[hartford19]

I expect to be diagnossed with Pure O soon. Something is deffinately wrong so if it's not that then it must be something. Anyway, my husband thinks my issues are just denomic spirits tormenting me and that prayer will chase it away. We tried that and it worked for about a week. Then it all came back that much worse. How do you picture God having His hand in what you are going through? It's hard for me to remember Him or give Him credit when help is coming from therapists. How do you wrap your mind around this?

Hey. What is 'Pure O'?

Understanding how it is that God lets people have things like physical illness and mental illness can be hard...

One way of seeing it is something along the lines of 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger'. Some of the most empathetic and helpful people I've met are people who have heightened empathy and knowledge in virtue of having been through hard times themself. If they hadn't been through those hard times then maybe they would't have developed such empathy and knowledge...

But that being said, it really can be hard and I'm sorry you are suffering so much right now.

I think that one way to view it is that God has given us much so that our time through it can be a little easier. He gave us reason which gave us science which gave us drugs and therapies etc. I think that it is possible to picture God as helping us by placing other people in our lives who can help us such as therapists and stuff like that.

So...

Maybe he helps indirectly...

[AlteredState01]

"Pure O?" Never heard of that, either. What does it mean?

Altered State

[hartford19]

Pure O is "Obsessional OCD". I don't have the compulsions, just the obsessing.

[nothemama8]

my belief is, that we are given these dx's to help teach others how to live with them, who better to teach than us

[alphamicky]

Serious mental illnesses are diseases of the brain that cause disturbances in a person's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others. They can diminish a person's capacity for coping with the regular demands of ordinary life and can place tremendous burdens on family members and loved ones.

Unfortunately, both ignorance and fear continue to play leading roles in perpetuating the stigma that those with these no-fault brain disorders face. This stigma leads to underfunding of government programs for public mental health services, discrimination by insurance companies, lack of appropriate housing and employment options, and pervasive media portrayals of persons with mental illnesses as violent, dangerous, or hopeless.

And yet, mental illnesses do not discriminate. These disorders affect people of every race, ethnic heritage, gender, language, age, and religious orientation. According to the U.S Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), at any given moment more than 48 million Americans are suffering from a "diagnosable" mental illness, and 11 million are suffering from a "severe" mental illness.

Persons with mental illnesses are our neighbors, our coworkers, our siblings, our friends. They are even members of our churches, synagogues, and other faith communities.

Religious communities are in a unique position to combat stigma and provide a message of acceptance and hope. Proclaiming the values of social justice, respect for all persons, and non-discrimination, faith communities can reach out to individuals and families affected by mental illness in many helpful ways. Sharing the message that all persons are worthy in the eyes of God, a faith community may be the only place where a person with a mental illness truly feels accepted, valued, and loved.

For people who find no other welcome in the larger community, being welcomed in a house of prayer by a concerned and caring community (Like Psych central) can make a critical difference for consumers with mental illnesses and their families. Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship can spread the message that serious mental illnesses are "diseases of the brain" and help families understand that "it's not their fault." They can open their doors and their hearts to consumers and be a supportive presence in their on-going recovery.

[FaithisAlive]

Ephesians6:10-20 talks about how we need to put on the whole armor of God... that we go up against principalities and powers....

When I first was dx's with a disabling illness, I sunk myself in the book of Job ( who became my hero).... God is not the one who tests us and puts things upon us.. it is satan.... as a test of our faith in God....

I can't understand everything either but I do know in my heart that God is a loving God and He wants us to be healthy and happy and sometimes that just isn't possible...for whatever reason He allows things to happen and we must remain faithful....

Psalm138:7.... "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies.. and Your right hand will save me"

David the Psalmist had faith even in the midst of hiding from his enemies.. those who sought to kill him... read in Psalms about his faith. it is inspirational.

Stay strong hun... God will deliver you in His time... I will be praying for you...Faith

[SeptemberMorn]

Mental Illness is part of the human condition just like any other illness. All illnesses, among other things, were brought on by original sin in the Garden of Eden. In my personal experience, God meets us in our weaknesses. When we are weak, He is strong. To me, that sums it all up.

In the days of Jesus, the mentally ill were thought to be afflicted with evil spirits and that thought was carried through until today. But science has shown us that a mental illness can no longer be called an "evil spirit." Granted, I believe in demon possession, but that's a "whole nuther story."

