A Thousand Frightening Fantasies: Understanding and Healing Scrupulosity and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

This is so true for some poor souls that I know. One of them told me about it.

Every Catholic who has experienced legalistic teaching (particularly those of us of a certain age) should read this book. The case studies are heartbreaking. My only concern is that, sympathetic as the book is to those Catholics most hurt by legalistic teaching, the book focuses on the sensitive people most hurt by the teaching instead of addressing the toxic nature of the teaching itself. For example some Catholics may be able to jump through the legalistic hoop of confessing sins that God has already forgiven to a Catholic priest with no more thought than dropping off the dry cleaning but other people may agonize over the experience and ruminate about it to a point where it hurts their relationship with God. Too often when sensitive people take what the Catholic church teaches seriously enough to become annoying to a local priest they are labeled scrupulous. It would be better to label the legalistic teaching toxic. I know that there are some biblical passages that are repeatedly quoted to "justify" being required to confess sins to a priest but there are healthier interpretations of those passages.

I suppose that because the book states that it is written for laymen I should have not been so disappointed by it. However I did expect more. I think that the book is sketchy, and too many ideas are only hinted at without some depth of explanation. The idea that the author discovered links to the past regarding the topic is interesting, but the material throughout the book is poorly integrated. However if the book provides relief to scrup/ocd sufferers, I praise it for that!

If you struggle with religious scruples (rituals, doubts about God's love for you and His sanctifying work in your life), this book is a masterpiece. It has a wonderful diagnosis of Scrup/OCD, bigraphies of some of the great saints who struggled with it, and options for treating this horrifying disorder. Well written, forcefully illustated. If OCD is ruining your relationship with the Living God, read this book. Let Christ's love transform the way you view God and build a ruthless trust that "He who has begun a good work in you shall complete it until the day of Christ." (Phil. 1:6)

This book offers much good advice to those who are afflicted with scrupulosity. But unfortunately the book doesn't always remain faithful to Catholic moral teaching. Thus we find blatant dissent on moral issues which have already been definitively defined and decided by the Church, for example, on the Church teaching on artificial contraception. There is one example cited by the author of a couple who 'cured' their scruples by reconciling themselves towards their dissent against the Church teaching. Sometimes what appear to the untrained eye to be scruples may be nothing more than simple guilt for real sin! We need to carefully discern the difference. Perhaps a better book would be 'Understanding Scrupulosity', by Thomas M. Santa. Faithful Catholics who want the truth are not best served by a book such as this, although it does have other helpful advice. Keep your Catechism and a good confessor close by and you should be ok.