[strive356]

The Holy Virgin Mary And Jesus were voices that were bothering me all day. It started when I signed up for mornings with Jesus daily devotionals. While some benefit for positive psychology, this just ruined my week. Religion has such a bad effect on me. I used to be a fundamentalist because I was crazy. I was always so strict. But now that I'm free the voices imprison me once again. I'm learning ways to stop psychosis in its tracks. I took an Ativan, but that is not recommended. Then I just took deep breaths and meditated until the Ativan calmed me down.
But the voices and the brain stimulation keeps returning.

[Skeezyks]

[neodoering]

Last November I participated in a mile-long march and candlelight vigil for those homeless who died in San Diego during the previous year. It was the San Diego Rescue Mission that sponsored the event. Each participant carried a pair of shoes that represented one homeless person who had died. There was a toe tag with the name of the deceased, their age, and how they died. Marlon Williams was my guy. 45 years old. Almost ten years younger than me. He was one of 115 homeless people who had died that year.

Outside the religious community, who would have remembered these lost people, or would have remanded their souls to God? Religion is not the enemy; fundamentalism is the enemy. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Come this November, I will join the march and vigil once again. I was homeless myself, due to SZA, for about 7 months, and I appreciate the hardships of having nothing and no one. These people suffer, and they grow sick, and they die. It is only decent to remember them, even if only on the events of their deaths.

[dwfieldjr]

Hi strive sorry things are going bad for you now. My mother has schizophrenia and when I was a kid/teenager she was very strict about everything like movies, video games, comic books, sex Ed you name it.

My mother and father would tell me things after coming home from church that would scare the crap out my sister and I. They would talk crazy about paranormal things and what not. The stuff they said to me made too scared to close my eyes at night when I went to bed.

My mother would hear voices and think it was God talking to her or the devil, she needed medication, but would never take it. Needed a Pdoc to, but those things were some kind of sin. She's living in a homeless shelter somewhere in Minnesota or North Dakota still refuses to get help.

I haven't talked to my parents in almost two decades. With everything that's happened when I was younger, has made it very hard through out my life to even look at a church. I always feel like there are a bunch of snobs in these places that want to judge me and put me down for some mistake I'm making in my life. I always go on the defense when christians start talking to me.

It's not good to be like that I know and a lot of christians are very nice caring people. Idk....Jesus is there for you though I believe he's there for me. Sometimes people see things happening weather it be good or bad and think it's God doing this that or the other, when it's really just people doing these things...we all have free will

Am I making any sense? We're all human and no one is perfect. I feel like I can relate to you that's why I commented I wanted to say something to you when I saw your post.

((((HUGS))))

[still_crazy]

Before I start, lemme just say that I'm a Christian. When I was down-and-out, only the "Holy Rollers" (Pentecostals) would help me. Not only am I grateful, I'm now Born Again myself, so I "get" where they were coming from.

Now...one can be mentally ill and be saved. I have a diagnosis of Bipolar I and I've been Born Again for 4 years now. Our God is a God of order, not confusion. To that end, carefully selected and appropriately dosed psych drugs can be helpful for some people, for a season.

Jesus cares about you. Church people...well, a lot of them are judgmental and cruel. I've been on the receiving end of that, and its not fun. Like I wrote above though, only the Pentecostals would help when I was at my worst, so "church people" are a mixed bag. There's great Christians, horrible "Christians," and plenty of struggling in between Christians.

Please don't let your psych problems scare you off Christianity, is basically what I'm trying to say. I also think you might want to see about talking to someone about the content of your hallucinations and such. For me, talking to a counselor and a close friend about things I hear now and then has helped me figure my problems out and has also made my "Bipolar I" a lot more manageable.

I hope things get better for you.

[strive356]

Thanks . That was really helpful

Religion will destroy the world. We need a massive, world wide event to wipe the earth of its evil. Every person whose ever abused me was religious. Coincidentally or by design? I know the answer. We will continue to kill each other until the morbid fairytale is exposed for the mind controlling egocentric nonsense it really is. The book writers were either liars or mentally ill. Saying it does some good is like saying a mob boss who murders many is good because they treat their kids and wife ok. Religion does no good....people do good. If they need the threat of hell fire to do good, it's not really good to begin with. Being religious does not equate goodness in any form or fashion and I'm sick of that implication being spread like a contagion, infecting the mind of innocent young people and the suffering. It's harmful, ignorant and f'ing shameful.

