The Doubting Disease: Help for Scrupulosity and Religious Compulsions

This is a terrific book on scrupulosity--which is religious obsessions and compulsions. If you have OCD and your symptoms have to do with fears of offending God, committing sins, blasphemous thoughts, this book is for you. The book also transcends religious denominations; so although the author is Catholic, the principles of the book can be applied to any religious background. As far as the content, the first parts of the book go over scrupulosity so that you learn that you're not alone. In fact, you're in some pretty good (religious) company as far as famous cases of this problem. The author also discusses scrupulosity from both a religious and from a psychological perspective. One thing I learned from reading this is that long before any behavioral psychologists existed, the church actually prescribed the very same treatments that psychologists now use to treat OCD: exposure and response prevention. Although the self-help portion of the book will probably be diffiuclt to implement on your own, it can be very helpful to read about how this therapy works, and perhaps have a professional help you through it. I recommend this very easy to read and informative book extremely highly if you have problems with scrupulosity.

'The Doubting Disease' is arguably the most important book ever written on this terrible affliction. As a Christian whose life, over the last 30 years, has been scarred by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)/Scrupulosity, I know. The book has helped me enormously. At the age of 13, I began to show symptoms of OCD: the typical counting, tapping, walking back-and-forth rituals were beginning to become distracting and noticeable (Yes, I did have repeated bouts of strep throat as a child.) Then, at 15, my parents, who had intentionally raised me without any religious training, semi-unwittingly sent me to a summer camp in Maine that happened to be Christian Fundamentalist. Over the 2 months there, I took part in daily Bible study, heard many fire-and-brimstone sermons and was constantly encouraged to convert by the camp counselors who were all born-again Christians. The timing of this experience with my pre-existing OCD couldn't have been worse - my intense fears about salvation, hellfire and belief in God, now fully enflamed by the camp (and the occasional Fundamentalist preacher on shortwave radio) combined with the biochemical disorder going on in my brain. The resulting mixture was so volatile that I am still recovering to this day. By age 16, I was literally jumping off the wall. Caught in the throes of full-blown OCD rituals that were colored by unfounded religious notions, I was tormented throughout my high school years. Numerous times each evening during dinner, I would get up and compulsively jump to touch the ceiling in an attempt to "catch" a blasphemous thought from reaching Heaven. Within a year the ceiling in our kitchen was literally blackened with my fingerprints. At the height of my suffering with this disease, my scrupulous obsessions were so fearful and the corresponding compulsions so persuasive that I was once moved to fall to my knees in the middle of a crowded high school corridor in front of all of my friends in order to achieve forgiveness for some unacceptable thought. My parents were beside themselves with worry and thought that I might be schizophrenic. I was shuttled between neurologist, family therapist and other "professionals", none of whom had the slightest inkling of what was going on. This, unfortunately, was the late-70s, ten years before the world would learn about this insidious disease. It wasn't until 1989 with Daniel Goleman's wonderful article in the 'New York Times' and Judith Rapoport's 'The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing' that I discovered the cause of my suffering over the previous 14 years. A cardio-nervous breakdown at age 19 (I have the unfortunate distinction of suffering real, physical cardiac irritation when I am engaged in mental compulsions) and years of self-therapy and writing cured me of the worst obsessions and compulsions, but I was still suffering. I began to seek psychiatric help and at the age of 30, after a costly 2 year delay caused by irresponsible warnings from the Chur

If you have trouble with obsessive-compulsive disorder then you do not have to keep suffering. God loves you and you do not have to live your life in morbid fear. Please read this book and find someone who can help you apply it. I once thought that to get rid of my excessive scrupulosity I would have to get rid of my faith, and I would never do that. But this book helped me understand that because my fears were abnormal and beyond what was required for my religion, it was possible for me to gradually learn to get past them. I still struggle but now life is a joy, not a torture.

Ciarrocci has a backround in both religion and mental health and brings to this book the benifit of both perspectives. This self help book is well worth reading for those who have OCD especially scrupulosity OCD. It explains the cognitive behavioral treatment of this type of problem.

Do you have unwanted, intrusive thoughts? Do you feel the need to do the same thing over and over again? Do you worry about whether you will go to heaven or hell? If you answered yes to two or all of these questions, The Doubting Disease will be of interest to you. It describes the torment of scrupulosity, or excessive worry about moral issues, which in some cases may be a manifestation of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Doubting Disease describes scrupulosity and outlines a self-help plan. It also briefly describes how to get professional help for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The book is written from a Christian perspective. It is a must for people who have constant doubts about: * whether or not they have committed a sin * whether or not they have confessed their sins correctly (for Catholics) * a scheme of "rules" they may have created for themselves * whether or not they are saved * whether or not they have harmed someone. The book costs just a fraction of the cost of professional therapy, but it is no substitute for a wise spiritual director or a competent psychotherapist. Furthermore, some physical disorders may cause scrupulous symptoms, so I (not the author) recommend a physical exam and visit to a physician for anyone with any psychological symptoms.