When People Can't Stop Praying

[Carol]

A Man Describes His Rare Religious Form of OCD

For centuries, Catholic priests wrote about how to subdue it. Some historians surmise Martin Luther had it, along with several renowned saints.

When he was in seventh grade, Cole M., now 23, saw an episode of "20/20" and surmised he had it, though he didn't know its exact name: scrupulosity.

Scrupulosity is a rare form of obsessive compulsive disorder focused on prayers, rituals or thoughts rather than the more common germ-phobia and compulsive hand washing.

"Whatever thing that is most important to you, that's what the obsessive compulsive disorder will grab," Cole said his therapist once told him. "My No. 1 fear was that I was going to become an evil person."

Cole, who asked that ABC News not use his last name, agreed to share his struggle with scrupulosity so that others might recognize it and get help.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNe ... 594&page=1