How does your religion deal with mental illnesses?

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PassionFruit

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I was wondering how does your religion deal with mental illnesses? (You know like schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety disorder, etc).

1.) Does your religious beliefs teach you that mental illnesses are caused by demons? Or some other supernatural force.

2.) Does your religion tell you that mental illnesses are not caused by demons, however, reject modern treatments for them such as medication or seeking some psychiatric health. Instead, just teach that you should pray to God to help cure you.

3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.
 

Arthra

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PassionFruit wrote:

I was wondering how does your religion deal with mental illnesses? (You know like schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety disorder, etc).

1.) Does your religious beliefs teach you that mental illnesses are caused by demons? Or some other supernatural force.

Baha'is accept the medical definitions of these conditions and support professional therapy together with a belief in spiritual healing such as prayer.

2.) Does your religion tell you that mental illnesses are not caused by demons, however, reject modern treatments for them such as medication or seeking some psychiatric health. Instead, just teach that you should pray to God to help cure you.

As above we Baha'is believe a competent physician should be consulted and their advice or therapy followed along with spiritual support of the community such as prayer.

3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.

Yes.. Also I might add that Baha'is believe the soul of the person is not condemned for the person having these conditions, i.e., hearing voices or having hallucinations, etc. The concept of possession by demons or spirits is totally foreign to Baha'i teachings.

- Art:wave:
 
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BruceDLimber

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Hi! :)

As Art said, the Baha'i scriptures tell us to consult competent physicians in case of illness.

And they also say that physical or mental ailments can NEVER affect the status or progress of the soul!

Further, God is One, Supreme, and has no equal or rival! There is therefore no "devil" competing with Him or tormenting us. And "satan" is simply a name for our own lower (animal) nature when we give it control instead of our higher (spiritual) nature.

Best regards, :)

Bruce
 
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tocis

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3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.


Asatru does not have any official canon or other agreed-upon doctrine, but most Asatruar I know (I trust) will chose your above-quoted option.

Whether the individual person affected might want to try and seek spiritual help is another question, but that too (as I see it) depends on the person involved. I would recommend someone suffering from mental afflictions should seek professional help, but your mileage may vary.
 
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Drwhat

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Hi PassionFruit,
I believe that mental illness can be caused in many cases by actual physical inbalances or injuries. I also believe that one can go mentaly ill because over time a person overly believes and lives by false doctrines, usually those promoted by soothsaying preachers who peddle Christianity for gain.

Allowing false church doctrine after false church doctrine to rest in your mind, i.e., to reside in your house, or temple, i.e., your body, will twist your mind. Basically false doctrines are the demons that plague a so called possessed persons consciousness.

These false doctrine can be cast out by rejecting them for the truth of Christ, this will empty the house sweeping it clean, however if the Holy spirit of God isn't allow to dwell in that swept temple then after a period of time in the wilderness those false doctrines will take root again and 7 more will attach themselves and enter therin.

Basically don't watch the God channel or listen to Orthodox preachers, or follow secular religions and you won't get to bogged down. Happy hunting. God bless.
 
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vajradhara

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Namaste passionfruit,

thank you for the post.

I was wondering how does your religion deal with mental illnesses? (You know like schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety disorder, etc).

1.) Does your religious beliefs teach you that mental illnesses are caused by demons? Or some other supernatural force.


of course not :) by and large the Buddha Dharma states that mental illness is just that, an illness of the mind. nothing particularly unusual and we don't actually have a concept of 'supernatural' in the way that Western beings typically understand. all beings, regardless of where they have taken rebirth <angles, demons and whatnot> are natural.

2.) Does your religion tell you that mental illnesses are not caused by demons, however, reject modern treatments for them such as medication or seeking some psychiatric health. Instead, just teach that you should pray to God to help cure you.

not in the least. Buddha Dharma teaches that praying to deities is pointless and completely ineffectual in making progress along ones spiritual path. could a Buddhist pray or invoke a deity or whatnot? sure they could but it's not helpful in the least.

Buddha Dharma calls the Buddha Shakyamuni the "Great Physician" and recommends the use of medical doctors all the time.

that said, it would certainly depend on what sort of mental illness we are talking about as it has been demonstrably shown that meditation alleviates many mental conditions.

3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.

yes. it also encourages us to work on these issues ourselves for if there is no physiological cause then through training we can change our mental state. thus it is important to get some testing to find out if there is such a cause.

metta,

~v
 
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homeofmew

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Most modern day christians do not want to deal with the idea of possession
although it does happen. we like to tack a mental illness (even society does it)
to everything. example: my 7 year old is hyper they must have ADHD, WRONG they are just 7!~
 
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rhyddid_rose

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3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.

