Is pre-occupation of religion a neurotic behavior?

[2Dbunk]

Not being a trained psychologist ( I did have 3 or 4 credits of psychology in college which makes me a pseudo-expert), I have only myself as an observed case.


I was obsessive compulsive until I was 25. I suffered "bi-polar" disorder thru my early twenties. I considered suicide on numerous occasions, attempting it twice (my mother -- also bi-polar -- succeeded in doing it at the age of 67). Happiness was a rare blip on an otherwise low flat line ordinate. But I made it into college, "you think too much," as my fellow Marine reservists diagnosed.


There's no mystery why I took that course in psychology -- I wanted to figure myself out. And it helped to get me headed in a more positive direction, taking advantage of the thinking of the mentalist sages. It took another half-dozen years to shake off my mind's cobwebs, but when I did, voila I began to see clearly for the first time.


Before that time, I was as religious as they came. But no matter how hard I prayed, nothing came of it. I began to see the folly of it all in my reading of world history and biographies of famous people. Eventually, 51 years ago, I took my examination for professional certification and as a test I vowed not to pray for it but to study my arse off. I passed the examination on the first try -- and I've never looked back. Today, unhappiness to me is a rare low blip on a flat-line of high-ordinate value.


So in my early years, neuroticism kept me from seeing through the fog produced by religion. Or was it that religion kept me from seeing through the fog of my neuroticism? Which is it?

[Jagella]

So in my early years, neuroticism kept me from seeing through the fog produced by religion. Or was it that religion kept me from seeing through the fog of my neuroticism? Which is it?

I'm really glad you started this thread. It's very important that people know what religion can do to people emotionally. I was terrorized by my Christian mother who physically abused me only to follow it up by inflicting emotional abuse on me with her crazed superstition of an angry god, a devil, and a hell. It drove me to attempt suicide.

Anyway, to answer your question, I've recently asked: does religion make people crazy, or do crazy people make religion? It's very possible that in your case your neuroticism may have been masked by your religion which is to say you may have mistakenly believed your neuroticism was the effect of your religion. On the other hand, your religion may have caused your neuroticism. I'm convinced that religion can cause emotional illness. It sure did with me! It made me paranoid.

I just wish mental health professionals would do their jobs and start to tell people that religion is harmful for them emotionally. They must know that religion is harmful. Maybe they're afraid of the backlash if they tell people the truth.

[bjs]

Not being a trained psychologist ( I did have 3 or 4 credits of psychology in college which makes me a pseudo-expert).

It really doesn’t.

I was obsessive compulsive until I was 25. I suffered "bi-polar" disorder thru my early twenties. I considered suicide on numerous occasions, attempting it twice (my mother -- also bi-polar -- succeeded in doing it at the age of 67). Happiness was a rare blip on an otherwise low flat line ordinate.

My deepest sympathies. Bi-polar is a painful and frustrating condition, though there have been great advancements in medication and treatment over the past decade.

There's no mystery why I took that course in psychology -- I wanted to figure myself out. And it helped to get me headed in a more positive direction, taking advantage of the thinking of the mentalist sages. It took another half-dozen years to shake off my mind's cobwebs, but when I did, voila I began to see clearly for the first time.

To be clear, you are saying that you were diagnosed with bi-polar by a professional and this not a self-diagnosis, correct?

Before that time, I was as religious as they came. But no matter how hard I prayed, nothing came of it. I began to see the folly of it all in my reading of world history and biographies of famous people. Eventually, 51 years ago, I took my examination for professional certification and as a test I vowed not to pray for it but to study my arse off. I passed the examination on the first try -- and I've never looked back. Today, unhappiness to me is a rare low blip on a flat-line of high-ordinate value.


So in my early years, neuroticism kept me from seeing through the fog produced by religion. Or was it that religion kept me from seeing through the fog of my neuroticism? Which is it?

Obviously I don’t know your life but, if I may be so bold, what you have described here is not someone whose religion prevented him from see through his neuroticism, but rather someone whose mental health issues prevented him from experiencing genuine religious faith.

[William]

[Replying to post 1 by 2Dbunk]

Hi 2Dbunk

Thank You for creating this thread and sharing your particular prose.

#Appreciated.
#Inspired.

To the best of my knowledge, thought of suicide did not factor into my reality until I became strongly religious.

Suicide does not run in my immediate biological family, and I have learned how to control its temptation-through-hopelessness by also recognizing where the feelings of hopelessness were sourced, and dealing with that source proactively.

This required - among other things, trips to the mental institutions and even briefly, meds!

Talks with professionals were helpful and I learned a lot from that.

I still remember, in art therapy, I was asked to draw something which I could present to the group as a description of how I felt about myself at the time, and I drew an incomplete Rubik Cube and explained that it represented how I felt I was mixed up but also in the process of being eventually completed.

Having recognized organised religions role as being major trigger source of my mental unwellness, it became a matter of uncovering what aspects of organized religion were responsible for these emotional upheavals and separating those from the mix.

The rest of my life up to the present has largely been involved in that separating process.

What organised religion had done was to uncover the ways of the world in order for me to view said world in another light, one in which I instinctively knew at a deeper level but was incapable of deciphering in any coherent manner. I intuited the world was doing things very wrongly, but was unable to understand exactly what that was or why it was.

