RELIGION AND MENTAL ILLNESS!!! (page 2)

ADJUSTMENTS

Once someone gains control of your thoughts through brainwashing or mind control, you are now by definition: mentally ill...

rebel8

What specific diagnosis are you referring to in regards to the brainwashing comment?

"Mentally ill" is a broad category of hundreds if specific medical conditions.

What is your source material for the statement that brainwashing=mental illness?

Let's start there so we can understand where you're coming from.

mentally ill, the links go on to show most religious people are

I'm sorry but those links do not provide evidence.

As we've discussed, many of the things people typically consider mental illnesses ("Axis I" disorders) are brain conditions. Many brain conditions, not just one. To prove that most religious people are mentally ill, we'd need evidence of diagnoses for 51% of a statistically significant sample of religious people.

And then, not sure where you're going with this, but correlation does not prove causation. So imagining said proof existed, we'd need to eliminate other reasons for correlation.

I remember reading some article once about MI and JW. Might have been on pew.org or something like that--maybe you can find that since you're interested in the topic. I don't know if it was evidence though--IIRC it was more of a general anonymous survey that had to be taken with a grain of salt.

LuckyNun

Of course. The mental energy required to wrap your head around bushel baskets of new light while simultaneously being the best JDub ever-- that doesn't leave a lot of mental energy left for emotional processing, emotional regulation, or critical thinking. And don't get me started on teaching people to actively believe in angels and demons...

Depression while being a JW is a sign that your brain is fed up with constructing an alternate reality.

LisaRose

I don't think all JWs are mentally ill, but the religion is a very negative influence on those that have any kind of mental illness, including depression. The black and white thinking, burdensome requirements and doom and gloom thinking take their toll on the most vulnerable. Add in the fact that they discourage professional mental health care and you have a recipe for disaster.

Island Man

I think that irrational, faith based religion is itself a form of mental illness - a form of induced mass delusion. Admittedly, it may not be mental illness is the way mental illness is conventionally thought of and defined. But that is only because the very pervasive nature of religion and its wielding of great political clout in recent history has prejudiced the medical community against calling the spade a spade, so to speak.

RecoveringISFJ

If there are no JW's in the world, the same old crap would still be happening to everybody.

TTATTelder

The WT attracts vulnerable people including more than its fair share of mentally ill.

I would say what is inflicted by WT teachings and treatment would be better described as emotional abuse.

- TE

Xanthippe

It's a strange thing but if a JW was asked what they believe by a mental health professional they could say they believe Jesus is their invisible King and any day now he's going to kill everyone on earth who isn't a JW. That isn't delusional according to the DSM. They can even say they talk to invisible people and that's ok too. The criteria for having a mental health problem is you must think the invisible people are talking to you. However you can talk to them all day long and you are perfectly well, just religious.

Bugbear

I think that Rebel and Blondie are quite right, a mental disorder are to be diagnosed by a professional MD´s. And this physician must be a specialist in mental diseases. But I think that, with experience’s from a number of JW congs. that the rate of JW. With at for instance “depression” and people “going on pills” are significant higher than on the average population. And I think that there is an obvious trigger to this frequent condition, namely the feeling of quilt.

The socs. always tells us that we have to sacrifice more hours in the service. That if we do not act in this or that way our family, our children is going to die in e the big A. Who can live with a sword hanging over their neck? Who can live under the constant pressure that witnesses always have. What young men or girl not finding a partner could be absolute abstinence from sex?

Many religions with strict rules that put unrealistic pressure on their members, will face that a number of them will be cracked down. Many weak members of such religious ideas are willing to die to fulfill their leaders demands/wishes. Some have suicidal tendencies…I personally did know some JW,s committing suicide, when the depression told them they were not good enough.

Bugbear

Ignoranceisbliss

Based on my very non scientific observations of dubs that I have met I think there may be a higher percentage of dubs with mental illness than the rest of the population. These numbers may be skewed by

1. Those with mental illness may be more attracted to the prepackaged friends that the Borg offers as well as the promise of the paradise fixing their problems.

2 Born ins without any mental illness may be more likely to leave the Borg. They may be quicker to see the cult for what it really is.

RELIGION AND MENTAL ILLNESS!!!

Share this