hi,

I can relate to your family not understanding. My family has a hard time understanding that when my depression hits, I can't just "snap out of it". Willpower doesn't count when you have an illness that steals it away, but apparently that's just an excuse for me to be lazy and not pull my weight when I'm at home. I have a very big family and my household pretty much runs under the pretense that everyone pulls their weight (which they don't, I generally do MORE than I'm expected and when I let anything go for two seconds, I get in trouble...). Anyways, my point is that families are difficult. Add depression into the mix and they can be downright unbearable!

I'm not sure what to tell you about the religious aspect of things, but I do hope that you don't take what your family is telling you to heart. Although they're your family, they're still just ordinary people like you and me, and they have no more right than I do to judge you for your religious or sexual preferences. You are your own person, and you are free to make your own choices and decisions in life. Have you tried to sit down and explain things to them? Maybe they don't realize they're making things tough on you? If you have tried talking to them, try to remember that not everyone is going to understand something as complicated as depression, and keep reminding yourself that you don't have to accept the judgements of people who can't/won't understand what you're going through.

I hope things get a little easier for you soon. Take care.