I think I have scrupulosity OCD... can someone please disprove Hell for me?

[Sandra Craft]

I go out, drink, socialise and flirt with guys a lot, and I want to enjoy it but my OCD/a voice in my head is always telling me "you're going to go to hell if you drink and do that with the opposite sex". How can I stop this?

By doing that with the same sex?  Sorry, sometimes I can't control myself.

Nobody can disprove something like Hell, or Heaven or god or angels and demons, whatever.  But when you think about it, nobody has ever been able to prove them either -- and that's the easy part.  All we've got is a lot of wild stories with a very obvious manipulative agenda attached to them that many people believe for goodness knows what reason altho the reason is probably as outlandish as the story.  I don't know if it helps, but I wouldn't bother worrying about things that don't make any sense.

[Sweetdeath]

Fun fact: "Hell" isn't even a christian word.

"Hell" comes from the norse "Hel" which described both the place and goddess who cared for those who didn't die in combat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(being)

In the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Heimskringla, Hel is referred to as a daughter of Loki, and to "go to Hel" is to die. In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Hel is described as having been appointed by the god Odin as ruler of a realm of the same name, located in Niflheim.

I was actually going to bring this up.
Also note that each major mythology has their own version of "hell" or "the underworld".
Doing more research to understand the origins of these stories will show you just how full of balconey they are. There is no hell, don't worry. 

[Guardian85]

Doing more research to understand the origins of these stories will show you just how full of balconey they are. There is no hell, don't worry. 

Balconey? Another new SD word? Or some kind of New York slang?   

[Sweetdeath]

Doing more research to understand the origins of these stories will show you just how full of balconey they are. There is no hell, don't worry. 

Balconey? Another new SD word? Or some kind of New York slang?   

Balconey! Darn!

Oscar meyer's balogna!
I hate that weird word. LOL  I need to ban myself from posting after 1am, cuz I dont catch my typos.

XP I apologize~  I meant balogna.

[Asmodean]

So what if there is Hell?

That would mean you'd wake up dead. Wake up. Dead. Do you not find the thought fascinating? You can always make the best you can of the world you find yourself in - humans would never have left the nice and warm lands if we were not good at molding ourselves to suit the environment and molding it to suit us.

There is no indication that there is such a thing as the afterlife, but if, against all odds, there is indeed something of a sort, you will find out when you are dead and that is nothing more to be afraid of than the lottery numbers. Hell is still a jackpot, you know.

[The Magic Pudding]

I hate that weird word. LOL  I need to ban myself from posting after 1am, cuz I dont catch my typos.

Nooooooooo!
We like your typos.
When we point them out we aren't making fun of you, except for that cruel BooksCatsEtc, she'll taunt anyone for the even the most understandable of slips.

I wouldn't like to post using a phone.

[jimmorrisonbabe]

Hey guys firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your responses. I actually didn't realise until this morning that there were this many!

Although the responses vary, they've all helped in some way. I want you all to know that I am actually receiving private therapy right now, I'm sorry I didn't really make that clear >< but it's kinda crappy and I'm thinking about quitting, I haven't really learnt anything and learnt how to deal with my OCD better through free therapy provided by the NHS!

Last night I got really anxious before going on a night out with my friends because I knew I was gonna end up doing things that OCD or 'God' wouldn't like (e.g drinking), and that in my mind I could go to hell for it. But I somehow managed to shrug it off. I can't remember exactly how I did it, but I think I just ignored it or I thought about the replies on here. You all seem like a very friendly bunch and I'd love to discuss topics other than this with you as well as informing you with how my 'hell battle' is going XD

And to those asking my background as a child - both my parents are pretty hardcore atheists, so I was never brought up believing in any religion. When I was little I used to think that if there was a hell it didn't matter if I'd go there cus all people are taking that risk in life - however, my OCD got hold of this and also this coincidence that happened at my birth and totally warped it, making it so that only I could go there because this coincidence happened and that makes me different from others... I've had so many problems with this coincidence (even read back on past posts, I think I wrote about it on here before) but to be honest, I think I'm getting through the struggle of OCD, and I'm getting closer to beating it. I really do. I just hate the fact there's still superstitious crap and religion in the world, cus that always makes me think that the coincidence could mean something, and it's always what brings me back to square 1 with my OCD, the possibility of there being supernatural stuff going on!!!

So yeah. I want to keep discussing these things with you guys, not just because it helps, but also because I'm pretty interested in this stuff now. I consider myself an agnostic/atheist, and I've read most of 'The God Delusion'. I think people like George Carlin are hilarious... yeah. Just letting you know I'm not here only to get reassurance for my OCD

[znk666]

I believe your rationality would be capable of helping you overcome your ''ocd''.

Do some research,listen to atheist pod-casts,watch some videos think about what you have learned and in the end you should be able to admit that religion is nothing but barbaric and superstitious nonsense.

[Too Few Lions]

yeah, I think your worries about hell are merely your natural anxieties / OCD. I say that as someone who has similar worries now and again, who isn't OCD but does suffer from anxiety. Hell doesn't exist like others have said, it's not even in the Bible. As far as I can see it's a Christian creation of the second century, based on Tartarus, Hades and other earlier versions of similar afterlifes of torture. It's a rather nasty way for Christians to try and castigate non-believers and posthumously punish them.

