[8Green48]

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with panic disorder. I have been treated for this for a while. Now Im finding it is interfering with my spirituality. Im finding very difficult to pray. Has or does anyone else experience(d) this? Thank you for any replies.

Joe

[Piraeus]

Hey Joe. Welcome to PC. I'm no expert, but Panic Disorder will cause your brain to race.
The thoughts come and go really fast. I would suggest some meditation to calm you down first. I take Clonazapan when I start to panic. I should take it before, but I never know when it's going to happen.

I have trouble focusing when I pray as well. The racing thoughts are the problem. I just keep going back, and try to stay focused on my prayers.

Piraeus

[Maven]

I have panic disorder, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and I used to be very religious, and I, too, found my disorders interfering with my religious practices (such as praying). Mostly, I guess it was my OCD that interfered, but panic certainly did, too. I would feel like I had to say certain prayers or parts of prayers repeatedly, and yet I felt God wanted me to control it and only do it once. I didn't know if I should try to get it "perfect" or if I should just say it once and feel uncomfortable, and maybe that God actually wanted me to get it perfect and repeat it as necessary.

Over a couple of years, I had doubts and looked for answers, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't know if there's a God or not. That said, while I often defend atheists, I believe in the possibility of God and an afterlife; I just don't agree with any particular religion as to how it is.

[8Green48]

Thank you Maven!!! I having similar feelings. Thank you for taking the time for responding to me!!! I like your ducking scam!!!

[(JD)]

From my studies I have come to believe that where what we call "faith" is in the brain is very close to where disorders of the mental state are too... meaning that nearly everyone I talk in depth with who has a mental unwellness also has an issue believing even what they used to believe about God and love and faith and all that.

I like the phrase don't doubt in the dark what you knew to be true in the light. Making important decisions once you have mental issues is not the thing to be doing especially regarding your faith (or changing your faith.) That may be your disorder causing it and not what "YOU" really believe.

I believe that just like any purely (if there is such a thing) physical illness, emotional instabilities can cause changes in the body and mind (or soul). While the causes can be different (say, allergies versus irrational thinking) the results are similar: the body suffers.

Ok got to run...will check back later

[avlady]

I pray alot and alot of times too i have a hard time concentrating. I guess all we can do is the repetative stuff sometimes as a meditation practice and hopefully even though we don't think we're praying good enough, some type of relaxation can take place because of the almost mantra.

[redbandit]

Originally Posted by 8Green48

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with panic disorder. I have been treated for this for a while. Now Im finding it is interfering with my spirituality. Im finding very difficult to pray. Has or does anyone else experience(d) this? Thank you for any replies.

Joe

I understand exactly what you mean! I have bipolar disorder, and I feel like half of the time I love God sooo much, then the other half I feel like God has neglected me
Hang in there! It will get better!

[krisakira]

Originally Posted by 8Green48

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with panic disorder. I have been treated for this for a while. Now Im finding it is interfering with my spirituality. Im finding very difficult to pray. Has or does anyone else experience(d) this? Thank you for any replies.

Joe

I used to be very spiritual, and before I was diagnosed with panic disorder I had this delusion that I was possessed by demons because of a book I read and I felt "terror" and all these other emotions and feelings that they describe as demons being present or oppress/posessing a person. I would feel terror, like something bad was going to happen, sweating, heart palps, and it so scary and whenever I tried to pray, the feelings got WORSE. So I thought it was a spiritual problem. I thought demons were trying to stop me from praying.

Let this all go. It is a disorder of the brain. You aren't being attacked by anything negative. Your brain is playing tricks on you in the same way as it used to for me.

Also, I used to get my panic attacks very badly at church. My parents thought I was trying to get out of going to church cause I wasn't all into religion as they were, but i was having the worst panic attacks ever and no one listened to me!

Please, get help for your panic attacks, and this will go away eventually. You're not alone since I went through it too, but try not to overthink this into something spiritual when it is a brain disorder. Take care!

[(JD)]

Forming a "new" spirituality after trauma or disorder is not easy, but doable. While we seem to settle in (not necessarily okay) with the other changes we make in our life and chalked them up to the anxiety (or whatever disorder you may suffer) we fail to also apply that allowance to our faith.

Something changed.

We may not know exactly the how or why but it did. When a person of faith has this "change" in our mindset/emotional health/spirituality or whatever, it tends to really upset the foundation of our beliefs. We've never looked at how we believe or why we believe differently perhaps...we've never HAD to look at it differently; it just was.

It was easier to accept what "just was" and build on that. Then trauma or disorder comes into our lives and it's "WHOA! Where's God?" and "Why this?" and "Why that?"

Another note that might not fit here exactly, but I also believe that trauma memories are situated in the same general area as faith. (Did I say that before?) I haven't met anyone who has suffered a severe (well, any trauma is probably severe enough to gain the definition of trauma when you think about it) trauma that didn't also have some issue with faith (in God.)

The phrase I gave--don't doubt in the dark what you knew to be true in the light--is very important. While pliable depending upon what each individual's positive beliefs were prior to, the most important thing to remember is that it is us who changed, and not God.

In that respect, faith and spirituality take on a new look. Faith must truly become faith in the strictest sense of the word, because we no longer have that basic foundation of assurance of what we (used to) believe. Now we have to develop our spirituality and faith based upon well, what we believed about God prior to...

You are not alone, even among other earthbound people...

[waterknob1234]

8Green, hi, welcome to pc. I too have what I will call panic attacks at times. During these times I have trouble focusing or concentrating on prayer. I have crazy thoughts that get in the way. Or I have "panicky" prayers that wouldn't make sense to the average person. I believe God hears our prayers even if we can't get it right. He is all powerful and He knows our needs even if we can't express them just right, or focus or concentrate in our prayers. In my state of depression I sometimes feel God has forgotten me but I know this is not true. I know there is a reason beyond my understanding for the pain I feel and that in due time things will change for the better. I don't know if this helps, but best wishes.

[sabby]

Hi 8green48!

I don't suffer with a panic disorder, but I do have anxiety issues from time to time and a little PTSD mixed in for good measure.

I consider praying to be a conversation with God (or A God). As in many conversations, they sometimes get side-tracked or go off in another direction at times, no? I think the same thing can and does happen when we have our conversations with God.

I believe that he wants to know what we are thinking of, how we are feeling, what we have done or not done today, all that kind of stuff along with our usual prayers that we may have a ritual in saying.

I believe that God is very happy to hear from you for a minute, for a half hour, for any length of time each and every single day. It's your connection time with him and him with you.

My prayers or conversations often get side-tracked as something I'm praying about reminds me of something else so off I go on that subject. Sometimes I'm triggered by something I'm praying about and I can't go on with it or I become fearful from the trigger and my anxiety will kick in.

Sometimes when I pray, I end up falling asleep before I even finish saying what I want to say to God. Those are the times when I feel we are very close and he is giving me rest....exactly what he promises to give us.

Please don't worry that God isn't understanding what you are going through. He knows. He cares and he loves you exactly as you are. He knows your heart probably better than you do.

Wishing you well!

[glok]

Hello, Joe. Do you know why you are finding it difficult to pray? Why do you think the panic attacks are the cause of the difficulty?

I have thought a lot about God because of my own disorders. Sometimes, I wonder why an all-loving God does not provide relief in response to my prayers. I feel abandoned. I get angry with God.

It comes down to faith - whether to trust in God and in his actions and promises. If one has faith, trying to understand the why of our circumstances gives way to the belief that God is looking after us.

Despite my frailties, I plod on.