10 Reasons Why Catholicism Is the Best Religion For the Mentally Ill

i love this!

And having to be crazy to believe in that stuff to begin with...

Sorry, I just couldn't resist it.

Hillarious! Well Done!

Dear Therese,
A wonderful list of great reasons.I love the one about "disgusting meals"!

Keep it coming,Liti

I love this. I would never have thought to compare retreats and time in the psych ward as comparable "time-outs"! Thanks for the laughs.

I must defend Therese here, because she does walk the tightrope between satire and sincerity, as Larry wrote earlier. All one has to do is read her blog on a regular basis to see that she walks the walk as she talks with intelligence, humor and humility about suffering and saints, Lent and lithium, Mary and mental illness, grace and God.

Oh my Holy Cowabunga!!! That was hilarious! It sure brings back some fond memories. My Grandmother used to travel to work in the city with my Dad.(in one of those little VW beetles) While they driving she used to say her rosary, beads and all. My Dad said it was the best commute because everyone could see her praying and they got out of the way. I mean if she has to say her prayers when he's driving...he must be a maniac! I also remember my best friend Kathy and I used to put little cartoon commentaries(in bubbles) by the illustrations in our catechism books. ie; Priest blessing kneeling parishioner..."Better get Head and Shoulders .You've got dandruff!" C'mon God's got a sense of humour too!

Kyxapka:

I was just going to do a typical Larry "zing" of you and Colin for missing the point (which IMO TB Fan got -- half sincere, half sarcastic).

But in truth, you raise an important point that is being brought out increasingly both in Beyond Blue's blog comment boxes and social networking group, and in the popular culture.

Kyxapka, you say you have crippling OCD. For that, I have deep sympathy. (I won't say "empathy" for reasons I will explain in a moment.) That would put you in the company of bloggers and authors such as Douglas Cootey ("The Splintered Mind") and Charles Barber ("Comfortably Numb"), who have also suffered crippling OCD and write about their experiences and how they relate to others with mental illness.

Or, IMO, DON'T (always) relate to others with mental illness.

When I read Barber and Cootey, I see them projecting their experiences with OCD onto the experiences of people with depression. (In Cootey's defense, he represents that he has a diagnosis of depression along with OCD -- though his primary diagnosis is OCD, and IMO his writing does not reflect the depression diagnosis.) And I have no doubt, as I take it was what offended you, people with depression (seem to) project their experiences onto people with OCD.

There is a reason that the DSM-IV has different "axes" for OCD (an anxiety disorder) and bipolar disorder (a mood disorder). They are different diseases with different causes, different symptoms, and different treatments -- a few of which may be in common. But the similarities too often get conflated with the differences, as IMO Barber and Cootey certainly do -- particularly in their pooh-poohing of the use of medication for people with depression simply because they had bad reactions to the medications they took for OCD.

When I led a support group for people with mood disorders near Rutgers University for most of 2007 (I've since moved to another part of New Jersey), people would routinely visit us with borderline personality disorder (a personality disorder) or schizophrenia (a psychotic disorder). The experience would be frustrating for all. They didn't "get" us and we didn't "get" them. We all WANTED to related to each other, but we couldn't always. Simply because, again, we had **different diseases.**

Therese is an expert more on mood disorders simply because that's what she experiences, and I think most BB readers and commenters have mood disorders as well. (Myself as well, of course.) Granted, she has the full academic resources of Johns Hopkins to call on for expertise (she knows many of the best doctors there for, of course, unfortunate reasons) on other mental health diagnoses, and from my experience tries to include those perspectives in BB from time to time. But yes, BB is probably more user-friendly to those with mood disorders.

Kyxapka, I don't think your anxiety disorder is anything to laugh about. (Though I do think Therese believes, for mood disorders at least, a sense of humor is essential to coping; I agree with her. Maybe that's not so true for other mental health diagnoses, I don't know. Or maybe people with different diagnoses are more sensitive to different types of humor -- I know a lot of us on BB with mood disorders enjoy the sarcastic/dark/gallows type of humor.)

But I do believe many of the misunderstandings -- on my end, on your end, on Cootey's end, and on Barber's end especially given the best-selling nature of his IMO misleading book -- would be avoided if we simply remembered that we have DIFFERENT diseases.

It's like saying someone has leukemia vs. skin cancer. They're both "cancer," but completely different diseases treated in completely different ways, with really very little in common other than the label and, not at all to be dismissed, abject human suffering with the potential to be fatal. (There's where I have deep sympathy with you, of course, Kyxapka, even if I can't truly have empathy.)

Why should "mental illness" be any less complex and far-ranging?

Cosima:

In his previous position under Pope John Paul II, I thought then-Cardinal Ratzinger was an extremely stern, unforgiving man with extremely stern, unforgiving ideas.

Now that he's Pope Benedict XVI, and I've seen more of him publicly, he strikes me as an extremely kind man (personally) but still with extremely stern, unforgiving ideas.

