Christianity & Mental Illness

[Logic]

Hello,

I am new to this forum. I would just like to share my peculiar story concerning atheism and religious psychosis.

I am an atheist. As an individual who understands that logic is the absolute foundation and basis of reality, I just cannot see how an omnipotent supernatural deity could possibly exist, unless, of course, such a being could violate Aristotle's law of non-contradiction, in which case God could exist and not exist at the same time (obviously a ludicrous concept.)

Unfortunately, I suffer from two severe mental illnesses: psychotic melancholic depression and severe OCD. Although I am an atheist (scientific realist,) I have a religious psychosis, in which the Christian God of the Bible and Jesus are evil and want me to kill my parents. Obviously, I know that this is beyond absurd, but it disturbs nevertheless. I am able to ignore this ridiculous paranoia.

I believe that the basis for this mental illness is due to the fact that I was heavily indoctrinated into Christianity as a child. The primary school that I attended was obsessed with Christianity, and my grandmother was also quite a strong Christian. As a child, I simply assumed that Christianity was true.

Even now as a relatively hardcore atheist, Christianity still has a hold and power over me that I cannot seem to shift. It is clearly a complex issue that needs to be addressed in psychotherapy.

Can anybody relate to me? Maybe not with the mental illnesses, but more with the power Christianity has over you even though you're an atheist?

Cheers.

[coffeeveritas]

Hello,

I am new to this forum. I would just like to share my peculiar story concerning atheism and religious psychosis.

I am an atheist. As an individual who understands that logic is the absolute foundation and basis of reality, I just cannot see how an omnipotent supernatural deity could possibly exist, unless, of course, such a being could violate Aristotle's law of non-contradiction, in which case God could exist and not exist at the same time (obviously a ludicrous concept.)

Unfortunately, I suffer from two severe mental illnesses: psychotic melancholic depression and severe OCD. Although I am an atheist (scientific realist,) I have a religious psychosis, in which the Christian God of the Bible and Jesus are evil and want me to kill my parents. Obviously, I know that this is beyond absurd, but it disturbs nevertheless. I am able to ignore this ridiculous paranoia.

I believe that the basis for this mental illness is due to the fact that I was heavily indoctrinated into Christianity as a child. The primary school that I attended was obsessed with Christianity, and my grandmother was also quite a strong Christian. As a child, I simply assumed that Christianity was true.

Even now as a relatively hardcore atheist, Christianity still has a hold and power over me that I cannot seem to shift. It is clearly a complex issue that needs to be addressed in psychotherapy.

Can anybody relate to me? Maybe not with the mental illnesses, but more with the power Christianity has over you even though you're an atheist?

Cheers.

The Christian story has an enormous affect on many people. The archetypal imagery and basic appeal of the narrative leave a distinct impression, especially on children. Research has shown that certain aspects (hell, judgments, etc.) of the story can be told in ways that can significantly damage children and cause shame related illness, paranoid fear, and a host of other chronic mental health issues. As someone who was raised in a particularly bad church I still struggle with depression and anxiety tied to my experiences in the church. Leaving that church was a great step, but talking about my story with others, and taking steps to deal with my anxiety has been enormously helpful. Additionally I would recommend therapy from someone specializing in shame-related disorders and paranoid thinking, especially if they have worked in a religious context.

On a personal note I am sorry to hear that you have had that experience. It has been something that has been enormously negative in my own life, so I can only imagine the struggle you must face. I have been in recovery from mental illnesses I acquired in the church and my degree is in psychology, so please feel free to message me for anything. Thank you for sharing.

[Faith No More]

Actually, I can't relate to you on the power Christianity has over you, but I can relate to the mental illnesses. I suffer from severe depression, although the past two years I have learned to manage it quite well. I also used to suffer from social anxiety quite badly, but I have learned how to manage that as well.

One thing to remeber is that even though you see religious symbolism in your psychosis, religion is most likely not the cause, it's just what your psychosis manifests itself as. In other words, religion doesn't cause psychosis, but it can make existing psychosis extremely bad. You seem to have already recognized the difference between reality and your psychosis, and from what I know about these things, that is a huge step. Keep fighting the good fight, and remember to use the rational part of your brain as much as possible.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[Erinome]

Firstly, hello and welcome to the forums.

