10/12/2026
One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn as a mom with OCD is that being a responsible mother and being a fearful mother are not the same thing.
And sometimes, fear is really good at convincing us otherwise.
It tells us that if we just research a little more, check one more time, ask one more question, or think through every possible scenario, we’ll finally be doing enough to keep our children safe.
And the hardest part? It can all feel like love.
Because what mom doesn’t want to protect her children? What mom doesn’t want to make the right decisions?
But somewhere along the way, what started as wanting to be a good mom can turn into feeling personally responsible for preventing every possible bad thing from happening.
I know because I’ve been there.
As both a licensed therapist specializing in OCD and a mom who has struggled with OCD herself, I’ve learned just how easily fear can disguise itself as responsibility.
And here’s what changed things for me:
Just because I can imagine something happening doesn’t mean it’s relevant to my reality.
I don’t have to treat every “what if” as a warning. I don’t have to investigate every possibility my mind comes up with. And I certainly don’t have to earn the title of “good mom” by exhausting myself trying to prevent things that haven’t even happened.
And as a Christian, I’ve had to wrestle with something else, too.
If I truly believe God is sovereign, why am I living as though the weight of every possible outcome rests entirely on my shoulders?
God has called me to love, nurture, protect, and steward the children He’s entrusted to me.
But He never called me to be all-knowing, all-powerful, or in control of every possible outcome.
There’s a difference between exercising wisdom and allowing fear to dictate how we parent.
There’s a difference between taking reasonable precautions and compulsively seeking certainty.
And there’s a difference between being present with our children and being so consumed by what could happen that we miss what’s happening right in front of us.
This is something I wish more moms understood:
You can be a loving, attentive, responsible mother without making fear the authority in your home.
You can make decisions using your common sense, the information actually available to you, and the wisdom God has given you.
You can recognize an imagined possibility without turning it into a problem you need to solve.
And you can trust God with the things that were never yours to control in the first place.
Motherhood will always involve responsibility. But it was never meant to require constant fear.
And learning to recognize that distinction has been one of the most freeing parts of my own OCD recovery. 🤎
If you’re a Christian mom who struggles with OCD, intrusive thoughts, or the constant pressure to prevent every possible bad outcome, I created something for you.
My Sound Mind Guide combines biblical truth with evidence-based OCD tools to help you recognize OCD’s tricks, step out of fear-driven patterns, and begin rebuilding trust in yourself.
Comment PEACE and I’ll send you the details. 🤍
