Following on the previous post about PTSD and the effects of alcohol on the brain, I think it is also true that unhealthy religions and unhealthy religious activity can have much the same effect. People can use religion, or rather abuse religion, to as to avoid changing.
How is this done? By using the religious tenets as a means by which to excuse bad behavior. Simply put, when one is caught being rude or uncivilized, one blames God: "He told me to."
PTSD develops when one's unhealthy life experiences encounter the false premises of bad religions (or misunderstandings of good religions). For example, if your religion tells you not to confess your sins to another, but you have that desire, you are forced to suppress it to your own detriment. In this case, religions have been so weakened that few any longer teach absolute versions of this, and most now will allow members to see a psychologist or counselor, but it is all done outside the denomination.
A person who refuses to pray can also develop PTSD through the stresses of life and his sense of isolation from God. When he continues to obstinately refuse regular prayer and conscious contact with God, yet his heart continues to yearn such consolation, a type of PTSD can develop as he becomes more and more 'shell-shocked' by life's challenges.
The term I think best suits this is 'The Passions.' We develop the passions when we refuse to adapt to reality and live according to reality. That's also what happens with PTSD.
Our passions, like PTSD, are rooted in the past, and jumbled up with legitimate desires mixed with fears that 'it will happen again.'
Counselling helps, but Faith is the greatest treatment.
Ultimately, the person with unhealthy religious beliefs will be pushed away from Faith towards self-reliance, in which case PTSD develops... because that's what PTSD is. It is a type of fearful self-reliance, where the person thinks his reactions are what is most important.
We should always be careful we are not living in the past, lest we fall into the trap of PTSD and the Passions.
I'm hoping that I am misunderstanding your point: it sounds like you are saying that PTSD comes from a lack of or faulty faith.
ReplyDelete"Ultimately, the person with unhealthy religious beliefs will be pushed away from Faith towards self-reliance, in which case PTSD develops... because that's what PTSD is. It is a type of fearful self-reliance, where the person thinks his reactions are what is most important."
Is is possible that the false beliefs coming from trauma have gotten into the psyche "under the radar"? -That the experience was so intense and fast that there was not chance to examine them, then the traumatized person does not recognize him/herself and is unable to function as they did, causing further demoralization, again without the chance for the person suffering to know what has just happened. It would seem that they need time to allow their psyches and hearts to catch up with the horror of the event.
PTSD is a long-term disorder, different from what you are describing. However, you are right that we can often be hit by traumatic events that we need time to process. PTSD is an abnormal condition, as opposed to what you are describing, which is perfectly normal (i.e. that processing traumatic events takes time). To be honest, I've been going through it myself as a result of some very, very unusual circumstances here. I know that I will definitely have to take the time to go through this situation and talk it through with several people so that it does not fester. Otherwise, a type of PTSD could develop.
Delete