I was wondering, are you on any medications? If so, what are they? Not just for mental illness, but for anything. It's important because sometimes drugs can make such things worse.

Sounds like getting help from a psychotherapist is your best bet. I think it's odd that you're aware of your psychosis, as normally people aren't really aware of it. It's also important to have lots of different blood work done to make sure you're not unknowingly suffering from one of many medical issues that can cause psychosis as well. Also, an MRI would be a good idea.

[Minimalist]

Medication can be of help with the mental illness problems.


Unfortunately, there is no pill to deal with the symptoms of jesus-freakery.


See a doctor for the first and hang out here for help with the second.

Welcome, btw.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

I am an atheist. As an individual who understands that logic is the absolute foundation and basis of reality

Logic is only a tool,and has little to do with reality. "Logical" is not a synomym for "true". Nor is the Aristotelian logic we use the only form. EG Traditional Chinese logic is based on analogy,not deduction/induction.

I believe that the basis for this mental illness is due to the fact that I was heavily indoctrinated into Christianity as a child.

Most unlikely but I would be thrilled to see your empirical evidence.

The basics

The fundamental assumption behind the theory is that propositions are composed of two terms – hence the name "two-term theory" or "term logic" – and that the reasoning process is in turn built from propositions:
The term is a part of speech representing something, but which is not true or false in its own right, such as "man" or "mortal".
The proposition consists of two terms, in which one term (the "predicate") is "affirmed" or "denied" of the other (the "subject"), and which is capable of truth or falsity.
The syllogism is an inference in which one proposition (the "conclusion") follows of necessity from two others (the "premises").
A proposition may be universal or particular, and it may be affirmative or negative. Thus there are just four kinds of propositions:
A-type: Universal and affirmative or ("All men are mortal")
I-type: Particular and affirmative ("Some men are philosophers")
E-type: Universal and negative ("No men are immortal")
O-type: Particular and negative ("Some men are not philosophers").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotelean_logic

Welcome to to the forum. Your mental state is not all that unusual here, you'll fit right in. (really)

[KichigaiNeko]

[Logic]

Hello all,

Thank you for your friendly welcome messages. I think this an excellent forum! I love the software used (MyBB) also.

To answer your questions, I am on two psychiatric medications to treat my mental illnesses and I have also been referred by my psychiatrist to a psychologist for cognitive behavioural therapy. This is primarily due to the complex psychology related to the delusional/psychotic aspect of the melancholic depression. I have a tremendous level of self-awareness; when I am feeling psychotic, I am aware of the symptoms involved. Most of my psychotic symptoms are based around synchronicity.

I am a scientific realist, and I am certain that logic — primarily mathematical logic — explains the nature of reality. Padraic, I respectfully disagree with your notion that logic is merely a tool used by human beings; this is obviously arguable, but I disagree nevertheless. You cannot escape logic unless you stop thinking entirely. It seems likely that logic and reason are intrinsic qualities of human subjective consciousness. It appears that the entire workings of the universe, including the origin of the universe, can be explained using mathematics (theoretical physics.) Also, it appears that origin of life (abiogenesis) postulates can be explained using physics, chemistry and biology, which are all ultimately based on mathematics.

Cheers.

[Logic]

Hello again,

I think that I did not do the previous replies justice in my last response. I do not want to come across as dismissive and self-absorbed! I want to build a good rapport with fellow members of this forum. Furthermore, I am not really up to scratch with discussion forum politics, so that is something I will need to learn about.

Some excellent points have been made. I also believe that religions, particularly monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam, have an enormous impact on an individual's perception of reality, especially if children are heavily indoctrinated at a young age.

I am sorry to hear about all of the other individuals who have suffered from religious abuse and, indeed, mental illness. From my experience, severe depression is horrendous, so I can empathise with the pain that it causes. My mental health issues have had an enormous impact on my life, which is why I have made a concerted effort to realise "the truth" about everything.

Cheers.

[frankiej]

Welcome.