[rickrocks]

Don't worry dear. There, there. It's alright. It was just a bad dream that lasted from the first time you went to church until now. Now be a big girl and open your eyes. That's right. Now what do you see? Reality, that's right. Forget the nasty fairy tale stuff. Forget those lies they told you in church. It's turning to snowflakes. Take a deep breath and blow! See how they glitter in the morning sun. Part of them will melt and part will blow away, as the night passes and the sky turns bright. It's a brand new day. Time to wake up and smell the...well, forget that chemical plant. That? Oh that's just a little excess sewage. There's nothing wrong with those people...except they are awfully thin...No don't touch that! What is causing those explosions? There's the air raid alarm! Everyone take cover! They're coming! Shhh! Oh no! OH MY GOD!!
cut to black

Would you like that etched in stone? Gift-wrapped? Bows or ribbons? There. Like it? Well you can't have it. It's mine. I created this hell on earth. You're probably working on your own anyway. You are apparently suffering from the same syndrome. It's called Hell Anxiety Syndrome. The good news is that you control how long you'll be afflicted. Yes, really.

Oops. I waxed creative all over your reply. I'll clean it up. Don't worry about the mess. Just be careful where you step, it's kinda slippery. Such is the carnage when old beliefs die. 

[Hector Valdez]

I've always found that rationalizing away ocd anxiety only adds fuel to the flame. There's always going to be that What if? that will block out any rational answer, but if you just don't answer the what if question that is invading your mind, then your mind will ask it for a little longer, but there won't be anything for it to go up against, and it'll settle down.

In fact, I've found the best cure for my OCD is simply letting the mind ask it's what if questions, and then going on with my life. No dismissing needed.

And believe me, I had one hell of an OCD problem. My early life was filled with the constant terror that I was going to marry one of my sisters, for some reason.

[Firebird]

Maybe your therapist just sucks, or just isn't the right person for your particular case. I'm speaking from personal experience as well; I've gone due to occasional bouts of depression and anxiety. I made my first attempt at therapy in college, and blew off the second appointment because I couldn't handle it. Which was a dick thing to do, I admit. My second attempt with a different therapist came a year later, and lasted maybe half a dozen appointments before I realized it was getting me nowhere; the guy just wrote a bunch of notes, asked me the most basic of questions, and didn't even seem to care all that much, nor notice when I stopped scheduling appointments. He was useless.
My third attempt with a different therapist, I ended up with a woman who was a little kooky for my tastes, but she also helped me a lot, changed a lot of my perspectives about my self-image, my relationship with my parents, about some of the traumas in my life, etc. This was roughly 10 years ago. I recently decided to make another appointment with a therapist to deal with different issues, and I decided to seek out someone different this time. She was a great therapist during that particular time of my life, but I felt her perspective would no longer help me at this stage of my life.
So my advice is not to stop therapy. If you're not getting anywhere with it right now, try a different therapist instead. I'm sure there's one out there who can help you with what you're dealing with. Seek out someone who specialized in OCD if possible, but the more important thing is to find someone whom you'll feel comfortable with. It's harder than most people realize.

[xSilverPhinx]

Maybe your therapist just sucks, or just isn't the right person for your particular case. I'm speaking from personal experience as well; I've gone due to occasional bouts of depression and anxiety. I made my first attempt at therapy in college, and blew off the second appointment because I couldn't handle it. Which was a dick thing to do, I admit. My second attempt with a different therapist came a year later, and lasted maybe half a dozen appointments before I realized it was getting me nowhere; the guy just wrote a bunch of notes, asked me the most basic of questions, and didn't even seem to care all that much, nor notice when I stopped scheduling appointments. He was useless.
My third attempt with a different therapist, I ended up with a woman who was a little kooky for my tastes, but she also helped me a lot, changed a lot of my perspectives about my self-image, my relationship with my parents, about some of the traumas in my life, etc. This was roughly 10 years ago. I recently decided to make another appointment with a therapist to deal with different issues, and I decided to seek out someone different this time. She was a great therapist during that particular time of my life, but I felt her perspective would no longer help me at this stage of my life.
So my advice is not to stop therapy. If you're not getting anywhere with it right now, try a different therapist instead. I'm sure there's one out there who can help you with what you're dealing with. Seek out someone who specialized in OCD if possible, but the more important thing is to find someone whom you'll feel comfortable with. It's harder than most people realize.

This^

I think Cognitive behavioral is worth a try, I tried all that freudian stuff once, the guy would prescribe some medication and ask me to describe my dreams. He would then match some elements to something in a book that was supposed to have something to do with the medication I was taking. Needless to say that I decided to test that, made up a few dreams and he still would find ways of matching them. Fail.

[Guardian85]

And believe me, I had one hell of an OCD problem. My early life was filled with the constant terror that I was going to marry one of my sisters, for some reason.

Were they at least cute? 

[Tank]

And believe me, I had one hell of an OCD problem. My early life was filled with the constant terror that I was going to marry one of my sisters, for some reason.

Were they at least cute? 

You're an evil shit G85