Sisters Serving Earlier: What the Mission Age Change Means for Mental Health, OCD, and Mission Preparation

In December 2025, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a meaningful update to missionary eligibility: young women may now begin full-time missionary service at age 18, aligning with the long-standing minimum age for young men. For many families, this felt exciting, affirming, and full of possibility. Serving earlier can simplify life planning, align peers, and open doors to spiritual growth.

Although the new policy is not a dramatic change, it nonetheless gives us a chance to consider how the age of missionary service often overlaps with the developmental window when young adults with a predisposition to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related anxiety disorders are most likely to begin experiencing significant symptoms. 

This post is for young adults preparing to serve and for parents supporting them. The goal isn’t to discourage missionary service. It’s to help you prepare wisely and feel empowered—so service is meaningful, sustainable, and not derailed by preventable mental health struggles.

Why age matters more than we often realize

Late adolescence and early adulthood (roughly ages 16–22) are peak years for major transitions: graduating, leaving home, forming identity, and learning how to manage stress independently. They’re also a common period for OCD to first appear or intensify, particularly for people with a family history of OCD, tics, or severe anxiety.

While missionary service certainly does NOT cause OCD, the unique stressors and transitions involved with a mission can make symptoms more difficult to manage for people with a predisposition to or family history of OCD.

Why missions can be a trigger point for OCD symptoms

Missions are meaningful, structured, and spiritually rich. They also include many ingredients that commonly activate OCD—especially scrupulosity (religious or moral OCD) and perfectionism-driven anxiety.

Here’s why:

1) Major transition + loss of familiar routines

Moving away from home, changing schedules, eating and sleeping differently, adapting to a new culture or language—these are normal mission realities. For an OCD-vulnerable brain, sudden change can push anxiety higher and make intrusive thoughts “stickier.”

2) High uncertainty

OCD struggles with “maybe.” Missions include constant gray areas:

• Did I say the right thing?

• Am I feeling the spirit?

• Did I follow the rules correctly?

For most people, these are passing reflections. For OCD, they can become repetitive, urgent questions that demand certainty.

3) Elevated responsibility

Missionaries often feel deep responsibility for representing God well and caring about others’ spiritual outcomes. OCD inflates responsibility, turning sincere effort into hyper-responsibility—the belief that everything depends on doing things perfectly.

4) Performance feedback and comparison

Goals, numbers, interviews, and evaluations are part of mission life. OCD loves scorekeeping. Without tools to manage anxiety, these parts of missionary service, which are supposed to be helpful and empowering, can feed compulsive reviewing, over-confession, or relentless self-criticism.

5) Fewer familiar coping tools

Many young adults regulate stress with exercise routines, music, journaling, therapy, or specific social supports. Missions may limit access to some of these—so the brain reaches for whatever reduces anxiety quickly, including compulsions.

6) Fatigue and physical stress

Early mornings, long days, illness, or disrupted sleep can worsen anxiety and OCD symptoms. When the body is stressed, the mind becomes less flexible.

What OCD can look like on a mission (it’s not always obvious)

OCD isn’t just handwashing or checking locks. On missions, it often hides behind conscientiousness.

Common presentations include:

• Scrupulosity: fear of sin, worthiness doubts, re-praying “until it feels right,” repeated confession, intense guilt about small mistakes

• Perfectionistic OCD: re-reading messages, over-correcting statements, fear of misleading anyone, distress over minor errors

• Mental compulsions: hours of internal reviewing, analyzing intent, silently checking feelings or prayers

• Reassurance-seeking: repeatedly asking leaders, companions, or family if you’re “okay” or “worthy”

• Confession: repeatedly trying to talk to mission leaders about the same perceived transgression despite being told multiple times that you should move forward

A key sign isn’t the topic—it’s the process: repetitive doubt, rising anxiety, rituals that bring brief relief, and then the doubt returns.

