The Highway of Doubt: Explaining Moral OCD
Moral OCD, or moral scrupulosity, is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder where intrusive thoughts center on being immoral or a “bad person,” causing guilt, rumination, and distress. People may engage in reassurance-seeking, “undoing” behaviors, or thought-action fusion to quell the fear, and it can disrupt daily life. Treatment typically involves exposure and response prevention (ERP), sometimes with medication, and finding a provider trained in OCD is crucial since regular talk therapy alone can worsen OCD.