What is Religious OCD?

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by unwanted, intrusive thoughts and anxiety (obsessions) about something and the behaviors (compulsions) that people who suffer from the condition use to relieve the anxiety. This particular anxiety disorder represents a very serious condition that often grips the victim’s mind with fear and, in a very real way, controls their lives.

OCD is a broad disorder that encompasses many subgroups: in the case of religious OCD (also known as scrupulosity), the person is fixated on obsessions that are based in religion and/or religious beliefs, or around beliefs concerning morality. People who experience this form of OCD suffer from obsessive religious doubts and fears, unwanted blasphemous thoughts and images, as well as compulsive religious rituals, reassurance seeking, and avoidance.

People with religious OCD strongly believe in and fear punishment from a divine being or deity. Experts estimate that anywhere between 5% and 33% of people with OCD may experience scrupulosity and the number likely rises to between 50% and 60% in OCD sufferers who come from within very strict religious cultures. Even people who are not particularly religious can suffer from scrupulosity because they worry about being morally compromised or unintentionally offending others. A common thread throughout the spectrum is the linking of thoughts and actions: people with scrupulosity believe their thoughts are the same as actions, so they worry not just about what they have done, but also about what they have thought.

Examples of Religious OCD

Religious OCD can take many forms. A CNN news article tells the story of a Jewish woman who was so consumed with obsessions surrounding exposure to pork that she spent a large amount of time each day washing her hands and cleaning items that could even have remotely had the potential to come into contact with pork. An ABC News report discusses the problems of one Catholic woman who was faced with saying hundreds of prayers a day to obtain forgiveness for her self-perceived wrongdoings. The same article recounts a story about a man who eventually stopped eating and speaking in an attempt to please God by making sacrifices similar to those made by certain biblical figures. Even pillars of religious faiths may have been victims of scrupulosity: it has been suggested that both Martin Luther and St. Ignatius of Loyola may have exhibited religious obsessions.

Symptoms of Religious OCD

Scrupulosity rituals can include such behaviors as:

  • Compulsively praying, which can involve restarting the prayer if you get distracted while saying it and/or repeating it if you didn’t feel you were concentrating properly on the prayer or on the meaning of the prayer
  • Asking others if you are behaving correctly or if you “did the right thing”or analyzing your behavior throughout the day to be sure you are acting “appropriately”
  • Reading or studying religious writings, books, and texts excessively
  • Questioning your motives in numerous situations
  • Excessively apologizing to a deity (God, Allah, etc) and seeking forgiveness for your behavior

Treatment for Religious OCD

As with other forms of obsessive compulsive disorder, treatment for religious OCD involves cognitive behavior therapy. In some cases, medicines are combined with this type of exposure and response therapy. A patient will not be asked to give up his religion when undergoing therapy, instead he are given ways to face his triggers and live within his faith and religious traditions. Additionally, those patients who may not be able to travel to a therapists’office may be able to receive treatment over the phone or on a computer-based application such as Skype or FaceTime.

Have Questions? Need Help?

To get more information and help for scrupulosity and religious OCD, please contact Dr. Andrew Rosen and The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida at 561-496-1094 or email Dr. Rosen and The Center today.

Dr. Andrew Rosen PHD, ABPP, FAACP is a Board-Certified Psychologist and the Founder and Director of The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders, as well as, the Founder of The Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services.

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62 Responses

  1. Need to be treated for Religious OCD what symptoms are mentioned above I need a solution to this problem.

    1. Hi, my name is Aqeel. I’m also a Muslim & suffering from this OCD for more then 15 years now. You can contact me on my WhatsApp +923456134761.

    2. My name is Seb and I am Catholic. I suffer from autism which brings on ocd. For the last 5 months I have suffered from religious obsessive praying and repenting because I always feel I’m sinning in my head.

      1. I can’t offer much help but you’re not alone Seb. I’m Catholic too and trying to deal with it too. Praying for ya man.

