# In Need of Advice **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [October 2, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265 "2026-10-02T21:12:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![njf2001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@njf2001](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/njf2001)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/1 "2026-10-02T21:12:19Z")
I am a 24-year-old Catholic who graduated college on the pre-medical track. Unfortunately, I have been out of work on medical leave for the past 5 months after a sustained 7-week period where I had severe insomnia caused by an OCD/scrupulosity flare. This past Lent, I decided to make a general Confession and made what I call the “mistake” of doing an examination of conscience at the end of February and adding to the list endlessly over a span of weeks. In a panic, I went to my parents telling them that I was struggling with intrusive thoughts and insomnia, and things kind of spiraled from there. I tried to push through work during the 7 weeks, but, especially with the lack of sleep, I became tormented with thoughts about how my sins had spilled into everyday life and paranoia that those around me could sense my guilt. Eventually, in April, I was forced to disclose some of my sins to my parents, which was more than I could handle and resulted in what I call a severe nervous breakdown. I ended up in the ER twice with extremely high heart rate and blood pressure, and with other symptoms indicative of severe over-activation of my sympathetic nervous system. Since the ER, I have been having intense, constant brain fog that makes it almost impossible to focus on any tasks, I have felt extremely low in energy and emotionally flat without improvement, and I have almost constant head pain that does not respond to typical interventions. I have been working on my OCD and anxiety from a psychiatric standpoint for the past several months, unfortunately without much improvement in my cognitive, emotional, and energy symptoms. I decided to consult a neurologist but did not receive much constructive advice. All of this has been extraordinarily difficult, as my quality of life has become very poor compared to the emotionally and intellectually intelligent individual that I was just a few months ago. I truly believe that my kindness, empathy, intelligence, work ethic, and resilience were the greatest gifts that God has given me, and I feel like I have lost them. Losing the ability to emotionally connect with others, especially given how important this was to me in the past, has been the most painful experience imaginable. I fear that this trauma and the psychiatric medications that I was placed on to manage the crisis may have done irreversible damage to my mind. I’m afraid that I will never be able to feel love again. My family and friends know that the breakdown was centered around scrupulosity and guilt, but I now feel that I have an unbridgeable divide in my relationships with them because they do not know the details of my Confession (I know that I do not owe anyone an explanation, since my sins were between me and God, but this has been difficult to accept because I am typically very open with my family and friends). I know that the Lord would not have wanted such a thing to happen. I had such a bright future ahead of me, and I feel almost at a loss of how to get my life back on track. My faith used to give me immense comfort and peace before all of this occurred, but now it feels like I am going through the motions, and it breaks my heart. I never let my sins define me but my situation, especially how I feel on a daily basis, is a constant reminder of my sins and distance in my relationships. My biggest mistake was believing that a spiritual problem could be solved with a secular solution. Close to the 6-month mark after all of this occurred, I decided to contact a priest experienced in the discernment of spirits in case there is a spiritual component to my suffering. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for how to get through this very difficult period, especially for managing the distance that I feel in my relationships. ---
**Author:** ![Cade\_One](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.catholictalk.net/cade_one/32/34_2.png) [@Cade\_One](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/Cade_One)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/2 "2026-10-02T21:23:40Z")
Welcome to this community. Someone else posted a few weeks back with a similar situation. I’m not sure if it is this younger generation, the content some consume, or an over-emphasis on mental health. But, I can only sepculate. Why do you think young people today suffer so much? As far as advice goes? I would say, delete your social media if you struggle with mental health. Don’t isolate yourself either. Be around others. Don’t drink alcohol or do drugs (I presume you do not, but I just want to throw that out there, as I do know two individuals around your age who are struggling right now and they do not have faith in God and they both smoke the “devil’s lettuce” ; ) Do you have Grandparents still around? If so, go visit them. I miss my Grandparents dearly. They were great fun to be around and never took life too seriously (well, my one Grandpa did, but he would surprise me every now and again : ) Know that you are in my Prayers as you Pray, _Come Holy Spirit_. ---
**Author:** ![kkalebw](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.catholictalk.net/kkalebw/32/1654_2.png) [@kkalebw](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/kkalebw)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/3 "2026-10-03T17:56:40Z")
@njf2001, I am sorry you are carrying all of this. What you describe sounds less like a soul in mortal danger and more like a person under enormous strain. Scrupulosity is a real affliction, and the Church treats it as such. That examination of conscience which kept growing week after week was not a sign that you were hiding more sin. It was the disorder doing what it does. A few things I would gently suggest. Find a spiritual director who understands scrupulosity, ideally a priest familiar with it. Keep the psychiatric care going, because grace and medicine are not in competition and caring for the mind God gave you is not a lack of trust in Him. And when a sin you already confessed keeps coming back to accuse you, that is not the Holy Spirit at work. He convicts once and moves you forward. He does not torment. The feeling that your empathy and your ability to love are gone is one of the cruelest parts of depression and anxiety, and it is very often a symptom and not a verdict. The gifts God gave you are not destroyed. They are buried under exhaustion right now, and they can come back. One small thing helped me when my own thoughts got loud. I started praying a rosary before bed and used Rosaria to keep the habit steady, and that quiet repeated prayer did more for my peace than anything else I tried. If your head is too loud for long prayer, a few decades at night might be exactly what your mind can hold. You are in my prayers. ---
