Break Free from OCD

Breaking Free from OCD is the true story of a quest to cope with, rid myself from and conquer OCD. I describe the book and journey as the place where fear meets faith and darkness meets light. I learned how to control my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in that place...but I didn't do it alone.

“I am a seasoned, experienced, non-suffering OCDer ready to share with you the path God took me down in order to manage my OCD and heal from the inside out. The brain of someone with OCD is compelling, intelligent and sharp. I learned to use my OCD to help control my OCD! And if I can do it, then I have faith that you can too.”

“God showed me how to use His Word, faith, prayer and some simple steps to help train my OCD brain to manage my OCD; helping me to learn how to live again. My compulsive actions and out of control thoughts that once took up 90% of my time each day reduced to taking up less than 10% of my time and this still holds true today. Fear has been replaced with peace and faith has continued to grow; I now have true faith in God, faith in myself and faith in the plan He has for my life.”

Over 12 years ago I found relief for my OCD, without drugs. In fact, taking a medication never occurred to me. I’m not against pharmaceutical help if needed. But for me, faith was the solution. At first, I was afraid not to seek God. But it wasn’t a healthy kind of ‘fear of the Lord’; it was a deep alarming fear of God, of people, places, death, circumstances…almost everything. Some people are so plagued by religious fear due to their OCD that they never get past the religiousness to discover God and freedom through Him.

OCD manifested in many other ways in my life besides what I now know was merely religion. (What I have now is faith and belief, not religion.) My memories of suffering with OCD stretch back to the age of 8. With each passing year my compulsive behaviors became worse. By the time I was 30 I was nearly fully home-bound, unable to keep a regular job and afraid of everything. I was afraid not to pray and yet my prayers were ritualistic, not a means of intimate communication with God. Fear permeated every part of my life, not just my faith.

Fear – that’s the driving force behind OCD. A real, succinct, deep-seeded fear of…well, anything and everything imaginable. Sometimes the fears are rational and sometimes they aren’t. But the need to control something, anything, compels the OCDer to take action…any action, in order to feel better. Hence the counting, repeating, checking, touching, cleaning, hoarding….counting, repeating, checking…

Over time I have realized that if you have a lack of faith then fear will quickly invade your mind; your waking and sleeping thoughts. I also discovered that faith is not the opposite of fear but faith IS the ability to see beyond the fear into the eyes of truth. If fear is darkness then faith is turning the lights on! Once you can see the lies for what they are, then the brain of the person with OCD can begin to dispel the many lies that make them feel compelled to obsessive, repetitive, nonsensical actions.

I am a seasoned, experienced, non-suffering OCDer ready to share with you the path God took me down in order to manage and heal from the inside out! The brain of someone with OCD is compelling, intelligent and sharp. I learned to use my OCD to control my OCD! And that means you can too. God showed me how to use His Word, faith, prayer and some simple steps to help train my OCD brain to manage my OCD without it stopping me from living. Before long, my compulsive actions and out of control thoughts that once took up 90% of my day reduced to taking up less than 10% of my day…and it still holds true today. Fear has been replaced with peace and faith has continued to grow; faith in God, faith in myself and faith in the plan He has for my life.

My quest is to help others see that OCD IS something you can live with, control, eradicate, deal with, move beyond and you CAN keep it from stealing your joy. Through faith, even if your faith is currently enveloped in OCD, you can find healing.

Team up with a Christian Life Coach to help you on your journey to break free! Check out Life Coach Inspired.
For more info on Karen and Life Coaching, check out her profile on Therapy Tribe or OCD Tribe.

Click here to order your copy of: Breaking Free From OCD

The lie most women believe

Like most women, Christian women are bombarded with cultural euphemisms, well-meaning quotes and worldly motivation that is supposed to guide us in the right direction. Every which we way we look, from magazine covers, to blogs, TV and radio, we are told what the world expects of us. We’re given powerful suggestions on how we should dress, act, work; how much money we should make and how happy, frustrated or stressed we’re supposed to be while trying to do all of the aforementioned. Whew, it’s exhausting just thinking about it. Every time I see another ‘self-help’ infomercial, a celebrity selling age-defying skin cream or hormone replacement ads guaranteed to make your flashes cool rather than hot, I just want to shout “Liar, liar pants on fire”. But hey, I am a little more mature than that. I stick out my tongue, roll my eyes and use the mute button, change the channel or go read a book instead. However, just because we have the option to shut the TV off, click out of a blog or throw a magazine away, doesn’t mean we won’t be scathed or effected by the lies thrown at us every single day in our modern worldly culture.