I agree with Tocis on this one (Hail and Greetings, Tocis; long time no see :)). I have an condition known as dissociative identity disorder and I went to a therapist to learn how to live with it. I knew something was quite bloody wrong and went to see someone who could help. Now that I know what the problem is, I can deal with it and I dont feel so 'mad'.


Faith, Folk and Family,


Rhyddid Rose Rhys
 
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PassionFruit

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Thanks for the responses folks. I grew up with a particular Christian denomination that said that some mental illnesses are caused by demons. I'm kind of surprised by the fact that in the 21st century people still believe that mental illnesses are still caused by demons.


Especially when there are a number of factors that can cause mental illnesses.
 
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Montalban

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I was wondering how does your religion deal with mental illnesses? (You know like schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety disorder, etc).

Although not my faith I saw this documentary the other night called "Scientology and Me" in which this scientologist lady was claiming all psychology came from Nazi Germany - because they used it in the death camps.
 
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franklin

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I was wondering how does your religion deal with mental illnesses? (You know like schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety disorder, etc).

1.) Does your religious beliefs teach you that mental illnesses are caused by demons? Or some other supernatural force.

2.) Does your religion tell you that mental illnesses are not caused by demons, however, reject modern treatments for them such as medication or seeking some psychiatric health. Instead, just teach that you should pray to God to help cure you.

3.) Does your religion say that mental illnesses aren't caused by demons and that seeking psychiatric health or medication is perfectly acceptable.

Wow, this sounds like a very familiar topic ! One I started in GA the same evening you started this one. Must be a coincidence eh ?

I thought so.

:cool:
 
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Thekla

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Hi, and thank-you for the question !

I am Eastern Orthodox Christian; I want to respond to the question because I have personal experience in this matter, our son has schizoaffective disorder (an Axis I disorder with symptoms of both bipolar and schizophrenia).

He is presently stabilized and doing quite well on an antipsychotic med (the 4th tried). Our priests have always been supportive of our recourse to medical treatment ! If I may paraphrase a Greek Orthodox elder (of blessed memory - he died in the 70s ?), when the strings of the violin (the brain) are broken, the violin can play a melody, but it cannot play a beautiful melody. In these cases (ie, mental illness) you must first fix the instrument (treat the brain) so that the beautiful melody can be played.

EOrthodoxy distinguishes between the several potential sources for disordered behavior. There is mental illness - an organic disorder. Then, there is what is called "the darkened or fleshly nous", ie we are not fully transformed by God, and are still darkened by sin. There is also demonic activity. Though the "symptoms" of these three conditions may at some points appear similar, the symptoms do not have the same origins, therefore the "treatment" for each is different. To apply the wrong treatment is a 'tragedy', as the person is not helped. In our case, we first sought the treatment of "psychology"; we should have sought a psychiatrist first during the prodromal phase.

I hope the explanation makes sense - again, thank you for the question !
 
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PassionFruit

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Although not my faith I saw this documentary the other night called "Scientology and Me" in which this scientologist lady was claiming all psychology came from Nazi Germany - because they used it in the death camps.
Another reason why I can't take Scientology seriously. Scientologists seem to think mental illness can be overcome with sheer will power. :doh:

Wow, this sounds like a very familiar topic ! One I started in GA the same evening you started this one. Must be a coincidence eh ?

I thought so.
Yeah, the topic you started in GA made me wonder about how other religions deal with mental illnesses. :D
 
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franklin

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Another reason why I can't take Scientology seriously. Scientologists seem to think mental illness can be overcome with sheer will power. :doh:


Do you think that is any different than those who believe they can cure mental illness by casting out demons from a person? Seems like the same superstitious belief only dressed up a little differently is all.

PF said:
Yeah, the topic you started in GA made me wonder about how other religions deal with mental illnesses. :D

No worries putna. You did a really good job with your first opening post. Great questions, good job. Glad to see I encouraged and inspired someone else in here at least.

:thumbsup:
 
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PassionFruit

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Do you think that is any different than those who believe they can cure mental illness by casting out demons from a person? Seems like the same superstitious belief only dressed up a little differently is all.



No worries putna. You did a really good job with your first opening post. Great questions, good job. Glad to see I encouraged and inspired someone else in here at least.

:thumbsup:

No I don't think it's really different. Because nowadays I would think that people would know better. I mean we live in a time where it is possible to know what factors causes mental illnesses and how to treat them. I just don't understand how some people still believe it's due to demon possession.

Thanks for the compliment.
:D
 
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