  2. I have this and i am suffering this by repeating prayers, analysing my behaviours, always feel sin have done, how i can cure from this. Around 8 years ago i have diagonised as ocd patiend and visited a doctor for treatmend and cured.But now its again coming

    1. Hi my daughter Iis 10yrs old , her symptom are like OCD .Plz help me out of this. We lives in Delhi, India You can send me msg through whatsapp 7991148889.

      1. Hi Minni,

        We recently began treating internationally. Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options available.

      2. I am going crazy. I love the lord so much . my thoughts are hurting me. I need help.

        1. Hi Deanna, Please contact us through the contact page for the options and support available.

      1. Hi Rhonda, Please contact us through the contact page for the options and support available.

  4. For a long time, I suffered with religious OCD. I was hospitalized for a health problem, and it just made my OCD worse. I won’t lie, I still struggle with it, but the huge thing that makes religious OCD so bad is that fear and the lies it implants in you. I feared that my loving God, who had saved me by His Son’s blood, would punish me if I didn’t do something I said I would do. I worried that I wasnt living as God would have me to live, and I continuously had bad thiughts about God. I worried about blaspheming too. As compulsions, I would read the Bible all the time, pray all the time especially to ask forgiveness for my bad thoughts, and I would not eat the food I liked as an attempt to punish myself in hopes that God would see me punishing myself, so He would not punish me. There have been 2 verses that have really helped me: Psalm, 27:1 and John 8:12. Psalm 27:1 talks about how we should not fear because God is our light. He is the Strength of our lives (durung the good times and bad), and He is our Salvation. Salvation means a means of escape or preservation in times of trouble. This means God will either deliever us from OCD or He will keep us safe during it if we just trust in Him. My OCD started getting really bad again, so I dove into the Bible because Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32). In John 8:1-11, a woman, who had been found committing adultery was brought by the Pharisees and scribes to Jesus. They asked Him what the woman’s punishment should be since the law of Moses said to stone people who committed adultery. Jesus told them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. Obviously, all of them had sinned, so they all left one by one. When Jesus looked back up from writing in the dirt, only the woman stood before Him. He asked where her accusers were and if she had any, and she said that no man had condemned her, so He told her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” This is the God we serve. He is not this awful, vengeful, condemning God. He is a God who loves His children. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you don’t have to listen to the guilt and lies of feeling condemned OCD brings upon you. You just have yo listen to God, and I know that sometimes that is hard, but what Jesus says in John 8:12 makes everything clear: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Confusion, lies, darkness, fear, and doubt all are darkness. If you are following after Jesus, you will feel His inner peace He promised us, not this turmoil. Follow after Him. He will lead you to the light. When you’re in your room at nighttime and the lights are off, you might get worried someone is in your house. I did as a kid. This fear instilled doubt about being safe, confusion about whether this fear was real or not, scared me, and put these lies in my head. Once I turned on the light, however, the fear, confusion, doubt, and lies had to flee because I saw the Truth. Jesus is the Truth. We have the Spirit of the Lord, and where that Spirit of Liberty. Jesus is our chainbreaker. We are held in His hands, and no man can pluck us out (John 10:27-30). He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). There is no fear in love; but perfect live casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). OCD has torment. Let God’s perfect love cast it away. I’m parying for anybody going through this and parents dealing with children who are suffering from this. It is hard, but Jesus’s grace is sufficient. Trust and rely on Him! He’s always good.

    1. You have helped me so much! I have gone through so much pain the last two years to the point where I wanted to take my life. I was an addict till the lord found me and had many freak outs on drugs one of which was super bad. I was high one night on YouTube just searching the web till I clicked on a religious advertisement. I had fallen away from the lord and thought this was him reaching out to me. I clicked on it and the man was talking about prophecies. I was so scared because he said it was gonna happen to someone with ocd. I immediately got up and threw up in the bathroom. After that day I was terrorized by bad thoughts about the lord and his kingdom. I was scared, angry, and confused. I began to hate the lord till he opened my eyes! That man was a liar and only the lords word saved me. It exposed the false prophet. I still struggle with terrible fear and bad thoughts about the lord but I know he loves me one day I’ll be at rest. Thank god I’m not alone I didn’t tell anyone for the longest time because I was scared what they would think.

