206. She Hid the Knives and Prayed She Wouldn’t Die: A Personal OCD Story with Blessing Afolabi-Jombo

In this episode, Carrie sits down with Blessing Afa Jumbo, a wife, mother, and writer, who shares her courageous journey with OCD—how intrusive thoughts, postpartum struggles, and performance-based faith shaped her view of God, and how grace, proper treatment, and healthier theology have brought healing and hope.

Episode Highlights:

• How OCD can disguise itself as spiritual conviction, warfare, or responsibility, placing unbearable pressure on the Christian
• The heavy burden of performance-based faith and the fear of failing God as a Christian and a mother
• Postpartum OCD and harm-related intrusive thoughts, and the courage it takes to name them for what they are
• Finding freedom through proper support, including medication and therapy, alongside faith.
• Relearning the heart of God as loving and gracious, not punitive.

Episode Summary:

What if the intrusive thoughts you’re battling don’t mean you’re spiritually failing, but that you’re dealing with OCD?

In this episode of Christian Faith and OCD, I sit down with Blessing Afa Jumbo for a heartfelt and eye-opening conversation about how OCD can quietly weave itself into a Christian’s faith, especially during pregnancy and postpartum. 

Blessing shares how fear of death and intrusive thoughts slowly transformed her relationship with God into one driven by pressure, responsibility, and the belief that she had to perform perfectly in order to stay protected.

As we talk, we explore a question I hear often from Christians with OCD: How do I know when something is conviction versus OCD? Blessing opens up about the fear that kept her silent, the shame of believing her thoughts defined her, and the moment she realized that what she was experiencing had a name. We also discuss how learning about OCD began to reshape her theology, helping her see God not as a harsh taskmaster, but as a loving Father who meets us with grace in our suffering.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in your own mind, exhausted from trying to get it right with God, or unsure whether faith and mental health can truly coexist, tune in and listen to Blessing’s story. 

And if you’re ready to develop a more empowered way of responding to OCD, one that helps you recognize when OCD pulls you into imagined stories instead of present reality, I encourage you to learn more about Empowered Mind, my Christian ICBT course, at carriebock.com/training.