Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”
120+ Articles Driven by Research and Practice
One Simple Way To Spot OCD- Even If You’re Not A Pro
Is it ego-dystonic? (Inconsistent with one’s personality and/or fundamental beliefs.) It’s called the “Doubting Disease” for a reason. When a person begins to doubt visibly and experientially something that they seem to know, this is something to pay attention to. Did you lock the door? Yes. [10 minutes later] Well, maybe I should go […]
Read More >Can Christians Be Free From Uncertainty? Part 4/4: The Good News In Uncertainty
This four part series is meant to be a brief, yet fairly comprehensive, overview into the world of uncertainty for Christians. SUMMARY: In Part 1, uncertainty is explored as a human experience- one for which Christians do not escape simply in lieu of being a faithful follower. Part 2 addresses what ways people generally handle […]
Read More >Can Christians Be Free From Uncertainty? Part 3/4: The Argument For Christians To Embrace Uncertainty
This four part series is meant to be a brief, yet fairly comprehensive, overview into the world of uncertainty for Christians. SUMMARY: In Part 1, uncertainty is explored as a human experience- one for which Christians do not escape simply in lieu of being a faithful follower. Part 2 addresses what ways people generally handle […]
Read More >Can Christians Be Free From Uncertainty? Part 2/4: Christian Intolerance of Uncertainty
This four part series is meant to be a brief, yet fairly comprehensive, overview into the world of uncertainty for Christians. SUMMARY: In Part 1, uncertainty is explored as a human experience- one for which Christians do not escape simply in lieu of being a faithful follower. Part 2 addresses what ways people generally handle […]
Read More >Can Christians Be Free From Uncertainty? Part 1/4: Uncertainty Can Be Utterly Uncomfortable
This four part series is meant to be a brief, yet fairly comprehensive, overview into the world of uncertainty for Christians. SUMMARY: In Part 1, uncertainty is explored as a human experience- one for which Christians do not escape simply in lieu of being a faithful follower. Part 2 addresses what ways people generally handle […]
Read More >Common Pitfalls in ERP 4 OCD- FREE Training
As a sequel to my popular, “ERP 4 OCD- Ultimate Guide to Treating OCD” training, here is the full length training on “Common Pitfalls in ERP 4 OCD.” I have given this to OCD sufferers, family/friends, clergy, and clinicians. May it benefit you wherever you find yourself today. Intro Evidence-based treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder […]
Read More >Sustainability: Making A Lifestyle Out Of Learning and Exposures
With most things we do in life that are healthy and good, sustainability requires the ability to stick with something over the long haul. Health Requires Realism & Cutting Out Shame Theoretically, with any one aspect of growth we might be able to figure it out ourselves, so we may think to ourselves, “I don’t […]
Read More >Five Principal Christian Commitments To Help Guide the OCD Sufferer
Peter’s Paradox Peter* came to counseling and admitted he was overly obsessive about faith matters- and that obsessing itself caused problems. But he couldn’t break free. He acknowledged the classic paradox of OCD: insight outside of the moment to see that his behavior was unreasonable, but simultaneously doubt and lack of insight during severe periods […]
Read More >the OCD Stories: Walking faithfully as a Christian while doing OCD treatment- considerations and common concerns
I once again joined host Stuart Ralph in the OCD Stories podcast. My prior one, “Faith, Spirituality and Religion in OCD Therapy” (#250), led us to go even deeper into the topic, specifically for Christians who have OCD. These bullet points are a very rough draft of what we covered. Here it is: Justin Hughes: Walking faithfully as […]
Read More >Where Your Thinking Will Trip You Up In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Talk therapy is not the way to improve with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Talk therapy is also known as “supportive psychotherapy” or insight-oriented therapies. In many cases, these approaches can OCD worse. Writer and actress Lena Dunham shares how she experienced both sides of the street. The Gold Standard of treatment is Exposure and Response Prevention […]
Read More >Jon Seidl’s “Finding Rest” Book Review
I just finished the soon-to-be released autobiography on a Christian’s suffering with OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Depression. My connection with the author was a special one, after contributing articles to I Am Second myself, one day I looked at the related articles and discovered that someone shared publicly on their struggles with OCD. As […]
Read More >The Holy Spirit is Different Than Your Emotions or Thoughts- Part 2 of 2: How Does God Speak?
Our Feelings and Thoughts Are Not A Guarantee In Part 1 of 2: Doubt, Fear, and Uncertainty, I emphasized a key point: Just because a problem deals with a spiritual issue doesn’t mean it must be exclusively a spiritual problem, addressed through exclusively spiritual means. Let me add one: Just because I feel or think something […]
Read More >The Holy Spirit is Different Than Your Emotions or Thoughts- Part 1 of 2: Doubt, Fear, and Uncertainty
Confusing Doubt and Fear With God Speaking When Susan* began therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), she had a lot of questions pertaining to her faith. In fact, she often thought she was dealing regularly with inherent spiritual problems, when, in reality, much of her concerns were just problems that […]
Read More >An Introduction To The “Over-Active Conscience”: Understanding Scrupulosity & Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Dr. Ted Witzig
This article is aimed at Christians but also provides a rich overview on scrupulosity. It was written by Ted Witzig, Jr., PhD and was graciously allowed to be reproduced in its entirety. I first met Dr. Witzig at IOCDF conferences. He is compassionate, intelligent, and provides some of the best overviews I’ve seen with OCD […]
Read More >Exposure & Response Prevention Is NOT A Paradoxical Intervention
I’ve had many clients and spouses state at the beginning of their exposure therapy that they are practicing ‘paradoxes’ to prove to themselves how ridiculous their OCD is. I’m all for seeing OCD as ridiculous– however, OCD is not treated by insight-oriented approaches (psychodynamic, general psychotherapy- i.e., “talk,”). Paradoxical interventions work like the following example: […]
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