New obsession religious ocd? Or am I in denial?

You can never be sure. If you don't know its OCD, its probably OCD. And denial is a tricky thing to begin with. Honestly, if you were in denial I don't think you'd be posting here.

jdog18 wrote:Thanks for the response cloudshark.

I dont want to be this nor have I ever in my life wanted to be this. But how can I be sure this is OCD and not denial of my real wishes.

You know what you want then and that you don't want to be a priest. Could you find a short mindfulness exercise or youtube vid that you could do maybe 3 times per day or something? It doesn't have to take long.

My psychologist has prescribed me mindfulness 3x per day and I'm beginning to recognise the OCD thoughts and mechanisms more clearly. It helps me to step back from the cycle and get a bigger picture. I think "Ah, that's OCD at work." Next step is working on the compulsive part.

Sometimes OCD can feel very real. The facts are that you don't want to be a priest and feel anxious about it. You don't have to be a priest, you are master of your own destiny. I think this is like HOCD in the respect that it attacks a person's identity, which is very important to most people.

jdog18 wrote:You can never be sure. If you don't know its OCD, its probably OCD. And denial is a tricky thing to begin with. Honestly, if you were in denial I don't think you'd be posting here.

The lack of certainty is maddening isn't it?

Before with hocd and tocd I fealt like I was turning into what I most feared. With this religious obsession I also feel like I might turn into a priest. The thoughts feel very real. I dont want this and I dont want to want it, but sometimes I feel that this crap will eventually happen and that makes me really sad and fills me with anxiety.

Please help I feel really sad and anxious. I dont know whats happening to me. I feel as if this might not be OCD and Im in denial about wanting to be a priest. It feels all to real. I feel really numb towards everything even towards my girlfriend before this new obsession I was fine. I was looking online and found some people who have posted on catholic foruma ranting about maybe wanting to be a priest but they dont mention OCD. So I compared their stories with mine and they dont really relate but that doesnt give me any sort of relief. I heard that if you can stop thinking about the obsession than its probably not OCD but if you cant then it probably ia OCD. Well I cannot stop thinking about this. It's maddening!! I love my girlfriend and this new obsession has made me sort of numb towards her and that really upset me because beforw this I could only think about her and being with her. Also thia has got me so depressed that it seems as though I have lost interest in everything in general,all I can do is think about this crap and nothing more. It this OCD or me just trying to occult my "true" vocation?

jdog18 wrote:Please help I feel really sad and anxious. I dont know whats happening to me. I feel as if this might not be OCD and Im in denial about wanting to be a priest. It feels all to real. I feel really numb towards everything even towards my girlfriend before this new obsession I was fine. I was looking online and found some people who have posted on catholic foruma ranting about maybe wanting to be a priest but they dont mention OCD. So I compared their stories with mine and they dont really relate but that doesnt give me any sort of relief.

I understand. I guess that's a form of checking and reassurance? You won't get 100% reassurance with OCD. I can tell you that this is OCD and that you are sure you don't really want to be a priest, but you won't be convinced. If this was your true vocation you'd be excited about the possibility of being a priest and you aren't.

jdog18 wrote:I heard that if you can stop thinking about the obsession than its probably not OCD but if you cant then it probably ia OCD. Well I cannot stop thinking about this. It's maddening!! I love my girlfriend and this new obsession has made me sort of numb towards her and that really upset me because beforw this I could only think about her and being with her. Also thia has got me so depressed that it seems as though I have lost interest in everything in general,all I can do is think about this crap and nothing more. It this OCD or me just trying to occult my "true" vocation?

Sorry to hear that you're going through this. I'm feeling the same way with an obsession right now. Maybe try some mindfulness just to give yourself a short break at least?

Mindfulness is good. But do it appropriately, face the music instead of trying to thinking about something else. Try to wait for these thoughts to happen, for example.

Moose is right. Mindfulness might help you to detach and observe them. This helps over time. Also, my mind does start to slow down during it.

I seriously don't know what to do I feel like I am going to go nuts. I feel really really weird, like not myself so I associate that to feeling like a priest. It sounds stupid but it's not at all a pleasant feeling. It's like I am sort of depersonalized sort of like I am hyper aware of how I feel and that makes me feel awkward. I can't tell the difference between real thoughts and fake OCD thoughts. I don't know if this is OCD anymore and I feel terrible. Can anxiety and OCD make you numb towards your girlfriend? Cause that's what's happening to me. Beforw sunday none of this was even bothering me. I don't really lnow how to practice mindfulness.. Please help!!!

jdog. I feel you, I really do, When I'm bad, OCD sucks the joy out of just about everything. Can you get a referral to someone who can help?

Maybe you should ask your girlfriend for her support? It doesn't seem like any of us can help.