Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”

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 […]

I’ve got another confession to make.  No, I’m not starting the song, Foo Fighters’ “Best of You.”  I have been trying to cram WAY too much into life recently.  My brain feels that stress, and so does my body.  Blame it on the world, my environment, being “busy” with my life, my kids, my job- […]

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 […]

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 […]

I am Second has graciously published my Back-to-School article: 5 Things You Need to Know About Back-to-School Anxiety Click Here to Read NOW Here’s the quick summary: 1. Anxiety going back-to-school is normal.   Why be surprised?  Embrace it; accept it as normal; lean into it. 2. Don’t make anxiety personal.   There’s no shame in suffering.  […]

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 […]

As a gift to my subscribers, the guide, Get Unstuck: Your Intro to Facing Fear & Getting Healthy is YOURS, FREE.  Not a subscriber? This is the updated version of the prior “Thriving Mental Health Alongside COVID-19,” leaving the best intact along with new considerations for 2021 and several new handouts, connected articles, guides, and […]

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 […]

As with many of my clients, Anne* was befuddled as to why she couldn’t stop obsessing.  She was a high performer at work and revered in relationships.  However, she couldn’t get it out of her thoughts that she was failing, that imminent doom was about to befall her, and that it would all come crashing […]

Check out my featured article as part of the Mental Health Grace Alliance.  This is my most vulnerable personal writing yet on my journey with mental health.  I hope you’ll be encouraged. 3 Ways I Got Unstuck From Anxiety & Depression Not familiar with MHGA yet?  They are a strong voice for mental health recovery in […]

As part of the IOCDF‘s campaign to help bridge the gap between faith leaders and clinicians, they offered a PSA (public service announcement).  You can see the full comments I shared below (some were cut for time).  Hope it encourages you that faith and mental health treatment can go together. My full Script: Hi, my […]

In the first part of this series, fear and anxiety was presented as a warning system that can operate properly or erroneously.  We examined how saints throughout history (in the Bible, specifically) directly were fearful, afraid, or anxious, and this was not necessarily linked with sin.  Let’s jump into why and how spending the time […]

Honored to be featured again in the I Am Second mental health blog, this post addresses the common occurrence of Intrusive Thoughts and how those of Christian faith can live in freedom. Click Here to Read NOW

Yvette had a hard time breaking through in therapy. She knew and understood well the rationale for putting in the work. Her grasp of when she felt anxious and distressed, and even what to do, was excellent. I mean, the research speaks for itself, right? Just do it- just practice what your therapist teaches? I […]

Most of my clients hear from me at some point (when it’s appropriate for me to share) my own personal examples in dealing with obsessive thoughts.  I have gotten very stuck in obsessive thinking and resultant feelings (and still do some days).  Born through my own personal trials and individually tailored to clients who want […]