    2. Thank you K for writing this comment. I have struggled with this for a complete year now… It’s so difficult.

    3. K, thank you so, so much for this post. My beautiful 24-year old daughter has Religious OCD. For over three years now, we didn’t know what was wrong as she lost so much weight, was so forgetful, and kept saying she didn’t believe she was saved. We kept praying for her and finally narrowed it down to OCD, but it wasn’t until today that I started reading about Religious OCD. Your post brought tears to my eyes because I have always believed that God’s grace and His Son’s death on the cross would eventually cure her, but I didn’t know what was going on. She recently lost her job, and we are so worried for her. Now, I have some answers, and I am praying that my daughter will take the steps she needs to help her with this struggle since it’s destroying her life and sucking all the joy from our family as she blames us for everything.

    4. I am moved so much by yur words. My husband has memory issues and stammering issues, all of a sudden in 1 year. I am just trusting in Jesus. I know there are no medicines for memory issues and frankly we cant afford them. Just looking unto Jesus who healeth all diseases. I am Sonia from India.

      God bless u.

    6. Thank you, I really needed this. Whether or not I have OCD, I’ve been living in fear and no longer coming to terms with the saving grace of Jesus, and it has been nearly a year of this. Pray for me, that I may see truly and embrace the promises God gave us.

    7. Hi, I know you posted this a while ago but I just wanted to let you know that this is EXACTLY what I needed! I think I may be developing this disorder, or maybe I’ve had it for a long time, but lately I feel like it has been getting worse. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with these fears and anxieties, like right now. I know they are not from God but that just makes me more anxious.

    8. Thank you for this. This is so wonderful and hopefully it will help and give comfort to lots of people who are troubled by these issues including myself

    9. K,
      Thank you SO much for writing this out. Truth has no time frame and when something is true, it is eternal. I’m writing this in June 2020 after seeking out the key words “anxiety about past actions God” and it led me here to read your comment. Thank you K, all this time later. I needed to read these words today.

    10. You have helped so much its unreal. I have been so unwell for over 2 months now, and thought God told me that If I didnt stop drinking I would murder someone maybe even just by pushing someone and them falling on there head. I from then tormented myself daily saying there is no point I’ll be In prison for the rest of my life + tormenting myself and praying over and over scared I have upset the lord and thinking there is no way out. Your post has made me realise God would never torment me like this. There is so much more I want to say and ask if any of you could contact me that would be amazing. I was so low, I wanted out. Reading this has saved me, God is great and loves all of us xxxx

    11. Can you please help i am suffering so badly with such thoughts I can’t tell you how bad those thoughts are about god Jesus and holy spirit at tines I feek I have blashphmey the holy spirit
      I keeep thinking on my thoughts and try to frame to other way that god understands and makke him understand that I haven’t done it
      But it ends up thinking much more than before I have strugglled very hard I am just 21 too small to handle such thoughts but trust me I don’t doubt in my PhD I have Faith in him

  5. I suffer some symptoms of religious ocd and it affect my daily life., im a muslim, i constantly obsess and doing my prayer repetitively. My mind cannot stop thinking lot of unwanted thoughts. Is there any ways to help overcome my anxiety?

    2. I am currently going through the same thing since my mum died recently and I still struggle but some things you can do which might help are:

      •Find ways of distracting yourself (a film or meeting friends)
      •Doing hard exercise for 20 minutes or more
      •Cutting down on sugar and caffeine
      •Eating lots of fruit and veg
      •Deep breathing exercises and mindfulness
      •CBT counselling

      Hope this helps
      Matt

  7. I am From Nepal. I have been suffering religious O.C.D, How can you help me? I have been taking medicine since last 25 years yet I could not have release from it religious O.C.D.