God has given us science and those who study it as a resource to be used by us. Much progress has been made in the area of Mental Illness. It's up to us to avail ourselves of such a wonderful gift. If is hadn't been for science, medicine AND my faith in God, I wouldn't be here to tell you about it.

Faith is a wonderful thing! And just imagine! Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains! I've moved a few in my day and didn't realize I was doing it until suddenly one day, the mountain wasn't there anymore or it was the size of a molehill.

[(JD)]

I believe that God uses professionals to help us. (Remember the story of the flood and the guy on the rooftop???)

There are many Ts who have a strong faith. There are many church counselors that are following God's will, imo, by providing wise counsel to others.

There doesn't have to be a conflict, if you find a T who has a basis of faith the same as you do. I KNOW my T prays before session even though I'm not there. I know he also prays for me and my healing path. Yet, we do not spend any real time discussing our Christian beliefs with each other, we have them and that's what is important.

TC

[SeptemberMorn]

Sky, maybe you and I have different experiences. Whenever I've gone to a minister for psychological help, they have failed me miserably... one dismissed me by saying "pray about it" and including help for my daughter when she was physically abusing her oldest boy. The minister saw NOTHING wrong with her smacking his bare legs with a long glue stick!! A church oriented parenting group had actually done EXPERIMENTS ON THEIR KIDS to see what would hurt them the most without leaving bruises! My first grandson was one of the experiments!!! OMG!!

............

To me, there is nothing better than a PSYCHOLOGIST that is Christian. Ministers don't have a decent study in psychology... just enough to make then dangerous!... IMHO

[(JD)]

No, I think we're both on the same page September. I didn't say they were all good counselors And yes, I know first hand how inadequate many of them are. I wrote one of my degree theses on something to help them better utilize parts of the Bible for REAL counseling.

Up until the last few years, there was NO training of ministers of psychological counseling methods. So all of the real old time preachers are running with Bible sense only..which at times can be limited. Many fundamentalist ministers also tend to give that "just" pray about it...or "just" trust God, imo. Those ministers who also aren't really sure how to help lean on that heavily also, imo.

But then, you know, not all ministers do all things. A good preacher might not be very socialable nor much of a "pastor." A good pastor (one who is terrific in visiting and caring etc) might not be the best pulpit guy. (or, er gal I guess nowdays )

But the two do not have to be separate, that's what I meant. Psychology and Spirituality go hand in hand.

[alphamicky]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
_Sky said:
I believe that God uses professionals to help us. (Remember the story of the flood and the guy on the rooftop???)

There are many Ts who have a strong faith. There are many church counselors that are following God's will, imo, by providing wise counsel to others.

There doesn't have to be a conflict, if you find a T who has a basis of faith the same as you do. I KNOW my T prays before session even though I'm not there. I know he also prays for me and my healing path. Yet, we do not spend any real time discussing our Christian beliefs with each other, we have them and that's what is important.

TC

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Sky, you need to hang on to that my friend (I know that we aren't friends because we don't know each other yet, but I like to say that to people I think I like(another subject...lol)). It is a blessing in disguise. Not many people get to share that with their 'T'.

[SeptemberMorn]

Oooh, ok! Now I get it! Yeah, the "Revs" that told me to "pray about it" were fundamentalists. One even told me that jazz music is demonic and to clean my house of it. I don't like it much, but come on! Give me a break! LOL

The one that didn't understand how my daughter was abusing my grandson, I thought was quite progressive! EEESH! No! I don't think so! BTW, that's the last church I attended, back... oh... 10 yrs ago. My faith has increased 100 fold since then!

[AlteredState01]

If we were always strong enough within ourselves to always act perfectly in every situation, then we would never really need His help.

And I have experienced God spirit flow through me the strongest when I am at my weakest moments.

Such an awesome thing to be made aware of - so uplifting and faith enhancing!

[JustAPixie]

People are made up of three parts... as you well know, and an illness, especially a mental illness affects us in total. You can't just heal the physical side and neglect your spirit or your mind, and also you can't just heal your spirit and not your body.

Treat yourself in total, ie, meds for the body, therapy for the soul and prayer for the spirit!!! So many people in the Church have hurt others by only focusing on the spiritual side of the problem...

[SeptemberMorn]

Tanya,

[AlteredState01]

Good point!