Religion and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among young Muslim women in Saudi Arabia

Fifteen young women suffering from OCD in Saudi Arabia were interviewed about their experience of the illness and the roles played by religion. Religion was not perceived as a cause of the illness, but the illness can show itself in religious symptoms – notably with respect to prayer, and in a phase in which the young women were very strict and literal-minded with themselves and their families, with respect to religious observance. Religious symptoms were reported as more upsetting than other symptoms – being seen as damaging to the sufferer's piety. Other facets of the importance of religion in the experience of OCD were shown in help-seeking, in choosing to go first to religious healers for treatment, and only when these were unsuccessful were mental health professionals consulted. At this point, it was very important that the professional should be seen as trustworthy, and the criterion of trustworthiness was religiosity, specifically the use of pious, Qura’anic quotations, and a covered face (for a woman)/long beard (for a man). The accounts of the roles of religion in the experiences of the young women interviewed suggest that religion is an arena – but not the sole arena – for the expression of OCD symptoms. Religion plays an important role in determining the acceptability of treatments and treatment providers.