7 books for Christians with anxiety + OCD
Anxiety and OCD are both part of my story and journey with Jesus. I’m also a therapist who works with clients facing these issues. I’ve noticed that the ways many Christians tend to think, talk about, and try to overcome anxiety + OCD are often shaped more by the secular scientific opinion than by Scripture. Both have something to say for them. But when we let science shape our perspective apart from or above Scripture, we miss out on our truest, deepest healing. We miss out on relationship with Jesus. Resources that integrate scientific insight with the ultimate truth of the Gospel and God’s Word have helped me gain so much freedom in my journey with anxiety + OCD. That’s why the resources I’m sharing here are Gospel-centered and recognize God as the ultimate source of wisdom - I hope they bless you on your own journey!
Here are 7 books I recommend for Christians with anxiety and OCD.
1. Steps by John Ortberg
I’m powerless over the fact that I have an anxious body that’s afraid of so much and automatically expects the worst. I’m powerless over my automatic, unwanted thoughts. I’m powerless over my initial impulse to control and eliminate discomfort. I am powerless, but my God is not. If you’ve never thought about anxiety or OCD as issues that can be addressed through a 12-step program, think again. This 12-step based book is my first recommendation for Christians with anxiety or OCD because it helps you examine your heart and cultivate (one step at a time) a truly Christian lifestyle that brings you closer to Jesus and, in doing so, offers freedom from the bondage of worry and controlling, compulsive behaviors.
Get it here.
2. Relaxed by Megan Fate Marshman
I completed the study version of this book with a small group of women and was deeply comforted by the reminder that, even when I’m anxious, afraid, and uncertain, God is not. In fact, in Megan’s words, “He’s not worried about a thing!” Coming to know God as a truly non-anxious, compassionate, and powerful Presence, changes our hearts and lives (and brains and bodies…) Anxiety and OCD are so often, at least in part and deep in the heart, relational issues. Megan encourages us to turn away from performing or pretending with God to being honest with God, so we can truly know Him and know ourselves as secure. We don’t have to live in self-dependence (hello, worry and control!), but are invited to embrace honest dependence on God, our loving, trustworthy Father. Just the reminder of this as I write it feels like a big, loooong exhale.
Get it here.
3. Try Softer by Aundi Kolber
This book is like a readable version of therapy! (But also not because therapy is a living, breathing relationship.) It endeavors to take you on a journey through your own story to help you move out of present-day anxiety and survival mode into what we were created for: connection, joy, and flourishing. Aundi provides a lot of helpful, scientific insight on the human nervous system, attachment, and more to help you unpack and understand parts of your story. I specifically appreciate the end-of-each-chapter prompts and exercises. Many of them are similar to do what I do with my clients and are things I’ve found personally helpful. This would be a great book to go through with a trusted mentor, counselor, or prayerfully with Jesus, so you still get the relational aspect of therapy too!
Get it here.
4. Jesus and OCD by Charles Thompson
I was so very relieved when I discovered this Christian workbook for overcoming OCD. Charles Thompson has lived with OCD himself and tackles the subject graciously and honestly. I love that he highlights going up against OCD as going into battle against an enemy. He acknowledges the issue as multi-layered - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - and offers both practical information and exercises for overcoming it. One of the most helpful things I learned was how to take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ - he provides a very helpful format for doing this. Something he also talks about in this workbook that I have not seen anywhere else is the role of forgiveness (!!!) in overcoming OCD.
Get it here.
5. A Still and Quiet Mind by Esther Smith
This book offers 12 very practical strategies for changing unwanted thoughts - not just anxiety or OCD-related thoughts, but thoughts that arise in moments of suffering or hardship that go against what you believe and know logically to be true. This book has been on my shelf and I haven’t had the chance to read through it yet, so these thoughts are based on my looking over and skimming it to start. The author is a biblical counselor and I appreciate what seems to be a simple, straight-forward, biblically-grounded approach that doesn’t over- or under- spiritualize. The book seems to read like a gentle, yet honest coach offering encouragement and guiding you step-by-step through helpful, practical exercises.
Get it here.
7. In Weeping and Rejoicing by Paige McBride
This book is not specifically about anxiety or OCD. It’s a book about emotions (like anger, sadness, and shame) and God’s design for them. I’m including this as a resource here because both anxiety + OCD are closely tied to emotion suppression. Sometimes the anxiety we feel, or the intrusive thoughts we experience, come from emotions we are not allowing ourselves to feel or express. This can be connected to our personal histories and false beliefs we have about certain feelings or what to do with them. I read + studied this book with a few other girls and learned so much about emotions as part of God’s image in each of us. I liked how the book is organized by individual emotions, and loved the concept of “training” our feelings - something I still use personally and as a therapist. Growing in emotional awareness and expression has been so helpful for my own journey with anxiety + OCD.
Get it here.
6. A Quiet Mind to Suffer With by John Andrew Bryant
This book is a poetic memoir of sorts - the author is a brother in Christ who has lived with OCD. I appreciate how he highlights the ties between mental illness and trauma - how OCD can be connected to past trauma, and how OCD can be it’s own trauma. I felt so understood reading this book and knew that I’m not alone. I had never heard OCD described as an addiction to one’s own thoughts, but it resonated deeply and has stuck with me ever since. John’s experience of overcoming mirrors my own in that, while I still experience relentless, unwanted thoughts or intense feelings of anxiety at times, I have found rest and a peace that goes beyond my present circumstances, in Jesus. True overcoming is not the absence of suffering, but suffering well with Christ.
Get it here.
If you would like to work with a professional therapist/counselor on issues related to anxiety or OCD and you are a California resident, you can learn more about my virtual and in-person counseling services here.
