PLEASE HELP! MY "LEGAL OCD' IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!Warning:may trigger

[kaykay9.0]

Yep, driving me nuts....yes, I do have religious OCD but this is kind of a form that drives me and my husband nuts. It's kind of a form of scrupulosity which zeroes in on any legality or legal issue. For example, tax filing time drives me absolutely bonkers because I obsess about the minutia of tax law and worry that maybe we failed inadvertently to do something simple and 10 years for now may have to go back and correct our error and pay thousands of dollars in interest/penalties.

Or another example, copyright law drives me crazy....worrying that somehow I'll inadvertently violate a copyright!!!! or that my husband will!

I seem to always worry about violating again some minutia of the law or that I have in the past someway and need to go back and try to rectify it. I think Dr. Phillipson mentions in this in one of his online articles about scrupulosity or responsibility OCD.
It isn't that I worry I'll go to hell or something about it. It's more like I just feel like if I've violated something and don't correct it some way, I won't be "being righteous" or worse case scenario, I could go to prison over some technicality!:o It's super imposed by my religious OCD because we are exhorted in Romans to obey authority (including the law) so it takes religious overtones and ramifications as well as civil/legal implications. So I can't just tell myself to "forget about it!"



I know...I know...treat the OCD in general!! I'm trying to! In the meantime, is there anything I can say to myself when spiking in these ways to help myself? How can I set boundaries and know when enough is enough?!
Even if you don't have any input or advice here, please, guys, just pray for me about this issue! It's driving me crazy!!!!!!!

 

[keryakos]

Kay yes ... for me is not legal issues but i do understand that feeling that i have to get it right i have to me it right its that with relationships with me especially apologies i finf myself apologizing way too much .

 

[Caty]

I used to worry that my finger prints would be on something and then someone else could do something bad...but because my fingerprints were there i could get in trouble, i was probably 7 or 8 then. now, my school has an answering service that calls the house when things change at school, even though i don't ever do anything bad at school, i always worry they are calling to tell mom something i've done & i'll get into trouble for it. i'll pray for you.

 

[ObsessedButBlessed]

i have this, too. I obsess about breaking the law, about morality issues, you name it. It is a form of scruplosity.

Here is what I say to myself when I get that ZING! of "oh no...did I do something illegal?" I say: "I may have done something illegal, I may not have. I will deal with the issue if it actually arises." Then make every effort to do another activity and leave the uncertainty hanging in the balance! If you find yourself checking, stop it as soon as you realize it. It'll be mentally exhausting to keep on your toes like this, but the important thing is to just allay the obsession whenever you find yourself ruminating, and put off trying to answer the question.

hang in there!! Praying for you!

 

[alreadybutnotyet]

Ok, so this is cool. I've been obsessing over copyright law for the past week. I was struggling tonight especially. After spending some time researching copyright laws, I decided to check out this forum just to try to find some encouragement. I have never seen a post about legal obsessions before today, but when I came here, your post was at the top of the list. God is good.

 

[Jayangel81]

dropping in quick to see you Kay, I am praying for you.

Ps. I have a copyright obsession lol

 

[RachelZ]

Hi KayKay, so sorry you're struggling...just wanted to say I can so relate...I don't know that it extends to being imprisoned but I feel I have to be 110% truthful or I get a lot of anxiety and feel dishonest and like I shouldn't have got something if it's been done by lying. For example I've had to fill in loads of forms for sickness benefits and they ask very concrete questions like "Can you do X" and that's fine for a static disability but not for an illness that fluctuates and has cumulative effects. I would agonise and write to the 'nth degree to make sure there was no way I was being dishonest. It even comes up in really stupid situations where I feel I may have accidently and inadvertently slightly marked something that belongs to someone else and I have to fess up even if I'm not sure I did it and then I must sound like a fruit cake cos I'm whittering on saying something like "I'm not sure if I did that or not but I may have marked your wallpaper" and I proceed to point out some tiny scratch! I so understand the terrible anxiety that scrupulosity evokes...the horror running through your veins that you might have not been truthful and that God is expecting you to go 400 extra miles to ensure you don't sin. I haven't an answer I'm afraid but did want you to know I understand. I guess maybe one idea is that when you face these forms or dilemmas you could ask God to give you wisdom and clarity and to help you know what's right and wrong and not to trust to anxious feelings...but I know this is easier said than done. Maybe if you said to God you want to do His will but not be a slave to anxiety. I think getting advice from trusted Christian people can help too. People you know who are Godly and who can look on objectively and say you've done nothing wrong can really help. Hope youre feeling better soon...take care and will pray, Rachel

 

[kaykay9.0]

i have this, too. I obsess about breaking the law, about morality issues, you name it. It is a form of scruplosity.

