Samantha Griffitts

Christian, psychotherapist, OCD & scrupulosity specialist, reader, writer, lover of neuroscience & theology; this is my personal account, & opinions are my own.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

OCD doesn’t care about: your relationship with God, ethics, other people, physical health, your safety, or the safety of others. It just wants to be perceived that way. Our health and safety does not come from compulsions, even when compulsions feel like the safe thing to do.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Exposure and response prevention for OCD (and other types of anxiety) can also be thought of as planned moments that reinforce our ability to manage discomfort AND experience being surprised at what we are capable of doing. That is a pretty powerful thing. #OCD

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

You know you’re an OCD therapist when your 7 year old son specifies that removing the paper from his crayon is not a compulsion.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Have you ever wondered how (and how not) to apply Philippians 4:8 as a Christian with OCD? I talk about this and more at: https://t.co/vdkBFF0eVR

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Are there any other former figure skaters out there who no longer know what to do for exercise in adulthood? I never thought about this as a child/teen. I live quite a distance from a rink, and my vestibular system is no longer in spinning/jumping condition.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

1) This op-ed is false & ridiculous. 2) Let’s hope people aren’t getting information on mental health from @nypost 3) I’m just treating this like I would an intrusive thought: meaningless, not legitimate, radio static.

[Stephanie Woodrow, LCPC @SWoodrowLCPC]

I ask @nypost to remove this disgusting oped from @ghlionn, supposedly about #OCD. It is factually and clinically inaccurate with no support from @IOCDF. This piece harms our community & endangers the work done to stop false narratives about people w/OCD
https://t.co/yB3w119Oxx

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

@obsessivelyocd A lot of courage and hard work went into that. Sending encouragement your way!

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

@therapiworks Same. The exposure and response prevention I do doesn’t involve much exploration of emotion. I do, however, have a great fake vomit recipe. 😆

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Participating in liturgy helps us to situate our own struggles in the meta narrative of scripture & experience the already/not yet tension of having healing without yet being healed, having peace without experiencing it in totality, having been rescued & still waiting for rescue.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

What needs to change in "Christian culture" to facilitate healing from scrupulosity/religious OCD? 1) Identifying when it may be occurring/awareness 2) Less emphasis on emotion as determinant of spiritual status 3) Openness to evidence based methods of treating mental illness.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Today I talk about common scrupulosity obsessions and compulsions within the Christian tradition, and why the immediate answer is not more scripture memorization. https://t.co/NW5ti4e698

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

A uniquely Christian understanding of scrupulosity necessitates that we accept that scrupulosity cannot be understood purely theologically. But we can strive to understand the theological implications that do exist in a way that is faithful and sound.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

I’ll reply to my own tweet because I have OCD, too. 😊 Mine would be: Intrusive thoughts do not have to make sense to cause distress.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

If your friends and family could understand one thing about OCD (any subtype), what would you want them to know?

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

@NicoleLewisLCSW I’m grateful for access to good medical care!

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

@TweetATherapist Totally agree with you. I would be lying to myself if I didn’t say I was always just there for the tiny little umbrellas, anyway. A fantastic smoothie and a little umbrella, no alcohol needed!

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

My son wrote a book (it’s several index cards stapled together but still…) entitled “Why Can’t I Move?” about a houseplant who is sentient & grieves over his lack of ability to communicate. Someone offer him a publishing contract. The world needs this.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

@JessupShannon Whole chapters of elementary science books were stapled together so as not to give us too much information.

[Samantha Griffitts @OCDologian]

Twitter is evidently a place where you can pretend to be an expert on something if you have thousands of followers. But heaven help you if you’re an actual expert and speak within your sphere of knowledge, especially with 45 followers.

[Sister Anne @nunblogger]

This is the problem with some proposed legislation. It presumes that the poor all have stoves, or even pots. Not necessarily the case.