Christian Faith and OCD, Scrupulosity, Intrusive Thoughts, Compulsions, ICBT

In this episode, Carrie is joined by licensed professional counselor Larinda Horton to explore how to support a spouse with OCD without feeding the cycle, while also caring for your own well-being.

Episode Highlights: 

• Why a loving response to OCD can sometimes make it stronger
• How to separate your spouse from the diagnosis and face it as a team
• What healthy boundaries sound like when they come from care, not punishment
• How to manage frustration when recovery feels slow
• Three simple words that can improve how couples talk about OCD

Connect with Larinda:

www.fortheonecounseling.com/larinda-horton

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie sits down with her husband Steve to talk honestly about the messy, hopeful, and often awkward road of Christian dating, sharing what they wish someone had told them before they found each other.

Episode Highlights:

Why trusting God's timing in dating can save you from years of heartache and regret

How to spot true relationship dealbreakers vs minor preferences when dating with intention

What doing your homework before a relationship really means (without becoming a stalker)

Why too much texting and long phone calls early in Christian dating can backfire
How praying through your list of qualities in a spouse can transform your dating life

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie explores the challenges of relationship OCD and how it can affect the way people experience and navigate their relationships.

Episode Highlights:

What relationship OCD looks like day to day, from replaying conversations to checking your feelings for proof

Why "is this love?" and "am I attracted enough?" can never be answered with certainty

How outside voices, Hallmark expectations, and past relationships get pulled into the doubt

Why mental compulsions like rumination and internal checking are so easy to miss

What kind of approach may help when ERP hasn't fully scratched the itch

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie revisits her past conversation with psychotherapist and author Ingrid Ord about acceptance and commitment therapy, this time adding the insights she's gained from five more years of working directly with OCD. 

Episode Highlights:

Why avoiding anxiety just makes it spread wider and wider, and what psychotherapist Ingrid Ord says actually happens once you stop arguing with the thought

Carrie's own take on why OCD therapy often misses attachment wounds

Where ACT hits a wall for moderate to severe OCD, and which evidence based tools Carrie says have to fill that gap

The backpack and purple man metaphor Ingrid uses with clients, carrying anxiety along with you instead of wrestling it into submission

What Ingrid's book, Act With Faith, offers Christian clients and therapists, and why people far outside her original audience have picked it up

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie explores why emotions and body sensations are not something to fear as a Christian, reframing them instead as data and opportunity for connecting with God.

Episode Highlights:

Why fear and shame are the only emotions God doesn't experience, and what that means for how you process your own feelings

How anger, sadness, and guilt can each become useful signals instead of threats

Why suppressing emotions often backfires and leads to resentment, addiction, or shutting down completely

A self-defense inspired technique for handling overwhelming body sensations like panic and anxiety

What arousal actually means when OCD tries to twist it into evidence against you

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie explores why Christians with OCD do not need to fear intrusive thoughts and how understanding the difference between thoughts, desires, actions, and identity can loosen the grip of scrupulosity.

Episode Highlights:

Why having an intrusive thought does not mean you will act on it

How mental compulsions like rumination, rebuking thoughts, repeated prayer, and neutralizing can keep Christians stuck

Why OCD can attach frightening meanings to thoughts about faith, relationships, harm, or sexuality

How ICBT helps distinguish intrusive thoughts from your true desires, values, and identity

What Scripture says about the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, and your identity when OCD tells you something different

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie revisits an earlier conversation about the connection between stress and OCD, taking a deeper look at why stress can make OCD symptoms worse and how to navigate stressful seasons without letting OCD take over.

Episode Highlights: 

Why stress can make OCD symptoms worse, even after a period of recovery

How positive life changes can create stress and trigger an increase in OCD symptoms

Simple ways to stay grounded in your relationship with God during busy seasons

How movement, boundaries, and focusing on what you can control can help you manage stress

Why saying no and asking for help can be important when life becomes overwhelming

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie helps you distinguish between everyday uncertainty and OCD by exploring obsessional doubts, compulsions, rumination, faith-related OCD, and the ways ICBT can help you identify when OCD is turning uncertainty into a crisis.

• How to recognize when an everyday uncertainty may be turning into an OCD obsession
• Why OCD often targets the people, beliefs, and values that matter most to you
• How urgency, internet research, rumination, and reassurance-seeking can signal OCD
• What ICBT teaches about the difference between everyday doubts and obsessional doubts
• How Christians can respond to uncertainty without trying to force absolute certainty
  
  

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie sits down with Mandy Horne, a registered nurse, board-certified holistic nurse, and nurse coach, to explore how to discern God’s call in a new season, recognize His guidance through uncertainty, and take faithful steps forward when the full path is not yet clear.

Episode Highlights:

How to discern whether God may be calling you into a new season

Why God may give you one step instead of the entire plan

How prayer, Scripture, community, and wise counsel can help confirm a decision

Why grief and joy can exist together during major life transitions

How abiding in Christ can help you recognize His voice when fear and uncertainty get loud

Get Mandy’s Sacred Season Starter Kit... for the Midlife Christian Woman 

https://gift.wellspringoflifecoaches.com/wellspringssskit 

Connect with Mandy: 

https://www.wellspringoflifecoaches.com/ 

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@wellspring.rn         

Skool Community:  https://www.skool.com/wellspringrn/about              

https://www.wellspringoflifecoaches.com/     

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks. 

In this episode, Carrie shares a personal story about how God led her to let go of something she had enjoyed for years, using that experience to help Christians with OCD recognize the difference between the Holy Spirit's gentle conviction and fear.

How to recognize the difference between the Holy Spirit's conviction and OCD's urgency.

Why enjoying something doesn't automatically make it an idol.

Biblical questions to ask when evaluating the entertainment you consume.

Why lasting spiritual transformation begins in the heart, not through fear or pressure.

How to respond to personal convictions without falling into condemnation or legalism.

Explore the Empowered Mind: Christian ICBT for OCD: https://carriebock.com/training/ 

Carrie's services and courses: carriebock.com/services/
                                                       carriebock.com/resources/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/christianfaithandocd/
and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/christianfaithandocd for the latest updates and sneak peeks.