The truth about religion! They can come at me all they want but here is the truth for anyone who cares about such things.

The Problem With Faith: 11 Ways Religion Is Destroying Humanity

[strive356]

Originally Posted by neodoering

Last November I participated in a mile-long march and candlelight vigil for those homeless who died in San Diego during the previous year. It was the San Diego Rescue Mission that sponsored the event. Each participant carried a pair of shoes that represented one homeless person who had died. There was a toe tag with the name of the deceased, their age, and how they died. Marlon Williams was my guy. 45 years old. Almost ten years younger than me. He was one of 115 homeless people who had died that year.

Outside the religious community, who would have remembered these lost people, or would have remanded their souls to God? Religion is not the enemy; fundamentalism is the enemy. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Come this November, I will join the march and vigil once again. I was homeless myself, due to SZA, for about 7 months, and I appreciate the hardships of having nothing and no one. These people suffer, and they grow sick, and they die. It is only decent to remember them, even if only on the events of their deaths.

True, religion can give meaning to people who have utterly lost hope. I'm just saying my mental illness doesn't mix well with it.

[strive356]

Originally Posted by dwfieldjr

Hi strive sorry things are going bad for you now. My mother has schizophrenia and when I was a kid/teenager she was very strict about everything like movies, video games, comic books, sex Ed you name it.

My mother and father would tell me things after coming home from church that would scare the crap out my sister and I. They would talk crazy about paranormal things and what not. The stuff they said to me made too scared to close my eyes at night when I went to bed.

My mother would hear voices and think it was God talking to her or the devil, she needed medication, but would never take it. Needed a Pdoc to, but those things were some kind of sin. She's living in a homeless shelter somewhere in Minnesota or North Dakota still refuses to get help.

I haven't talked to my parents in almost two decades. With everything that's happened when I was younger, has made it very hard through out my life to even look at a church. I always feel like there are a bunch of snobs in these places that want to judge me and put me down for some mistake I'm making in my life. I always go on the defense when christians start talking to me.

It's not good to be like that I know and a lot of christians are very nice caring people. Idk....Jesus is there for you though I believe he's there for me. Sometimes people see things happening weather it be good or bad and think it's God doing this that or the other, when it's really just people doing these things...we all have free will

Am I making any sense? We're all human and no one is perfect. I feel like I can relate to you that's why I commented I wanted to say something to you when I saw your post.

((((HUGS))))

Perhaps Jesus isn't as judgemental as I thought. I'm sure God cares.

[strive356]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

Before I start, lemme just say that I'm a Christian. When I was down-and-out, only the "Holy Rollers" (Pentecostals) would help me. Not only am I grateful, I'm now Born Again myself, so I "get" where they were coming from.

Now...one can be mentally ill and be saved. I have a diagnosis of Bipolar I and I've been Born Again for 4 years now. Our God is a God of order, not confusion. To that end, carefully selected and appropriately dosed psych drugs can be helpful for some people, for a season.

Jesus cares about you. Church people...well, a lot of them are judgmental and cruel. I've been on the receiving end of that, and its not fun. Like I wrote above though, only the Pentecostals would help when I was at my worst, so "church people" are a mixed bag. There's great Christians, horrible "Christians," and plenty of struggling in between Christians.

Please don't let your psych problems scare you off Christianity, is basically what I'm trying to say. I also think you might want to see about talking to someone about the content of your hallucinations and such. For me, talking to a counselor and a close friend about things I hear now and then has helped me figure my problems out and has also made my "Bipolar I" a lot more manageable.

I hope things get better for you.

Thanks. Sometimes I doubt God likes me and that's why he gives me bad circumstances. But the Bible says God loves all his creatures. And circumstances are only ten percent of your happiness according to scientist Sonya lyubomirsky.

[Biteplate]

A church saved my life. I'm not religious but when I was mentally doing bad and had absolutely no income a church offered me a low stress cleaning job. I earned some money and it fit with my mental needs.

[strive356]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

The truth about religion! They can come at me all they want but here is the truth for anyone who cares about such things.


The Problem With Faith: 11 Ways Religion Is Destroying Humanity

The writing seems kind of an extreme tone but I get what he or she is saying. Religion and mental illness don't mix well is what i am saying. My cat is whining so maybe he doesn't want me to be an atheist.

[strive356]

When mental illness gets really bad, I admit I look to God for my only possible resource when therapy isn't working. Today I prayed to God when I was hearing voices and all of a sudden the voices that were always mean were nice to me. I think it's okay to use the power of belief when you are down and out. But going to extremes or harming other people in the name of religion is wrong.

