Therese av Lisieux og OCD

Allerede som barn fikk Therese symptomer på OCD etter en sykdomsperiode. Hun led av skrupuløsitet og var sterkt plaget med skyldfølelse over ting som egentlig ikke var synd. For eksempel var hun følelsesmessig paralysert i frykt over at vanlige tanker var dødssynder. Hun hadde skrupler over små detaljer i sin oppførsel, og hun levde i sterk frykt for å krenke Gud. For å bli kvitt skruplene gikk hun til sin søster med skyldfølelsen for å få bekreftelse om at alt var i orden.

 Ian Osborn sier i boken «Can christianity cure obsessive compulsive disorder»: “Without a doubt, Therese suffered from a case of childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder. Therese suffered from classic, clinical obsession: intrusive, repetitive, unwanted ideas that she herself recognized as “absurd.” They caused her such torment that they drove her compulsively to seek support from others. As is true of all compulsions, the peace that reassurances provided did not last – in Thereses case, no longer than “a lightning flash”

Da Therese ble 14 år hadde hun en bedre periode og hun gikk etterhvert i kloster hvor hun hadde både opp og nedturer. Etterhvert ble hun igjen plaget av tvangsmessig frykt og tvil.  Etter å ha prøvd åndelig veiledning uten å få hjelp, bestemte hun seg for å finne sin egen vei mot helbredelse.

 Ian Osborn sier: «In a calculated and deliberate manner, Therese sought a new way of perceiving God, a new set of assumptions from which to view her tormenting fears. She searched for a strategy that would alleviate her suffering. At age twenty-one, she found it. She called it her “Little way,” sometimes referred to as the “way of spiritual childhood.” By emphasizing Gods mercy, more infinite than a parents for a child, she found salvation in her own weakness…Like the prodigal son, no matter what sins she might commit, she could safely return to the arms of a God who would never forsake her….With her Little Way in hand, she was able to accept her fearfulness, and timitidy, doubs and scruples, obsessions and compulsions, as all part of her “littleness” which was, in turn, always loved by God… Thereses life changed dramatically. She wrote, produced and acted in plays. She composed poems…She assumed the post of “novice master,” directing women much older than herself”

Men de gode tidene skulle ikke vare for Therese. Hun fikk tuberkulose 23 år gammel. Hun fikk etter hvert tilbakefall av tvangstanker og tvangshandlinger. Hennes «lille vei“ som hadde hjulpet henne før hjalp henne ikke lenger. Igjen så hun etter en strategi som kunne hjelpe henne. Ian Osborn sier: «What was necessary , she realized, was an abandonment to God even more complete than before…Unable to even so much as conjure up a positive image of God, she risked all on a faith supported by nothing she could either see or feel. She threw herself completely on “the blind hope that I have in Gods mercy”…With her strategy of total abandonment, Therese had again found a way to cast her tormenting thoughts in a new light.” På slutten av sitt liv finner Therese nok en gang fred. Hun dør av tuberkulose 24 år gammel.