    Unlucky Man
    Dinesh Chetri
    From
    Nepal

  8. I prefer to speak to someone in private before making a public comment. I suffer with religious OCD and asking for real truthful help. Thanks

    1. Have you read the Doubting Disease? It was written by a Catholic Priest who was also a psychologist (weird combination, but hey. It was helpful)

    2. This is a common problem in people .It all depends on what we choose to do with the thoughts .If we identify ourselves with it and react to every thought ,then i think we are running away from a problem which already has a solution .All that we have to do is nothing ,by simply not reacting to those thoughts we can become free from it .I have suffered from this immensely and after these many years i have now realised that we are not our mind and our thoughts ,and we need to evolve ourselves and understand how fear works .If we try to avoid our thoughts we end up thinking about it all the time . When we constantly dont respond or react and just let any kind of thought come in without resisting it ,we realise how free we become from the mental stress that it causes.Mindfulness and meditation is something that worked tremendously for me and people i know with this issue .We need to understand that this life is a gift and we need to come out of our head and start living in the present which means we continue to do what we need to even if any kind of thoughts sprout up as when we get them we dont realise it is just a thought .So going beyond our thoughts can really free us from it and you will see your life change for good in a magical way .So stop worrying and start living in life.

  9. I believe that my 22 year old daughter is suffering from this and we are struggling to identify solutions to help her realize. It is difficult to live with and see the transformation that has occurred. Please provide suggestions for the family. Thank you

  11. Try ‘The Doubting Disease.’ It’s a very helpful book focused on scrupulous OCD

    Reply if you need to talk

    1. I have been suffering from this for the last 25 years.38 going on 39 now.I have other forms of OCD but this is the most strong and unbeatable.In rare cases i think and forget thinking I will ask forgiveness later.

      Mostly when one is ill or already depressed,or having bloating,indigestion etc it seems to worsen.
      Never stop your nature’s call (urination or stool) for your compulsions or whatever your rituals to reverse the effects of bad thoughts.This only increases the problem and makes it worse.

      It’s a vicious cycle.In normal days you get the bad thoughts and perform the ritual and get on with your life even though with difficulty.

      But you’re handicapped when in spite of your rituals you can’t get over the bad thoughts like you normally did and these thoughts worsen by the second like satan is playing with your mind.You just have to stop no matter you think that your thoughts can’t get any worse.It’s extremely difficult when you’re in the vicious cycle.I have failed multiple times trying the same.

      Prayer helps but don’t force yourself more than obligatory prayers if you can’t do more.Tell yourself you’ll pray when you;’re in better mindset and actually do as you promised.

  12. Hi, I’m a Christian who.When I started to repent and accept Jesus in my life that I’ve ever made and will never regret.But, the challenges and trials started to surround me but it’s okay since this trials will strengthen my faith to Him.By the way, I’m suffering (religious) OCD right now, it seems like demons always tries to distract me, like whenever I pray, distractions starts when bad thoughts and scary thoughts began to pop up in my mind.And also when I attend church and worship time began, I cannot really focus because those thoughts are always stucked in my mind.Please pray for me guys.I know God is good, I will overcome this.

  13. This is a daily, moment-to-moment fight that I face. A fight within my mind. Every decision is first blocked by a horrible thought about my God. My thoughts torment and beat down on me. I say the same prayer (compulsion) to put a band-aid on it until it happens again. I am in such a rut. My intrusive thoughts have led to full out panic attacks. I’m so ashamed of myself… of my thoughts. I wish the negativity would end so that I could be at peace.

    1. This is exactly what I’m experiencing right now, I’ve tried CBT therapy but the content of my thoughts seem to be getting worse and worse. I worried if I’ve committed the unforgivable sin and struggle to get on with life day to day, I’ve seen that you’ve wrote this a year ago, has you got any better since then?

  14. I have religious O.C.D. I am worried about Hebrews 10:26-31-“26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” I worry about sinning on purpose, so I am constantly going back, and changing what I say. I have had anxiety about buying gas on a Sunday, because of the Sabbath.