[strive356]

I hope I never do that but easier said than done.

I'm not an atheist. You can't have the kind of spiritual stuff happen that I have and be atheist. I just feel that religion has caused more harm than good since it's inception and that humans can't be trusted to make claims of superior knowledge and power of this magnitude over other humans. When people use religion for good, it can be great.....but in my experience this is rarely the case and it's ability to be used for evil makes it a very precarious situation indeed. I have no problem with individuals who believe....I believe some stuff that people would find very out there too....but as an institution, I've not been impressed with the underbelly and deeds of the men behind the curtain.

Originally Posted by strive356

When mental illness gets really bad, I admit I look to God for my only possible resource when therapy isn't working. Today I prayed to God when I was hearing voices and all of a sudden the voices that were always mean were nice to me. I think it's okay to use the power of belief when you are down and out. But going to extremes or harming other people in the name of religion is wrong.

I pray all the time but not to the god of organized religion. Something always tells me it's a fishy and inaccurate proclamation and I've asked for signs and been given them. They do not confirm the tales. I'm not asking people to believe what I believe as I think it's personal to each person. I just don't think people should be selling salvation and a one way road to understanding. (((Hugs))). My friend says I've always been the most religious person she knows which is strange since I've never aligned myself to a religion for more than a week. I think she means spiritual and that I can agree with though I'm not sure I can quantify it.

I'm sorry for hijacking the thread with my seeming negativity. I simply wish to share another side of the coin that is rarely allowed to be expressed. Even on atheists boards I've been attacked for my belief so atheists are azzholes too, not just me. I think if I went to a church and told them of my experiences they would tell me I'm not mentally ill. Part of me could really go for that right now and it's very tempting for me to talk to church elders right now. I may even join a liberal Mormon church as Mormons have always given me good feelz. My Baptist friend gets a chuckle out of this as she thinks the Mormons are nuts. Praying is something I recommend.....I've gotten some very specific things from prayer and there is no explanation other than I was heard. Now I'm starting to think my delusions aren't delusions again.....I'm psychic ......it's a slippery slope.

[JesusGeek]

Originally Posted by strive356

The Holy Virgin Mary And Jesus were voices that were bothering me all day. It started when I signed up for mornings with Jesus daily devotionals. While some benefit for positive psychology, this just ruined my week. Religion has such a bad effect on me. I used to be a fundamentalist because I was crazy. I was always so strict. But now that I'm free the voices imprison me once again. I'm learning ways to stop psychosis in its tracks. I took an Ativan, but that is not recommended. Then I just took deep breaths and meditated until the Ativan calmed me down.
But the voices and the brain stimulation keeps returning.

I'm sorry that you're having a hard time with it Big hugs I'm Christian, and my voices claim to be God and Jesus and Satan and generally figures from the Bible too. I just do my best to ignore the voices and keep the faith. That's my way of coping.

[Shoe]

Thanks for posting this article ElsaMars..
My wife goes to church every Sunday. I am going to goes this Sunday because it is Mother's Day plus it happens to be her birthday too this year so me going to church with her is going to be like a present to her. Besides, the sermon will be in a language that I don't understand so I just have to sit there for a couple of hours.

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

The truth about religion! They can come at me all they want but here is the truth for anyone who cares about such things.

The Problem With Faith: 11 Ways Religion Is Destroying Humanity

[strive356]

Originally Posted by JesusGeek

I'm sorry that you're having a hard time with it Big hugs I'm Christian, and my voices claim to be God and Jesus and Satan and generally figures from the Bible too. I just do my best to ignore the voices and keep the faith. That's my way of coping.

Thanks for sharing. I was listening to your own personal Jesus by Depeche Mode today and the Jesus voice was judging me again. I coped with it by drinking chamomile tea to calm down. I'm going to try the tea thing all day tomorrow to keep calm without anxiety pills. And I keep in mind that Jesus does not want to condemn me for my sins in reality.

[JesusGeek]

Originally Posted by strive356

Thanks for sharing. I was listening to your own personal Jesus by Depeche Mode today and the Jesus voice was judging me again. I coped with it by drinking chamomile tea to calm down. I'm going to try the tea thing all day tomorrow to keep calm without anxiety pills. And I keep in mind that Jesus does not want to condemn me for my sins in reality.

Ugh I hate voices. I'm sorry :/ And I'm glad, he really doesn't.