Here is what I say to myself when I get that ZING! of "oh no...did I do something illegal?" I say: "I may have done something illegal, I may not have. I will deal with the issue if it actually arises." Then make every effort to do another activity and leave the uncertainty hanging in the balance! If you find yourself checking, stop it as soon as you realize it. It'll be mentally exhausting to keep on your toes like this, but the important thing is to just allay the obsession whenever you find yourself ruminating, and put for it. i'll pray for you.

I think this is very, very good, Sad. I needed something to help me draw a line in the sand here! and this does. Hopefully, I can implement this when spiking about such!

Kay yes ... for me is not legal issues but i do understand that feeling that i have to get it right i have to me it right its that with relationships with me especially apologies i finf myself apologizing way too much .

Yes, OCD takes so many forms, doesn't it?

I used to worry that my finger prints would be on something and then someone else could do something bad...but because my fingerprints were there i could get in trouble, i was probably 7 or 8 then. now, my school has an answering service that calls the house when things change at school, even though i don't ever do anything bad at school, i always worry they are calling to tell mom something i've done & i'll get into trouble

I haven't had this one, but sounds exactly like something OCD would tell you.

Ok, so this is cool. I've been obsessing over copyright law for the past week. I was struggling tonight especially. After spending some time researching copyright laws, I decided to check out this forum just to try to find some encouragement. I have never seen a post about legal obsessions before today, but when I came here, your post was at the top of the list. God is good.

Well, hope this helps. I did pray about it before I posted and felt that the Lord did want me to go ahead and post about it. At the very least, you can kind of "identify" that it IS a form of OCD. Praying for you.

dropping in quick to see you Kay, I am praying for you.

Ps. I have a copyright obsession lol

Thanks for the prayer, James!

 

[kaykay9.0]

Hi KayKay, so sorry you're struggling...just wanted to say I can so relate...I don't know that it extends to being imprisoned but I feel I have to be 110% truthful or I get a lot of anxiety and feel dishonest and like I shouldn't have got something if it's been done by lying. For example I've had to fill in loads of forms for sickness benefits and they ask very concrete questions like "Can you do X" and that's fine for a static disability but not for an illness that fluctuates and has cumulative effects. I would agonise and write to the 'nth degree to make sure there was no way I was being dishonest. It even comes up in really sevokes...the horror running through your veins that you might have not I think getting advice from trusted Christian people can help too. People you know who are Godly and who can look on objectively and say you've done nothing wrong can really help. Hope youre feeling better soon...take care and will pray, Rachel

Thanks for the prayers. I can also relate to what you shared about "damaging" something! I do that if my car door touches another car~~did I ding it, etc? :o Another example of OCD taking something good to the point it becomes something bad.
Yes, it is always good to pray about it. (though with OCD ....as you know, we often don't trust our own good judgment because we're fearful.) It's like we are afraid to "let ourselves off the hook or something." That's why, as you said, counsel of others can be helpful. The Bible does recommend and say that there is safety in a multitude of counselors! That's probably especially true with OCD!

 

[RachelZ]

Oh I can so relate to the car thing....yes I agree it is so hard to trust our own judgement...I know people say trust in God but I kinda feel I have to trust in my trust of God if that makes sense...hoping you're feeling at least a littler better...hugs, Rachel

 

[RoseyK]

Hi Kaykay I will be praying for you.

 

[kaykay9.0]

Hi Kaykay I will be praying for you.

Thank you.

 

[pjspara]

just take a deep breath and tell yourself OUTLOUD THAT IT IS ONLY OCD...

and remember even if you did do something wrong... worrying wont make it any better at all and we are to give allll worries to GOD....

and.... GOD IS WAYYYYYYYYYY BIGGER, remember? even if something did go wrong with something... HE is faithful and would and will pull you thru,, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.....

AND i always try to remember that whatever im worried about, if its hurting my family in any way. by worrying over it.. then that is deffinetely not what GOD wants, so i must release it..... i know its super hard,,, i can worry about anything and everything.... but really you have 2 choices

1... make yourself sick over something you cant control or

2... give it totally to GOD and trust HIM to handle what you cant....


i love you paula and im praying for you..



pj