    1. Nicholas I do not have OCD but I too when I read those scriptures was very concerned about them until I read further and studied I realized that Jesus came to fulfill the law not to do away with the law but to fulfilled the law those scriptures are talking to the Jews who accepted Jesus as their savior but then turned back and went back living under the law again and Jesus was saying there is no other sacrifice he was the final sacrifice. And to have accepted him as their Savior and then turned back and go to the law again was to openly say that Jesus was not enough which brought him to an open shame.

  15. I’m struggling with religious ocd but its more complicated than that one time I like this then 2 or 3 weeks later I’m obsessed with something else mainly a particular religion I love Christianity but I’m always watching my every move and scared if I made a wrong one sometimes I think of switching religions I also struggle with witchcraft and Wicca I know its bad but I’m still trying to get out of the “witchcraft Wicca pit” my parents have a problem with me and religion they tell me all I need is belief and faith and that it is inside me like I put so much energy to be baptized and confirmed since I want to be Catholic but I get nervous and think does God want me to be Catholic or does he want me to be protestant gotten signs from him that I still can’t explain and don’t know what he’s telling me since I know the devil sends false signs which makes me nervous I pray in my head or I combine prayer thoughts and silent talking like talking without making a sound I had a rosary but my parents took it because they said I didn’t have permission to get it but I was honest and they let me choose what they took they only took my necklace and my rosary I read the bible whenever I can I have the bible tv show collection from history channel and other bible shows I watch I’m always scared if I did something wrong or if I will be in heaven I feel nervous to pray to Mary and the saints or honor them since the ten commandments say that the only god you can worship is God and I am always wondering if I’m walking in the spirit or if I’m in a state of grace or if I’m filled with the holy spirit or if I’m saved though I learned that Catholics believe that salvation is an ongoing process so trying to realize that and understand that I want to get this ocd under control because I want to get rid of it completely but I know some part of it will still be there but it won’t effect me that much almost like son to please help I wonder what I can do about this

    1. I am a Hindu Guy from India. My age is 29 I suffer from multiple OCDs which you include religious OCD, OCD related to diseases, and something bad will happen to me. Please help. I met a Psychiatric who administered SSRI,s and Benzodiazepine. I felt better. But now even after taking my medicine it came back within two months. Plz help!!! Plz!!! I feel like I will become mad!!! Plz help!!!

      1. Hi Sandeep, Please contact us through the contact page for the options and support available.

  16. I am a Christian, and quite frankly, my mind is an utter mess. Because of the Crucifixion, we know that God’s love is NOT unconditional, and this imposes a kind of brain-rot that ultimately makes us feel like a very dirty person. We get caught in the ‘God loves, God hates’ cycle, and such a thing must surely be detrimental to one’s mental health; indeed, I would go further as to suggest that such a dichotomy could cause actual physical harm to one’s brain cells. At times I wish my life had never been touched by religion, I think I would be a much happier person now had I just concentrated on living this life instead of trying to constantly placate an angry God.

    I dont want to beat myself up like this anymore. It is making me very unhappy. This is not a very nice relationship, in my opinion.

  17. I’m suffering from extreme blasphemous thoughts. I keep thinking taunting thoughts towards God about the things that mean most to me. I’m scared He will take those things from me because I’m provoking Him. My thoughts are constant, and repetitive all day from time I wake. I’ve started hurting myself to try and relieve the pain these thoughts cause. I’ve seen religious ocd is a thing, but I can’t help worrying that they are my own thoughts.

    1. Hi Marma,

      Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options and support available.

  18. My Grandmom just passed away. She was bedridden for almost a month. She had diabetes, kidney problems and BP. She didn’t even wanna go to the hospital anymore. She was tired. She wanted my aunt who is a Doctor to care of her at home. She didn’t even wanna speak anymore. Whenever someone enters her room to feed her she’d immediately close her eyes. She was so sick. The night before she passed away, I heard her breathing heavily. She was just breathing weird. I got a thought that maybe she might just pass away but still I didn’t go check on her. Even though she was breathing weird, I prayed instead. Even as I was praying for her, it didn’t feel right. That was around 4 in the morning. I decided to go to the kitchen instead to get something to eat then I decided to wash the dishes. That was at 5 in the morning. Imagine washing the dishes at 5 in the morning. I never even help out with washing the dishes, I just wanted to do it that day. Then after that I came back to my room and slept. She passed away later in the afternoon, at 12. I feel guilty because I didn’t go check up on her

    1. Hi Arlene,

      Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options and support available.

