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How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 29, 2015 at 11:06 pm
(This post was last modified: May 29, 2015 at 11:11 pm by IanHulett.)
So, today, I went to the hospital for an evaluation because I have been suffering from suicidal feelings. I was discharged on the grounds that I wasn't currently a danger to myself. After leaving, I decided to visit my grandparents. When I told my grand mother what happened, she started to bring atheism into question, implying that atheism is the culprit. Luckily my grandfather was there to tell her to drop it, to not go there. But already knowing what she was going to say, I explained to her atheism had nothing to do with these feelings, because these feelings have been occurring off and on for about 8 months, well before my deconversion.
To any religious folks reading this: If you are related to an atheist who is suffering emotionally, and is battling depression/suicidal tendencies, please don't do this. It's one thing to pray for them in private, but please don't take advantage of their suffering and use it as a way to convert them. Instead, offer support. Let them know you'll always be there. Talk to them. Show them that you care. Let them know they can trust you. That will do a lot more than trying to convert them. I understand that you have good intentions, but blaming atheism for their problems isn't the best way to show it. I know not every religious person does this, but in case there are any religious folks who do, I thought this would be useful for them.
Also, this isn't just in favor of atheists but ANYBODY who's suffering.
If pinkie pie isn't real, then how do you explain the existence of ponies, huh? If ponies are real, then that's proof that Pinkie Pie is real. Checkmate, christians! 
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Let's stop fighting and and start smiling! This is our one and only life to live... let's be friends and live it with smiles! 
-- Book of Pinkie Pie 7:3
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 29, 2015 at 11:44 pm
I'm really sorry you're having a hard time. If you ever need to talk, my inbox is always open. *hugs*
(August 21, 2017 at 11:31 pm)KevinM1 Wrote: "I'm not a troll"
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Hammy Wrote:and we also have a sheep on our bed underneath as well
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 12:29 am
Ian, same goes here. I am a really good sounding board, if nothing else. I'm sorry your grandmother tried to use this moment as an "in." Hope you're feeling better.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 12:54 am
If Losty's box is open you better get some while you can.
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 1:08 am
However it may seem this is a weird Christer way of saying they care about you, well atleast sometimes it is, and in the case of you grandma I'd like to think so. Remember that
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 1:47 am
(May 30, 2015 at 12:54 am)KUSA Wrote: If Losty's box is open you better get some while you can.
I wish.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 4:29 am
No method is too tawdry for a True Believer.
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 5:24 am
I'm very sorry to hear how you are feeling Ian, I can totally sympathize  You're always welcome to message me too.
I agree it is insulting and opportunistic to try and utilize someone's misery to try and score points, make converts and take cheap shots at atheism. If we're being charitable we may say they know no better and are actually trying to help. But they need to learn that it really isn't helpful at all.
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 7:38 am
I am sorry, Ian. My son was just recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It is hard knowing a loved one is struggling with depression, but it must be even worse being the person with depression. If you need help, you can pm me also.
People have a lot of misconceptions about mental illness. Many people act as though being depressed is a lack of willpower. It isn't. I linked to an article about a Harvard study that discusses the complex way chemicals in the brain and your genetics play in depression. Maybe you could explain to your grandmother the causes of depression so she will understand it better.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-m...depression
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RE: How, and how NOT to help a suffering atheist...
May 30, 2015 at 11:36 am
Ian,
First off I am so sorry you are dealing with this right now. Please remember it is only temporary. It may not seem like it now but coming from a guy who has been hospitalized too many times there IS light at the end of the tunnel.
Second, you are absolutely correct. Depression has nothing to do with atheism. I was diagnosed bipolar when I was a christian and all of my depressive episodes were as a christian. The nice thing right now for you is that you don't have to worry about god helping you, you can do the things to get healthy yourself, and you can!.
As the others have said, PM me anytime 
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