**Author:** ![Pax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Pax](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/Pax)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/4 "2026-10-03T18:15:03Z")
Hello @njf2001 Welcome. I’m very sorry to hear about your recent struggles. A few questions to ask yourself that might help: Objectively, do you think that others who know you and who have known you would consider you to be a bad person? My guess is that the collective answer would be an emphatic, no. Do you think God would consider you to be a bad person in God’s eyes? My guess is that God’s answer would be, no. Catholicism has an aspect to it that is more intense than other Christian faiths. That aspect can and clearly does have a real psychologically damaging negative impact on certain people. It’s the three unspoken and never addressed underpinnings: Fear, Guilt and Shame. Those three underpinnings absolutely wreck some people. It’s also a prevalent thing in Catholicism for people to either deny those underpinnings are allowed to run amok within the faith or outright “gaslight” people, by denying they even exist within the faith; which is laughable since the term “Catholic Guilt” is set in the lexicon for a reason. There are really only two possibilities with God: Either God is love and cares for those who strive to love and be kind to others (as Jesus taught) by wanting and providing what is best for them or…God is disordered, sadistic and uncaring. If God was both (or the latter), then He wouldn’t be worth worshipping. I too was absolutely gripped by guilt and scruples at one point in my life. I was freed from both when I made peace with God, essentially saying something like: "I will do my best as a very limited human being with what I’ve been given and what I have available to me to live a good life with my daily goal of being respectful and kind to others and I will avoid greed, hate and unkindness. I will avoid trying to intentionally cause others harm either physically or psychologically. If after that, God decides to damn me to hell (God makes that final decision, we don’t) for it not being enough, for not “ticking all the right boxes”, then there’s nothing I could do about that. A deep sense of peace which has lasted for years has resulted. ---
**Author:** ![Pax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Pax](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/Pax)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/5 "2026-10-03T18:36:28Z")
Also, a person can’t authentically and genuinely love someone they fear. Stockholm Syndrome. Imagine expecting an abused child love their abusive parent, for example; repugnant and sick. I think scruples at least in part, stems from a deeply rooted and unhealthy fear of God. Part of my making peace with God years ago was also to have no fear of God. I know my heart. God would know my heart. Again, as mentioned in my previous post, if at the end of my life God would damn me to hell, then that would be God’s decision. And with God as an omnipotent being, there’s absolutely nothing I could do about it. My motto which I’ve translated to Latin to sum it up: Est quod est. It is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![immutable\_catholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9e8a1a/32.png) [@immutable\_catholic](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/immutable_catholic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/6 "2026-10-04T16:52:29Z")
Start praying the [15] decade rosary right away and many Hail Mary’s throughout the day. Get out of the Vatican II sect “church” now, it’s not Catholic. Stop your mortal sins and avoid the occasion of sin at all costs. Video: “How To Avoid Sin (Overcome Yourself)” 12 min. vid. > **[How To Avoid Sin (Overcome Yourself)](https://endtimes.video/how-to-avoid-sin/)** > > Est. reading time: 1 minute Video: “A Prophet Explains The Vatican II Apostasy From Catholicism” 32 minute vid. > **[A Prophet Explains The Vatican II Apostasy From Catholicism](https://endtimes.video/prophet-babylon-vatican-ii-apostasy/)** > > Est. reading time: 1 minute ---
**Author:** ![immutable\_catholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9e8a1a/32.png) [@immutable\_catholic](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/immutable_catholic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/7 "2026-10-04T16:55:41Z")
There is only one faith and its the Catholic faith. Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, **one faith** , one baptism. The world wide apostasy from God and the confusion in the world is astounding. ---
**Author:** ![immutable\_catholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9e8a1a/32.png) [@immutable\_catholic](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/immutable_catholic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/8 "2026-10-04T16:59:14Z")
Protestant nonsense and the doctrines of men. Stay away from this guy. Ecclesiasticus 1:27-28 The fear of the Lord driveth out sin: **For he that is without fear, cannot be justified:** for the wrath of his high spirits is his ruin ---
**Author:** ![Susanne.Lee](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.catholictalk.net/susanne.lee/32/1580_2.png) [@Susanne.Lee](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/Susanne.Lee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/9 "2026-10-04T23:40:17Z")
Your obsession with the “end times” is a Protestant heresy and a symptom of scrupulosity. Fear grows quickly when people build their outlook on rumors, charts, and sensational predictions. Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” ([Matthew 24:36](https://biblehub.com/matthew/24-36.htm)). That should produce humility. God has given enough truth to make us alert, but not enough to make us arrogant. Read prophetic passages in context, and test every teacher by the whole counsel of Scripture. ---
**Author:** ![immutable\_catholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9e8a1a/32.png) [@immutable\_catholic](https://forum.catholictalk.net/u/immutable_catholic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://forum.catholictalk.net/t/in-need-of-advice/4265/10 "2026-10-04T23:56:07Z")
Move on clueless female!