Mindset | Blog

Julia loved her children more than anything else, but the intrusive thoughts about possibly harming them were relentless. She felt a great deal of shame. She didn’t dare share her thoughts with anyone for fear of being judged, or worst yet, losing her children. She had heard horrifying stories about mothers who lost their children because of abuse. “Will I be one of those moms? Am I going to harm my children?” The more she tried to get rid of those tormenting images and thoughts, the longer they seemed to stay. If you struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, your OCD may be targeting what and who matters most to you in your life. That’s what the OCD mind does, and it is very painful. When those thoughts show up, you probab

I recently attended the online Faith and Mental Health Conference organized by the International OCD Foundation. Valerie Andrews, one of the speakers, shared her story. She acknowledged that the mental illness stigma in our society is decreasing little by little, thankfully. That being said, we still have further to go in some areas of our society. For example, misconceptions still exist among many faithful individuals who mean well, but misconstrue their faith’s teachings. Leaders, relatives, and friends of individuals afflicted with a mental illness may believe the person just needs to abandon sin, pray harder, be better, etc. and their suffering will decrease or be gone. It’s great to be devoted to one’s faith and religion, it