[OneInBillions]

I see that the site has a "Sanctuary for Spiritual Support." That's great, and I have nothing against people who need spirituality in their lives. But what about secular support? I've been wanting to post an article about Religious Trauma Syndrome and discuss the harmful effects that religion has had on my life... But I don't know which forum would be appropriate for that discussion.

I just think it's a bit one-sided to have a positive spiritual forum, but no negative spiritual forum. I suppose I am in a non-vocal minority but... I'm hoping this issue will get more support.

[Trembling Voice]

As far as I know, a person can be spiritual or even religious and still "secular". So I am wondering if the word "atheism" is a bad word on here? I am not an atheist myself, but it would be nice if there was a support place (not debates just support) where people can discuss how religion has negatively affected their lives and their mental health. plus, when a person stops believing in religion, they feel like they became more isolated "and this has everything to do with mental health". they need to feel that they are not alone.we are all humans.. I am not asking for anything, this is just my opinion.

[DocJohn]

You're right, we don't divide our topics by what caused you harm, but rather by the resulting disorder of the harm you suffered.

So if you're the victim of trauma and have an associated diagnosis of PTSD or abuse, you would post in one of those appropriate forums.

DocJohn

[(JD)]

I don't think we have any forum that is stated as "negative support".... and the whole rest of the site is "secular" support in general.

I hope you find a place to fit in.

[lizardlady]

Perhaps this social group would be what you are looking for?

http://forums.psychcentral.com/groups/skeptics.html

[shakespeare47]

Originally Posted by OneInBillions

I see that the site has a "Sanctuary for Spiritual Support." That's great, and I have nothing against people who need spirituality in their lives. But what about secular support? I've been wanting to post an article about Religious Trauma Syndrome and discuss the harmful effects that religion has had on my life... But I don't know which forum would be appropriate for that discussion.

I just think it's a bit one-sided to have a positive spiritual forum, but no negative spiritual forum. I suppose I am in a non-vocal minority but... I'm hoping this issue will get more support.

I'm not sure if you had any run-ins with fundamentalists, but you're welcome here as well.

[Yoda]

If there is interest in Muslim/Jewish/whatever then you can create a social group. I created one to discuss Buddhism because that is my interest. Once your group has 20 members (or 25, I forget) it is visible on the main page.

I think perhaps "Religious Trauma Syndrome" as you call it would more likely fall under the ptsd umbrella but by all means if you want to discuss living a secular life in a religious world you can create a group as long as it doesn't violate PC's TOS. Just keep in mind that PC's goal is to be supportive.

Best of luck.

[OneInBillions]

Originally Posted by DocJohn

You're right, we don't divide our topics by what caused you harm, but rather by the resulting disorder of the harm you suffered.

So if you're the victim of trauma and have an associated diagnosis of PTSD or abuse, you would post in one of those appropriate forums.

DocJohn

This is kind of a bummer because my psychiatrist neglected to diagnose any PTSD or abuse. Of course he's also part of the very religion that did so much harm in my life. When I told my therapist about my religious troubles he shrugged it off and quoted scripture to me. See the problem here?

Most religious people simply can't accept the notion that their beliefs can do more harm than good in a person's life, but it IS a fact, and one that I've struggled with for years.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by OneInBillions

This is kind of a bummer because my psychiatrist neglected to diagnose any PTSD or abuse. Of course he's also part of the very religion that did so much harm in my life. When I told my therapist about my religious troubles he shrugged it off and quoted scripture to me. See the problem here?

Most religious people simply can't accept the notion that their beliefs can do more harm than good in a person's life, but it IS a fact, and one that I've struggled with for years.

Not all religious therapists/pdocs are like that. Sorry you had a bad experience. When I did my TLC show they paid for a T to help me with the emotional trials of dealing with my hoarding and the stress of the show. He was associated with a church. As part of my intake we discussed would I like to use prayer in therapy and I told him I was not Buddhist but I found the concepts interesting and he said perhaps we could discuss the ideas of that spirituality that I found helpful and he was very open to different faiths or even no faith. People are different and some are more effective than others.

So I guess the question is how do you move on and deal with the needs you have now.

[DocJohn]

Sorry I wasn't clear in my response; you don't need a diagnosis to post in any forum. If you feel like you're suffering from something akin to PTSD or abuse, you're welcomed to post in that forum.

I'm not sure what religion it was, but there are support communities for "religion survivors" out there, such as:

Home - Christian Survivors Forums

Best,
DocJohn

There's Recovering From Religion - http://recoveringfromreligion.org/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/RecoveringFromReligion

I've found the secret/private Facebook group very supportive.

[shakespeare47]

Originally Posted by OneInBillions

This is kind of a bummer because my psychiatrist neglected to diagnose any PTSD or abuse. Of course he's also part of the very religion that did so much harm in my life. When I told my therapist about my religious troubles he shrugged it off and quoted scripture to me. See the problem here?

Most religious people simply can't accept the notion that their beliefs can do more harm than good in a person's life, but it IS a fact, and one that I've struggled with for years.

I absolutely see the problem and have had virtually the same experience with multiple counselors.

[shakespeare47]

Originally Posted by DocJohn

Sorry I wasn't clear in my response; you don't need a diagnosis to post in any forum. If you feel like you're suffering from something akin to PTSD or abuse, you're welcomed to post in that forum.

I'm not sure what religion it was, but there are support communities for "religion survivors" out there, such as:

Home - Christian Survivors Forums

Best,
DocJohn

I've had experience very similar to those of the OP, and I checked out the site above. It's run by Christians to help anyone who identifies as a survivor. They have pretty strict rules as to how one can talk about religion.

[OneInBillions]

I am actually a member of several other forums specifically for Ex-Mormons. I guess I'll stick to those for "non-spiritual support." I had hoped to find somewhere to post here, too, to reach a larger community and add to that support.

It feels a bit awkward because I believe that my depression and anxiety are directly linked to my experiences in Mormonism. But the Ex-Mormon sites usually aren't equipped to discuss depression/anxiety and the depression/anxiety sites aren't meant to deal with Mormonism!

[shakespeare47]

Originally Posted by OneInBillions

I am actually a member of several other forums specifically for Ex-Mormons. I guess I'll stick to those for "non-spiritual support." I had hoped to find somewhere to post here, too, to reach a larger community and add to that support.

It feels a bit awkward because I believe that my depression and anxiety are directly linked to my experiences in Mormonism. But the Ex-Mormon sites usually aren't equipped to discuss depression/anxiety and the depression/anxiety sites aren't meant to deal with Mormonism!

Do you see Mormonism as being cult-like? That was my experience with the fundamentalist church I grew up in. It had some cult-like qualities. An added burden is that it was an evangelical protestant church, and I got the feeling that because the T's I visited were also evangelicals, they were hesitant to accept that any evangelical protestant church could ever be harmful.

[sabby]

This thread is now being closed as the OP's question has been answered.

Thank you.