So, in an effort to keep the seeds of lies from taking root, I’d like to share some things I’ve learned thru the years. Lies tend to belittle, diminish and crush the self-worth, identity and spirit of many women. Even though, as Christians, we know our identity should be sought IN Christ rather than thru the world, when we live in a world tailored to telling us everything opposite of what the Bible tells us, we have to regularly train our brains to combat the lies that cause us to fear, doubt and eventually fall…

One of the biggest lies I see women battle with every single day is: “God will not give you more than you can handle.” First and foremost, this is not a passage from the Bible. Nowhere in The Word does it state this. What the Bible does say is, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

God doesn’t tell us we won’t be tempted; we won’t be stressed; we won’t feel like we’re about ready to go under. He doesn’t tell us He won’t give us difficult challenges or that the world won’t try to overtake us. I see women every week trying to figure out just how they can handle all the stress, the pain, financial problems, marriage issues, addiction, fears about the future and daily gossip in their average everyday lives. Add to that a life and death issue, an accident, or a diagnosis and WHAM, they start to sink and cannot fathom what they’ve done wrong and why in the world God is allowing them to be punished. They question God and themselves. “What did I do wrong? What didn’t I do right? Why am I not strong enough, good enough, smart enough…to be able to handle all that’s being thrown my way?”

Many women blame themselves every day for things that are not their own fault – adding to the already amped up poor image they have of themselves for not measuring up to what the latest, greatest trend or magazine says they should be. I’m not talking about avoiding personal responsibility and consequences for our own poor choices in life. I’m talking about this lie that adds to a woman’s feeling of inadequacy, spurning on feelings of being unfit, unhealthy, not spiritual enough…all because they feel as if they cannot handle one more thing in life.

“What’s wrong with me? I thought God wouldn’t give me more than I can handle? But I cannot handle this! God must not love me as much. Or maybe I’m not good enough…” These are the thoughts inside the hearts and minds of many women who are receiving well-meaning, but false, motivation in the name of God. Toss the lies out ladies. Out with the lie that says “God will never give you more than you can handle.” And IN with the truth: “God will never give you more than He can handle!” 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God IS faithful and he will provide a way so that you can endure it…whatever IT is! When we believe a lie that tells us we have to handle everything on our own, with the unspoken caveat that, if we don’t, then we must have something wrong with us, then we have embraced something that puts distance between ourselves and God. We’re supposed to lean on God. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

There are many lies being thrown at women that can take root, causing destruction in our faith and walk with God. But not only in us, also in the hearts and minds of the young girls and younger ladies watching everything we do. As Christian women, we must step back, look at how we handle life’s everyday stress and the big challenges that come along. Ask yourself, am I pushing God out? Am I attempting to handle it all on my own? Or am I going to embrace the truth that I’m not actually supposed to handle it all myself? As women in Christ, let us work harder each day to look in the mirror and see the truth. We are human, fallible, and sometimes weaker than we want to be but look yourself in the eye and with boldness and confidence, tell yourself that God IS the strength of your heart. Seek God’s guidance and be determined to show through your actions that you know without a doubt that God is with you. And speak the truth, “God will not give you more than He can handle.”

~ Karen

Karen is a Professional Speaker, Christian Life Coach and published author. She is a former Children’s and Youth Pastor and an avid lover of colorful, crazy socks. Karen is a wife and mom who resides in Kentucky. She is blessed to travel frequently to fulfill her passion of reaching women thru humor, inspiration and Biblical messages. Karen is also a member of the American Assoc. of Christian Counselors, a Chaplain and free-lance Editor.
For info on getting guidance and support thru Christian Life Coaching, go to Life Coach Inspired OR email Karen at lifecoachinspired@yahoo.com