more I prayed, the more I began to realize the stuff that I have listed above. I felt like, as I prayed, the Holy Spirit was telling me that it was all just in my head and was telling me all the stuff I had listed above. Anyone else agree?
 
Hi Lemmy,

I guess I’m just not seeing how this is a bad thing at all.

Whenever I would be dating a girl and would meet her mother, oftentimes I would see a resemblance in some way (which is not at all unexpected, of course). I would think, ‘Wow, her mom is a looker too! I see now where she gets it, and this is a good indicator that this girl is probably going to “age well” also’.

If her mother is a good woman, wouldn’t any resemblance to her, no matter how trivial (e.g. her voice) be a good thing?
 
LemmyC said:
Does anyone here ever feel that the Devil tries to use OCD to lead you away from good things? I just went through an experience where I felt that he was. I feel that he was trying to trick me into thinking that I don’t love the girl I’m dating as much as I really do.

It was over something completely ridiculous. Last night, I noticed that her voice sounded kind of like her mother, who was my third grade teacher years ago. At first I just shrugged it off, but after I got home and saw Reese Witherspoon on TV and noticed she had a sexy voice, it made me feel awkward that I thought that my girlfriend sounded like her mother. And besides, my girlfriends voice is just fine, she still sounds young and youthful. This couldn’t have been God trying to tell me that she isn’t right for me, right? I mean, come on, this is ridiculous, I have been praying ever since we started dating and God has sent me LOTS of signs that she’s right for me. I have now realized that this whole thing was just a product of Satan. Does anyone else agree with me that this was the devil’s doing?
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Only time will tell…and what the heck is an OCD??
 
Obsessive Compulsive disorder 😃

It all depends… Satan can do things like this, but we also can’t give him too much credit. Perhaps if you guys are meant to marry and maybe have kids who will be saints (hey, you never know :D) then he might care. Just stay close to God and Satan will barely be able to touch you!
 
OCD=Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

This condition has a rather frightening name. What does it mean? Is it incurable? What, if any, are the limitations which someone so afflicted have with regard to employment or interpersonal relations?

I am old enough to have noticed that modern psychiatry has assigned new titles to old diseases, afflictions, and bad behaviors. I am hoping, and I suspect that OCD falls under the last category. Bad behavior can be regulated and defeated by grace. But grace, which builds on nature, does not ordinarily overcome maladies that have physical origins. I would fear to have my own daughter be married to someone with a serious incurable disease that affects negatively the ability to make a living or interact in society.

As I tried to imply before, I don’t necessarily trust the labelling modern psychiatry has found it convenient to use. To non-Catholics, who lack true, powerful, and effective ways of combatting bad habits, it can be a comfort to be told that a habit is a disease. It removes personal responsibility for unhealthy activities. But what modern psychiatrist is trained in and understands the cardinal and theological virtues? It seems possible to me that secularly trained quacks know less about the science of the soul than a properly catechized and confirmed Catholic. Certainly less than a good traditional confessor. In my mind, as a Catholic and as a parent, it would be so much better if we could determine that this condition, which sounds very serious, is curable by means of the ordinary graces of the Sacraments.

Knowing that our original poster will read this, I am not insensitive to a possible negative reaction from him or others who might perceive these thoughts as merely hurtful. I am sure they do hurt, but there is also a reason for concern. I am not eager to be the one who would suggest the possibility that one who is resigned to a lifetime of obsessive compulsive disorder would make a poor provider, husband, and father. Again, I am hoping that there is hope. I am hoping that there is no real permanent physical problem, but rather behavior, admittedly extreme, that can be checked.

If the will of one who has OCD is truly not free, there is relief from accountability. But the loss of accountability necessarily implies loss of responsibility and privileges. What needs to be known is if those who modern, uncatechised doctors of the soul say have OCD, are truly patients who need holy resignation. Or would they be those who Holy Mother Church would encourage to be truly penitent who need to take responsibility for their actions? Hopefully it is the latter.

Rory
 
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called “rituals,” however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.

Signs & Symptoms
People with OCD may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. They may be obsessed with germs or dirt, and wash their hands over and over. They may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly.
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nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml

Hmmm… very interesting, right?

Rory, you sound like you’ve just listened to some Fulton Sheen classics! 👍 I completely agree.

And Lemmy, I don’t think that you’ve got OCD (if it’s even real:confused:). You’re just being bothered. It goes away once they see it’s not working (trust me on this one!)
 
Personally, I think the devil was just trying to fill me with doubt. I don’t even care that she sound like her mother.
 
Now that I think of it, I think that the lesson God was telling me was that, if I really really lover her, that it shouldn’t matter. And he’s right. It doesn’t matter.

Also, to the person who said that OCD may hinder my ability to be a good husband and father, my OCD has gotten alot better in the past year or so. It used to really hinder me, but now I feel like I have beaten most of it. Sometimes I still have slip-ups but I usually know how to deal with it.
 
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