Many have suggested that religion is a form of mental illness. I wouldn't state that in all cases, but I think it may be true in some.
I have a theory as well, that religion, especially the more extreme it is, induces mental illness in people. I'm no mental health expert, but my understanding is that at least some mental illness is due to chemical imbalances in the brain. Religion messes with our emotions which in turn messes with the chemicals in our brains. Perhaps not everyone who has there emotions screwed with will end up with chemical imbalances, but perhaps people who have the tendency for an imbalance would be affected by this.
A friend of mine posted something about the Double Bind and Mormonism on Facebook yesterday. So I had to look up the definition of Double Bind. My take was that it's either the same or very closely related to Cognitive Dissonance.
I found the following paragraph under an entry on Schizophrenia and the Double Bind, very interesting indeed:
The Double Bind Theory was first articulated in relationship to schizophrenia, but Bateson and his colleagues hypothesized that schizophrenic thinking was not necessarily an inborn mental disorder but a learned confusion in thinking. Bateson maintained that in the case of the schizophrenic, the double bind is presented continually and habitually within the family context from infancy on. By the time the child is old enough to have identified the double bind situation, it has already been internalized, and the child is unable to confront it. The solution then is to create an escape from the conflicting logical demands of the double bind, in the world of the delusional system.
Working at a mental health center, I know mental illness can come in many forms from heredity/genetics to physical and emotional abuse. The main reason people in this area are on anti-depressants is... gee, I wonder. And when we discover the fraud and deception and try to deal with the emotional crap that goes with it, aha!!! Mental illness, or temporary insanity ensues.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first books I read talks about the Double Bind, which I had never heard before. It was one of my favorites. A Mormon Odyssey (Journey to the Center of My Soul) by Tamra Jean Braithwaite.
About thirty years ago a Salt Lake City television station ran a documentary entitled "Mormon Women and Depression" suggesting a connection between the dominant religion causing an environment where Mormon wives and mothers just don't feel they are measuring up.
ReplyDeleteIt's well known that more anti-depressants are prescribed in Utah than any other state. As you know, Koda, I suggested in an early post at Pure Mormonism that God provided beer (most likely because it contains hops)as a natural anti-depressant. The more I've read about beer and its historical use, the more convinced I am that God meant it to be consumed as a means of unwinding from stress.
Pretty ironic that use of the item God provided as a treatment for depression (and the one that early Mormons ingested without compunction) is considered a near-deadly sin by the majority who are most in need of it. They would rather take into their bodies dangerous synthetic drugs manufactured by "evil and designing men in the last days."
Thanks Fanny - I'm going to have to look that book up.
ReplyDeleteRock - Couldn't agree more. One of the things I've done since moving into full blown inactivity, has been sampling the wares of some of the local breweries. Part curiosity, and part due to articles such as yours talking about the benefits of hops and other additives.
I can honestly say that drinking a beer or two a week has done wonders for my level of stress.
I'm one of those who have said in passing on one of my blog posts that religion is a from of mental illness. I would just like to acknowledge that I do know my statement lacked nuance.
ReplyDeleteTGD - Yes you are! I need to start including credits for that one.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not mistaken, I think Christopher Hitchens may have said it as well. I was hoping for a copy of his God is not Great book for Christmas, but Mrs Koda opted to get me the Study Guide for my Java certification - hopefully that will make me marketable for a new job, and then I can make enough money to just buy Mr. Hitchens book myself!
I would guess that it's more likely mental illness is expressed through religion rather than religion being the cause. There are genetically based anxiety disorders in my family, and my brother and both have them. For me growing up the anxiety was focused on crime and accidents, for my brother it was focused on religion and worthiness. If we hadn't been Mormon he wouldn't have been obsessed with keeping all gazillion commandments perfectly, but I don't doubt he would have been just as anxious and guilt-ridden over something else. Unfortunately I haven't been able to convince him to try medication (which has improved my life beyond words) because he worries that if it made him feel less guilty, then he would be more likely to do things that are wrong. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if in some cases it isn't a little Chicken/Eggy - hard to tell what was there already, and what religion brought out.
ReplyDeleteI suspect each case is different though - depending on the individual and their experiences
I wouldn't call it a case of mental illness, but often a case of mental conditioning a.k.a. brainwashing or even full out mind control in several cases. After all, how many Mormons out there have become convinced that blind obedience to "follow the prophet" is what will save them vs. one who has his own opinion?
ReplyDeleteThe quote about schizophrenia seems to be along the lines of conditioning as well.
ReplyDeleteReligion uses fear to motivate people though. Fear causes a chemical reaction in the brain, which is our fight or flight response, and causes our logical processing to shut down - that's how a religious leader can ask people to do stuff which logically doesn't make sense and yet they do it anyway.
It's how folks like Glenn Beck get people to believe garbage as well, but that's a whole other topic there.
Because religion is inducing chemical changes in our brains, I think in some cases, monkeying with those chemicals enough, can cause side effect which would include mental illness.
I think there are probably examples of both though.
For myself - I'm a lot less depressed since I left, but there were some very real withdrawal symptoms when I initially started drift out though.
I'm reading a book right now that addresses the complex relationship between religion and mental illness: RELIGION THAT HEALS, RELIGION THAT HARMS.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Religion-That-Heals-Harms-Clinical/dp/1606238892
I don't think religion is itself a form of mental illness, although religious people can believe crazy things.
ReplyDeleteHowever, religion can mask an existing mental illness.
If I say, "I believe that Zeus lives in my colon," then I'm nuts. But if I say, "I believe that Jesus lives in my heart," then people will say, "Oh, he's just religious."
I'm not a psychologist, but my understanding is that schizophrenia is generally considered a physical disease of the brain, and the idea that something like a double bind could cause it is outdated. That's not to say that a double bind isn't wrenching, just that it doesn't jibe with current understandings of the causes of schizophrenia.
ReplyDeleteBut speaking of schizophrenia, what's the difference between what schizophrenics do and what apologists do? Because I'm having a little difficulty finding one.
I agree with Daniel, completely. Religion gets in the way of actually helping people, not only because it can easily be confused with mental illness (and what does that tell you about it all on its own?), but because it also attempts to "cure" things which are not problems (such as masturbation or sexual orientation), and to cure real problems with things that are not solutions at all (going to confession and doing penance instead of seeing a counselor).
ReplyDeleteReligion and mental illness are closely related, that's all I know! ;-)
ReplyDelete