Published

OCD Scrupulosity: Spiritual Direction through the Stages of Recovery

Article first appeared in Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, Volume 19, No. 4.

Melissa Braaten

How Not to Fast

Fasting is hard to do well.  I ran into the guidelines for Catholic Lenten fasting during my first year as a graduate theology student at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, USA.  I took the rules very seriously: no more than one full meal and two “snacks” on a fasting day.  What qualified as a “snack” was ambiguous, so I spent a lot of time worrying: how small did my bowl of cereal have to be to qualify as a snack?  Did it have to be half the size I would normally eat?  Less than half?  Could a snack consist of bread and carrot sticks if they were both small amounts?  What if I was subconsciously making my full meal bigger than normal since I was hungry?  The carrot stick went back and forth from the refrigerator to the plate, indecisively.

Published

Is it OCD or an Eating Disorder?

 Jennifer Alosso, PsyD

Since you’re reading this to learn about the differences between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and eating disorders, let’s find out what you know first. Look at the list below. Can you tell who is suffering from an eating disorder and who is suffering from OCD?

  1. Colleen can’t bring herself to eat, even though her weight is dangerously low. She just can’t be sure about what is in the food.
  2. Melissa cuts her chicken, as well as any other meat, into perfect half inch cubes.
  3. Alex enjoyed some toast with peanut butter, but was sure to leave the last bit of it on the plate.
  4. If Patty were only a better person, then she would deserve that ice cream after dinner.
  5. Dan stays away from processed foods, like chips, that are not “pure.” It’s too bad he doesn’t see his friends as much as he used too since they always go out to eat.

Published

Guest Blog (October 14, 2013)

By Caitlin Howle

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. When I agreed to write this blog, I was asked if I would feel comfortable with it, if I was “out” about my OCD. Originally, I scoffed at the idea. How could anyone not be “out” about their OCD? Then, I started looking at my life on a day to day basis.

Sure, my friends know. My close friends. My parents, them too. My doctors, they know, but they were supposed to know. But past that, there wasn’t really anyone, I couldn’t name anyone else who knew that I live with OCD. This made me really have to think about what having OCD meant, and what it means to me, because, why couldn’t I tell more people if I was so fine with having it?