Faith? Is this a symptom of health anxiety?

[busterrufus]

Ive had severe anxiety for over 7 years. I have a lot of pain and completely believe i have a very serious illness so i suppose its anxiety disorder rather than health anxiety??? I dont know. I, m having a really bad time but to make things worse something unexpected happened today. I suddenly had the thought that id lost my religious faith. So this has disturbed me even more , obviously.
Only days ago i was explaining what happened at the Last Supper to my 5 yr old grandson.

I feel totally alone. Never felt quite like this before i dont think.
Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? Im thinking maybe its because my physical and anxiety symptoms are so bad. But if i had strong faith wouldnt i at least have overcome anxiety by now?
Just when i thought i couldnt possibly feel worse.
Im ashamed.
Ruth

[NervUs]

I've been an atheist since I was a teenager, so I have not experienced a loss of faith as a result of anxiety.

As an outsider looking in, though, I do not see that faith provides any special powers in terms of overcoming struggles like anxiety, depression, etc. Whatever we believe, we have to work through it, using our own personal tools. strategies, and fortitude. IME, that means examining our thoughts and behavior, looking for patterns, and challenging those patterns. Faith might help you along that path in some way but, ultimately, it is up to you to figure out how faith can help. BUt, I am doubtful faith alone, without hard work, is enough to get you through something like anxiety and the fear of the pain you experience.

G/L

[busterrufus]

Oh i totally agree with you there Nervus. The point i was trying to make was that ive never heard of this feeling of losing faith, hopefully temporarily, as an anxiety disorder symptom. I wouldnt say i am very religious, but i have been a believer most of my life and have drawn on my faith for comfort in times of distress ,whilst using medication, therapy , changes to behaviour and other strategies.
I am perfectly well aware that lots of hard work needs to go into recovering from anxiety. I have plenty of practise after beginning with it at 17. I'm now 63.
Im in a particularly bad place at the moment , am a bit shocked by this symptom (if it is a symptom). I was asking if anyone else has had this happen, please let me know. Thank you.

[Gary A]

I’m interested to know what you mean by “losing your faith”?

Have you lost the belief in religion altogether or are you merely questioning its validity?

Personally, I think everyone should question their faith. I don’t know if it’s necassarily that bad or unusual that you’re doing it. Even the most religious people must, surely, at some point in their lives question their faith.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Ruth,

Was this a thought that just popped into your mind? If so, we are talking an intrusive thought and there is a specific theme that deals with religion in OCD. See below:

https://ocduk.org/types-ocd

Religious Intrusive Thoughts - OCD often fixates on areas of great importance and sensitivity and religion and matters of religious practice are prime candidates for OCD obsessions. Sometimes referred to as scrupulosity, religious intrusive thoughts include:
Sins committed will never be forgiven by God and one will go to hell.
One will have bad thoughts in a religious building.
One will scream blasphemous words loudly in a religious location.
Prayers have been omitted or recited incorrectly.
Certain prayers must be said over and over again.
Religious objects need to be touched or kissed repeatedly.
One is always doing something sinful.
Repetitive blasphemous thoughts.
That the person has lost touch with God or their beliefs in some way.
Intrusive sexual thoughts about God, saints or, religious figures.
That the person has broken religious laws concerning speech, or dress or modesty.
Intrusive bad thoughts that occur during prayer will contaminate and ruin or cancel out the value of these activities.
The constant analysing and questioning of a person’s faith places immense strain on their beliefs and prevents the person deriving peace from their religion. As a result they will often avoid church and all religious practice out of fear of their thoughts.

So, this can be a theme that sticks with some OCDers but since anyone can have an intrusive thought, and no anxiety disorder is needed for that, anyone on here could experience them.

I find intrusive thoughts aim for your Achilles Heal, what is likely to provoke the fear reaction the most to reinforce it's need to become a legitimate fear. It's no coincidence it picks children in parents or those with strong morals towards children (e.g. teachers), other loved ones, etc.

So, if this is the case the answer is not one of examining religion but one of dealing with what an intrusive thought is. To be sucked into examining religion would be akin to chasing cancer, ALS, or any other fear rather than tackle it's real root cause in someone with HA who has just had a twitch or found a lump.

I've never seen many religious/scrupulosity threads on the OCD board. Possibly this could be because it's seen more as an issue of faith rather than a mental health issue?

[Dave_Lister]

Ive had severe anxiety for over 7 years. I have a lot of pain and completely believe i have a very serious illness so i suppose its anxiety disorder rather than health anxiety??? I dont know. I, m having a really bad time but to make things worse something unexpected happened today. I suddenly had the thought that id lost my religious faith. So this has disturbed me even more , obviously.
Only days ago i was explaining what happened at the Last Supper to my 5 yr old grandson.

I feel totally alone. Never felt quite like this before i dont think.
Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? Im thinking maybe its because my physical and anxiety symptoms are so bad. But if i had strong faith wouldnt i at least have overcome anxiety by now?
Just when i thought i couldnt possibly feel worse.
Im ashamed.
Ruth

What are you doing to calm your fears?

Are you taking any anti anxiety meds? Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean that you are immune to depression and anxiety.

I don't think that you have lost your faith at all, bu you do have a real physical condition that needs treatment just like any other regular run of the mill ailment.

[busterrufus]

Thank you for your replies.
Dave yes i have medication and other methods of trying to calm my fears... post#3

1
Gary... yes i think i was questioning its validity. I realise as say j have done this several tomes before during my life.

Terry thanks for the link it is very interesting.

[vicky23]

Hi Ruth,
I just wanted to reply because I am also a Christian and can relate to your experience somewhat. I am 31 years old and became a Christian at 15, during this time I've had periods of doubt and in the two years I've gone from being active in my local Church to not going to Church at all and I rarely read my Bible anymore like I used to. I still believe in God but I felt a difficulty towards the Christian faith. I found that some of the teachings in my Church didn't seem to fit and I was just getting angry. It was a scary time thinking 'if I stop going to Church, who will I be?' this has been an integral part of my life for so long.
It's hard, sometimes I find myself questioning 'does God really love me??' I think that with anxiety disorders we tend to see things through a negative viewpoint so that probably doesn't help.
You have absolutely no reason to feel ashamed and you're most definitely not alone.
I do believe that God loves us even with all our doubts and fears
May God bless you with the knowledge of His peace and love
Vicky
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