Atheism Doen't Equal Depression

[Ashground]

When I was depressed in my teens I was an agnostic and when I became an atheist (over the period of a few weeks) at 18 my depression evaporated completely. Just to be clear I'm not saying atheism cured me, I didn't shout, "Hallelujah! Richard Dawkins has performed a miracle!". But it was such a profound shift in how I viewed myself, the world and life that I felt freed emotionally. I made peace with myself and became more emotionally content than I had believed possible. My new self-acceptance gave me self-confidence.

I'm not surprised some religious people credit their faith for their happiness. Maybe strong belief in something else makes them feel that they have permission to believe (Literally have confidence) in themselves. In this manner someone with poor self-acceptance can have self-confidence. But this is just my hypothesis, I have no proof.

Also, it occurred to me later that if I had been exposed only to theists my worldview could have been so different that I may have become a believer. The realization of the accident of geography led me to be a firm advocate of live and let live on the matter of personal belief. (Although I hereby reserve the right to mock and criticize anyone ad nauseam)