Lying for God

[Angrboda]

I find it disheartening that people think they need to be told how to practise a specific philosophy.  I actually spent ten years in a Buddhist sect that had a very specific (and time-intensive) daily ritual.  All the ritual did for me was make me feel anxious when I did not perform the prescribed activities, and frustrated by the time expenditure when I did do it.

I don't believe that the ritual itself helps; but rather the "entity" targeted with it.
God is an intelligent entity, according to my belief. With that in mind, the rituals are mere personal acts to fix the faith in the believer's mind.

In other words; the person uses it to strengthen their belief; if the belief itself is weak, the ritual turns into a set of moves like any sport.
Rituals are boring. Probably that's the cause of your negative feelings: you didn't believe in Buddhism strongly; didn't you?

Actually, depending on the specific ritual, neuroscience supports that certain physical rituals have an effect on brain chemistry independent of the nature of belief. And if one is including meditation among those rituals, I'd argue that goes double, as plenty of studies show benefit of secular meditation and mindfulness aside from studies involving religious practitioners which are more extensive.