Table 2. Themes and subthemes resulting from thematic analysis. Counts report the number of coded instances.
| Theme and subtheme | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Influence of spiritualities on OCDa symptom manifestation (212/302) | ||
| Spiritual obsessions (143/212) | Users endorsed obsessions related to their faith, endorsing fears like committing blasphemy, going to hell, and being possessed by the devil. | |
| Religious compulsions (52/212) | Users performed faith-based rituals—most commonly, atonement-based compulsions like praying, confessing, and repenting to higher powers—to cope with obsessions with spiritual or nonspiritual themes. | |
| Symptom improvements attributed to faith (17/212) | Users reported that their faith helped them overcome OCD symptoms, such as by helping them persist through treatments or resist performing compulsions. | |
| Impact of OCD on relationship with spiritualities (92/302) | ||
| Loss of faith due to OCD (22/92) | Continued suffering associated with OCD caused users to lose faith in the existence of higher powers (eg, struggles with theodicy) or in religious institutions that failed to support them. | |
| Persistent faith despite OCD (70/92) | Users described unwavering faith despite OCD, broadly citing divine providence and omniscience; some specifically suggested that higher powers would be understanding of and/or alleviate their OCD. | |
a
OCD: obsessive-compulsive disorder.