  19. Please tell me that I’m not alone in this. I’m terrified of my thoughts, I hate myself because of that and want to get away from them asap. I can’t seem to manage it anymore. I’m to scared for my and my loved ones lives, I’m scared to be punished, because those thoughts are just terrible and out of my control. It gets worse and worse and I just can’t seem to find any solution. It ruins my daily life.

    1. Hi Likuna,

      Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options and support we have available.

      1. Im suffering from this excessive and fear and religious OCD since 11 years, coming here i relised that I’m not alone

  20. I realized that I’m not alone, This religious ocd is plauging me since 11 years, sometimes i can’t take it anymore please i need serious help

  22. Hello my name is Gloria I am of the Apostolic faith. I have been having many issues . I scheduled an appointment with pastors wife she is not Diagnosing she just believes that I have This particular disorder so many of these symptoms I find to be true in my life.

    1. Hi Gloria,

      Please contact us through the page to learn more about the options and support available.

  23. Hello I am David I have been experiencing exactly what most people have posted here, thought I was alone, just realized it is a disorder.

    1. Hi David,

      Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options and support available.

  24. Hello, my name is Diego, I am 16 years old, I have to say that I have suffered this for six years. I’m going to start from the beginning. I did the First Communion I think that in 2015, after doing it I began to be closer to God, however not in such a loving way, but like praying to God to just do it. One day I got up from my bed and I had a strange thought: the thought was that I wanted to die, it started only from getting up, I didn’t think about it because I wanted to, it came to my mind and I felt strange.

    Later I began to have these thoughts and I thought that God thought they were mine: They were blasphemous thoughts, of death, sexual towards people, God, Jesus, The virgin, Angels, Heaven, etc. I never felt they were mine but I felt that God did feel they were mine. Although I knew that he knew that they weren’t. Then I tried to fight them by talking about the opposite of what I thought: For example, I was thinking about something blasphemous and I said what I really wanted
    Doing that made me no longer able to live a normal life, since now I do not know how to live without them, I have lived 6 years fighting them but I think it was stupid because that inside them more in me.

    They didn’t have as much impact on me but as the years went by, I began to feel hell on earth, currently I am a disaster. I became sexually perverted and addicted.

    I have two thoughts that worry me more than anything else:

    -The first is a thought in which I wish death to God specifically, and sometimes to other religious beings. This has me horrible. That is not what I want and to prove it I fight it.
    Rather I am glad that I or nothing can harm God. I want him to be eternal and I’m happy that he already is, along with his kingdom and everything that is there.
    I don’t even mind going to hell knowing that nothing will happen to God anyway. I still don’t want to go to hell

    -The second thought is to sell my soul. This thought has been going on for years and what scares me the most is that I said it, but I didn’t say it because I wanted to, I said it out of stress because it kept coming back. I have been so obsessed with proving to God that I want to have my soul and that I always wanted to have it.

    Now I feel like committing suicide, and I question my existence as to why God created me if I hurt him and me. I don’t think I commit suicide, but I want God to take me out of this world yes or yes, although sometimes I am afraid that he will.

    What I’m most happy about is that nothing is going to happen to him, anyway

    I have, I think, tics and to control my thoughts sometimes I scream and breathe very hard that makes people uncomfortable

    This also makes me want to be alone and want to live alone all my life. And punish myself, and live suffering because I feel that it is my destiny

    But I hope it is not like that and I hope that one day, I will be part of the army of God, and I am only happy with the fact that he will live forever as I want and everyone will too

    I hope you don’t mind that I shared my thought

    Please pray for me so that I feel God and that everyone does too and that I find a way out of this and live with God as I always wanted.

    1. Hi Diego,

      Please contact us through the contact page to learn more about the options and support available.

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