RE: Depressed from dropping religion
November 18, 2013 at 7:01 pm
(This post was last modified: November 18, 2013 at 7:03 pm by Walking Void.)
Ring0 Wrote:Since I became an agnostic, I've felt a huge hole in my life occur. When I came out about it to my parents my dad didn't care but my mom is depressed now. I feel like this is all my fault and that I've failed my parents. I also feel like I have no one to go to to talk about my problems... Most of my friends are agnostic or atheists, but I always grew up with that supernatural prayer thing that kept me sane for awhile. I realized that it's highly unlikely for a God to exist and all that stuff... But what should I do to ease the stress?
Well first of all, changing your mental attitude from religious theist to agnostic-nontheist is not supposed to be based on your own emotions. You became depressed after considering agnosticism, and maybe You expected too much, and when the load came bearing on You from your parents, You did not handle it logically but emotionally. You need to discuss this sort of thing rationally with your parents. Explain to them why and how You think the way You currently are. Reinforce the fact that You are not trying to "convert" them as You explain your thought process, because an agnostic thought process is not pro-theism. But if your dad as You say does not care, You do not need to reach any mutual understandings with him.
Uproot the underlying reasons for the conflict between You and your mom. Find out what about agnosticism or atheism is causing her stress. If it can be researched, show her the information that will break any false claims. Remove the sources of stress. If the issue is that of "hell", show her the cultural diversity across the globe and how obscure it would be to know if "christianity" was the religion that would truly damn You.