Who should consider extra preparation before serving

Not every missionary needs therapy. But some benefit greatly from short-term, targeted preparation, especially now that service can begin for both men and women at 18.

Consider a brief pre-mission mental health check-in if any of these apply:

Personal history

• Past or current OCD symptoms (even if “mild”)

• Persistent intrusive thoughts, panic, or severe anxiety

• Perfectionism that causes distress or paralysis

• A pattern of getting mentally “stuck”

Family history

• A parent or sibling with OCD

• Strong family history of anxiety disorders, tics, Tourette’s, hoarding, hair-pulling/skin-picking

Personality traits that raise risk

• Intolerance of uncertainty (“I have to know for sure”)

• Black-and-white thinking about rules or worthiness

• High fear of disappointing authority

• Reliance on reassurance to feel calm

For parents: noticing these traits doesn’t mean your child shouldn’t serve. It means they deserve tools before stress escalates. 

What short-term pre-mission support can do

Preparation doesn’t have to be long or dramatic. Often 4–8 focused sessions with an OCD-informed therapist can make a meaningful difference.

Effective preparation may include:

1) Psychoeducation: separating faith from OCD

Learning how OCD works—and how it targets what matters most—helps missionaries recognize that intrusive thoughts are not moral indicators and anxiety is not revelation.

2) Skills for uncertainty

Missionaries learn how to respond to “maybe” without rituals: letting questions exist, resisting mental reviewing, and allowing discomfort to pass on its own.

3) A personalized OCD map

Identifying likely triggers, compulsions, and early warning signs—before they show up on the mission.

4) A simple response plan

What to do when intrusive thoughts appear. Who to talk to. What helps—and what accidentally feeds OCD.

5) Family coaching

Parents often want to help by reassuring or problem-solving. With OCD, reassurance can backfire. Learning supportive, non-reinforcing responses protects both the missionary and the relationship.

A word directly to future missionaries

Preparing your mental health is not a lack of faith. It’s stewardship.

Learning how your brain responds to stress—and how to respond skillfully in return—can protect your peace and your purpose. Many missionaries who prepare this way say it helps them:

• Feel more grounded

• Avoid unnecessary suffering

• Recognize OCD early instead of spiraling

• Focus on connection and service rather than constant self-monitoring

A word to parents

If your child is serving earlier because of the December 2025 age change, it’s okay to pause and ask, “Do we have the right supports in place?” That question reflects love, not doubt.

Supporting preparation now can prevent crisis later—and can make missionary service a time of growth rather than fear.

The bottom line

The new mission age change opens beautiful opportunities. It also brings missionary service into a developmentally sensitive season when stress, uncertainty, and responsibility are naturally higher—the very conditions that can awaken OCD in those who are vulnerable.

Start OCD Treatment in Provo, UT

With awareness, education, and a small amount of proactive support, missionaries can serve earlier and serve well—grounded in faith, equipped with skills, and free to focus on what truly matters.

If you’d like help creating a pre-mission OCD readiness plan—for a missionary or for your family—short-term, targeted support can make all the difference. You can start your therapy journey with Mountain Home Center for Religious and Moral OCD by following these simple steps:

• Reach out through our contact page or directly at claire@mountainhomeocd.com. 

• Meet with a compassionate OCD therapist.

• Start finding lasting support for you and your missionary!

Other Services Offered with Mountain Home Center for Religious and Moral OCD

At Mountain Home Center, I provide more than just support for religious OCD. My evidence-based therapy services, including SPACE treatment, help individuals navigate a variety of challenges, including OCD-related struggles, anxiety disorders, and difficulties in relationships. I recognize the unique experiences of Latter-day Saints and others seeking faith-compatible care, offering a compassionate and tailored approach to treatment. Whether you or a loved one is managing scrupulosity, relationship OCD, or general anxiety, I am here to support you in finding balance and peace. My goal is to help you achieve lasting mental well-being while honoring your values and spiritual foundation.