The mental instability triggers came through the realization that organised religion - telling me stuff about the world - was actually no different in regard to that. Seeing the hypocrisy quickly lead to my falling into depression.

However, I did not see atheism as any better answer and so - while I left organised Theism, I did not find it necessary to fill that gap by joining organised non-Theism.

This because, from the go-get, I did not give my life's energy to organised religion, but to GOD. So finishing with organised religion for me, did not entail finishing with GOD.

Peeling back the 'layers of deception' < a polite way of expressing the process > I moved on with my relationship with GOD, which proved not to require organised religion even to the casting aside of the doctrines and dogmas which are designed to limit ones relationship with GOD under the pretense that it was the instrument of GOD, to assist one with ones relationship with GOD.

Thus I had the freedom to explore - even that it has been a bumpy ride - the relationship grew from strength to strength. Neuroticism hasn't been a major problem for me and my decision to leave the trappings of organised religion behind and carry on with my relationship with GOD was helpful in that. Anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness are things of the past which I healed from because of my relationship with GOD.

It turns out I did not require the harmful meds and the mental health professionals, themselves being limited within the structure of their organised professions -while somewhat helpful - simply couldn't do the job required to make sure my healing was completely successful. Medications were their best answer to that. To me that was not good enough.

One of the major devices I discovered which helped me tremendously with that need to go deep into my psyche and honestly evaluate my SELF, <introspection> was something of an 'accident', as in desperation I sought help from 'the dead' because 'the living' proved to have had nothing substantial to offer.

So I designed something based upon ideomotor effect (which at the time I knew nothing about) or as it is more commonly known as "Ouija" (something organised religion has helped to demonize while non-Theists generally treat as insignificant or peripheral) but specifically I approached the whole idea as an aspect of healing from what organised religion and secularism had me believe, through finding out for myself the truth of the matter.

In doing so I 'accidentally' discovered how such device used correctly can assist in helping one heal from mental trauma - it proved undoubtedly to be the best self analytical tool in helping to heal through sorting ones emotional baggage and finding stability in self appreciation, and subsequent appreciation for situation and purpose - all without even having to place aside my relationship with GOD - indeed, that too, was strengthened through the process.

So in my early years, neuroticism kept me from seeing through the fog produced by religion. Or was it that religion kept me from seeing through the fog of my neuroticism? Which is it?

Each of us decides (or ignores) what it is that prevents us or assists us in our mental stability.

If - in reading what I wrote above - one has any kind of triggered issue with my expression "Relationship with GOD", or even for that matter, my use of ideomotor effect as a tool of psychiatry, then I would suggest that one has not completely healed of ones metal afflictions, and there is still work to do, deep down, in there.

Here is a picture of the first device I created for use in relation to the ideomotor effect, although initially it was much more simplistic - the symbolism was added as advised through the communication process which evolved through its use.

I also created more of these devices, again, in response to the directive of the interactive communion I was involved with.. .

[2Dbunk]

[Replying to post 2 by Jagella]

Thank you for your kind words.

To be clear, I was never prescribed any medication by the shrinks that I visited (other than lithium, I don't think any existed at that time -- alcohol was my choice of temporary escape).


I found Karen Horney's book "Self-Analysis" especially helpful. So to answer questions as to where my diagnosis came from, I pretty much deduced it myself (one experiencing bi-polarity is well aware of the roller coaster of ups and downs of the condition that my mother, and I suffered).


I offer my information as an alternative to the religious proselytizing in these forums that leave many seeking answers confused.

[Jagella]

Obviously I don’t know your life but, if I may be so bold, what you have described here is not someone whose religion prevented him from see through his neuroticism, but rather someone whose mental health issues prevented him from experiencing genuine religious faith.

If I may be so bold, what he described is that his thinking freed him from religion. I'm always very happy when anybody escapes Christianity to be forever free.

[Jagella]

I offer my information as an alternative to the religious proselytizing in these forums that leave many seeking answers confused.

Please continue to speak out. I don't want people to be hurt any more by religion. The more we raise awareness about the mental illness that can be caused by religion, the sooner people can get help.

[Tcg]

Obviously I don’t know your life...

Yes, that is obviously true. Just as obviously true then is that your conclusion isn't based on 2Dbunk or 2Dbunk's life.


One can only wonder then what would cause you to defend religion rather than recognize the damage it can cause and has caused.



Tcg

[bjs]

[Replying to post 8 by Tcg]

[Replying to 2Dbunk]

[Replying to post 6 by Jagella]

I have to ask: Are you folks being serious at this point? Do you genuinely believe that the Christian faith, as I is practiced by 99.99% of the people who call themselves Christians, genuinely causes mental illness? Even three or four college credits in psychology should have taught you that this is not how mental illness works.

If this is just another exaggerated version “I don’t like religion� then fine, you are free to your hatred. But if you are being serious then you should really consider educating yourself on what mental illness is, how it affects people, and what we understand about its actual causes.

[Tcg]

[Replying to post 9 by bjs]


You've titled this in part as a response to my post 8. Odd, given that it doesn't address anything I stated.



Tcg