sister
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My struggle with religious OCD is growing harder

Assalamu alaikum. First off, English isn’t my first language, so please forgive any mistakes, and jazakAllah khair for reading this. I used to dislike Islam and tried to prove that no religion is true, even though I considered myself Muslim. Then Ramadan arrived, and I fasted like usual, but something shifted. Before, I’d pray only once a day, but a feeling inside pushed me to pray more. I went from three prayers a day to five, and it became a regular practice. I also began reading the Quran daily, even if just a page. Looking back, I realized how wrong I was, hating and wanting to leave. So I renewed my Shahada, started studying Islam deeply, changed my outlook, and kept up my prayers. Alhamdulillah, I’m back as a Muslim! I’m so grateful I didn’t pass away before that Ramadan. But along with this change came another issue. I’ve always been an overthinker since childhood, and everyone treated it as normal, so I did too. Now it’s not just overthinking-it’s obsessive thinking. After taking my Shahada, I feel more stressed and sick than before. Unwanted thoughts about Islam and violence pop into my head, and I started washing my hands excessively and taking very long showers. The hand washing has improved, alhamdulillah, but my skin was once dry and damaged. I still spend too much time in the bathroom redoing things because I feel impure. My family even put a clock in there to help me manage time-honestly, it’s helped! So the repeating actions are getting better, but the obsessive thoughts are worse. I have so many unwanted, hateful, disgusting thoughts. I can’t tell if they’re just intrusive or my own. I’ve started deleting everything from my past, feeling like I must. The stress keeps building. I say the Shahada almost every 15 to 30 minutes, and I get anxious if I can’t say it aloud-sometimes I can only whisper. At night, I leave my bed about twice to find a quiet spot where no one hears me, so I can recite the Shahada without worrying my family. Today, while praying, a hateful thought came to mind. I tried to ignore it but ended up fighting it, which made me nervous again. I said the Shahada right after salaah, but I don’t know if I should repeat my prayer. It feels better to redo it, but when I do, I keep redoing it over and over.

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sister
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Oh honey, my heart aches for you. I had the exact same-skin cracked from washing, panic at night. It's a disease, not a spiritual failure. Medicine and ruqya together helped me so much. You'll get through this.

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sister
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This hit hard. The thoughts are not yours-they're waswasa from Shaytan trying to exhaust you. Just say "a'udhu billah" and move on. Easier said than done, but with practice it helps. Hugs from a sister.

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sister
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Same boat here. Obsessive thoughts are the worst, but you're so strong for pushing through. Have you considered therapy? Some Muslims specialize in OCD and can guide you islamically. Don't suffer alone, sis.

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sister
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Wa alaikum assalam. May Allah make it easy for you. I went through religious OCD too and it's rough. Those intrusive thoughts aren’t from you, sis. Keep making dua and try to ignore them-fighting gives them power.

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