How I feel about my atheism and why I'd encourage religion

[Confused Ape]

What condescending nonsense. So instead, we should encourage the depressed person to continue suppressing their intellectual faculties despite the fact that their imaginary friend "GOD" has failed to see them through the depression? At some point we should be honest with them, ya know since we usually appreciate others who are honest with us, and say, "Look, maybe God isn't working to heal your depression because God isn't real. But once you own up to the facts of reality, including why you're depressed, then maybe you can find the real root of your issues and deal with them."

I think it depends on the individual person and what they expect from God. If someone just asks God to cure them while refusing medication and therapy it's not going to be useful.

Therapy and medication don't work in five minutes, though. I know this for a fact from when I was depressed because I was given an anti-depressant and told it could take up to 2 weeks before it had any effect. If someone asks God to give them the strength to get through each day until the medication starts working it might be useful as a placebo.

[Whateverist]

I have chronic depression and I feel that since this is the only life of enjoyment you have and pleasure is the very reason we live, depression is what takes away this only life of enjoyment you have. Since this is the only life of enjoyment you have, I feel that this life should be fully enjoyed (perfect) in the sense of there being no depression to hold any of your pleasure back. Of course, you could ignore any problems in your life (even a problem in this case that takes away your very reason of living) and choose to focus on the bit of pleasure and other things you already have in this life.

But take, for example, someone who has severe chronic depression that lasts their entire life and they can't hardly enjoy anything, just for this person to know that there is an afterlife in which they can experience full joy for all eternity would be of severe benefit and would severely benefit me in my case because not only would they experience full joy for all eternity, but this would also make up for everything that they lost in this life. The last thing that such a person would ever want to hear would be "make the best of this life" when they hardly even have this ability at all. Even that ability itself has been almost completely taken away by depression as well.

Sorry about your depression. It seemed, when I experienced that, like the comparisons sure didn't help. I found actually doing projects without expectation helpful. At some point, I decided not to be a whore for pleasure. No jumping through hoops in order to elicit some hoped for positive subjective state. Now of course there is medication so perhaps you needn't be prepared to throw the pursuit of pleasure away altogether. But for me, it was only when I let that go that it gradually came back.

[Mudhammam]

What condescending nonsense. So instead, we should encourage the depressed person to continue suppressing their intellectual faculties despite the fact that their imaginary friend "GOD" has failed to see them through the depression? At some point we should be honest with them, ya know since we usually appreciate others who are honest with us, and say, "Look, maybe God isn't working to heal your depression because God isn't real. But once you own up to the facts of reality, including why you're depressed, then maybe you can find the real root of your issues and deal with them."

I think it depends on the individual person and what they expect from God. If someone just asks God to cure them while refusing medication and therapy it's not going to be useful.

Therapy and medication don't work in five minutes, though. I know this for a fact from when I was depressed because I was given an anti-depressant and told it could take up to 2 weeks before it had any effect. If someone asks God to give them the strength to get through each day until the medication starts working it might be useful as a placebo.

I have a brother who has struggled with severe depression for over a decade. He's been in out and mental hospitals and I can attest that his committed religiosity in Jesus has done little to heal him, though he does claim that he would have probably killed himself if it wasn't for his faith.

And therein lies the problem. He doesn't accept that it has been HIS STRENGTH, HIS WILL TO SURVIVE because religion keeps the weak weak and the poor poor under the illusion that such a state is a blessing or a gift by God for his "mysterious purposes."

[archangle]

I think it depends on the individual person and what they expect from God. If someone just asks God to cure them while refusing medication and therapy it's not going to be useful.

Therapy and medication don't work in five minutes, though. I know this for a fact from when I was depressed because I was given an anti-depressant and told it could take up to 2 weeks before it had any effect. If someone asks God to give them the strength to get through each day until the medication starts working it might be useful as a placebo.

I have a brother who has struggled with severe depression for over a decade. He's been in out and mental hospitals and I can attest that his committed religiosity in Jesus has done little to heal him, though he does claim that he would have probably killed himself if it wasn't for his faith.

And therein lies the problem. He doesn't accept that it has been HIS STRENGTH, HIS WILL TO SURVIVE because religion keeps the weak weak and the poor poor under the illusion that such a state is a blessing or a gift by God for his "mysterious purposes."

agreed,

some should be allowed to jump instead of making the rest of us pay.