Colin and Kyxapka, you really did miss the point.
Therese is having fun,a laugh, and using satire and laughing at her own self along with it.
It's light-hearted --matter of fact, if it wasn't I would be offended for an entirely different reason.
But how can either of you take the whole post so seriously as to complain?
Anyone who has a crippling mental/emotional problem i suffering, no question.
Kyxpapka if you weren't religious your OCD would turn something else you do or like(or don't like for that matter) into a nightmare--because that's it's nature.
It's not about the religion itself in any way, except that
the fact that some religions encourage stricter adherance or teach some tenets rather forcefully,just help to lend themselves more to the disorder. And yes, I can say this because I went to Catholic school,and was raised with both Catholicisim, and with Protestant beliefs too.
I don't at all think it's funny that you suffer, and that you have a miserable problem like OCD--I have a touch of it myself and I do sympathize..
However, I have a physical disabilty and I *do* say things in jest like "It's good sometimes because I don't have to go to stupid parties or join things I don't want to anymore!"
I'm laughing at myself, not at others.
Colin, it's true Therese could have included confession
as one of the reasons why those of us with mental health disorders might benefit from Catholicisim in her funny post.
But come on--you went too far your own self--not Therese..
Confession *is* good for us imo-very true. But it is not free therapy.
A priest, unless he is a psychotherapist as well,is a priest--perhaps a very good one, perhaps good at counseling--but he's not a psychotherapist.
That idea is a poorly understood conception, a *misconception* that psychology and/or therapy is just bunk or is "common sense" and that therapists are taking advantage of unhappy lonely people.
And I'm sorry Colin, but God is always present in any confession, discussion, therapy session or just plain old talk between friends.God is present there, now, and everywhere.
Fooey.

Therese,

It was so funny. What you said is true... though I lost my mom who was a devout Catholic. She died on the way to market; it was the fiest day of Santo Nino or the Blessed Child Jesus. I don't know what to feel. She was hit by an overspeeding motorbike as she was passing the street. Until now, I am overwhelmed. It happened last January. I don't know what God's joke that was.

It was a terrible ordeal and is.

Regards and at least I laughed for what you wrote here.

Christine

Larry, the point of my post was not to garner sympathy for myself. While I do have severe OCD, scrupulosity is not my primary issue. I'm actually a cleaner/checker, but I do have mild tendencies toward religious obsessions, and was recommended into the latter therapy group as part of a comprehensive treatment program. (If you are a mental health professional, then you are aware that people who have a singular anxiety disorder are quite rare. Most people with OCD manifest multiple obsessive/compulsive symptoms, and almost all of them have co-morbid depression. Patients with OCD often also have other underlying conditions such as bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder, although I personally have not been diagnosed as such.)

It was my experiences in the scrupulosity group that prompted me to write my response here, because until I met those fellow patients, I had no idea of the extent of mental anguish that some people endure because of their dysfunctional attempts at religious devotion. I met good, kindhearted, intelligent people who suffered at the hands of their own thought processes, their own irrational fears of guilt and sin, until they could no longer hold jobs or form healthy relationships. Worst of all, the best therapy money could buy often couldn't help them. At the time, we were in treatment at a very prestigious facility--with some of the world's leading experts on OCD--and yet, for many of the patients with religious intrusive thoughts, there was no therapeutic answer, no combination of medications and behavior therapy that made noticeable progress in alleviating their symptoms. Many of them were turned back into the world, medicated but not substantially improve--and, sadly, not for lack of effort on the part of their treatment teams and themselves.

I understand the point you are making about Therese having a different constellation of symptoms than I do, but I do not see that as an excuse for her story. I do not have an eating disorder, but would it be funny if I wrote an essay called "10 Reasons Why Bulimia Is the World's Best Diet?" I doubt it. Society has already been conditioned to recognize bulimics and anorexics, to understand and empathize with them. If nothing else, my experience in treatment opened my eyes to the suffering of lots of people who had nothing to do with my condition. I don't use recreational drugs, but I have much more compassion toward heroin addicts than I did before my own experience in treatment. Pain is pain. To lose those little battles, give in to your demons, hate yourself afterward and do it all over again day after day is the same whether you're smoking crack behind a dumpster in an alley or spending half the night checking and rechecking the lock on the front door of your house because you can't convince yourself you really locked it--and the battle to escape that vicious circle is basically the same, too.

I understand humor. I very, very much understand how humor can be a wonderful tool for treating with mental illness, and I have ample first-hand experience with how much laughter can mitigate anxiety, especially in the midst of an exposure-and-response-prevention exercise. BUT humor has its limits. Beliefnet links Therese's articles into their Peace of Mind newsletter, so these articles are going to people across the spectrum of mental conditions, and as a result, I think she has an obligation to post carefully and respectfully. I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that something coming from a multi-faith religious web site and calling itself a "Peace of Mind" newsletter could attract people with religion-based OCD, and, in my opinion, her article treats their illness as a joke.

The time between self-diagnosis of OCD and finding a therapist who actually helps you is estimated to be nine years, and for people with intrusive-thought OCD, it is often longer, because unlike the cleaners and checkers and hoarders who get profiled on "Oprah," many of them don't realize their problem has a name and a treatment protocol, and it isn't just "in their heads" or a failure of their character. I think Beliefnet has a responsibility to be more sensitive to the plight of people who may be coming to them for answers--especially if they want to they present themselves as a support resource for the union of spirituality and mental health.

ALL OF US ARE A GUEST on THERESE'S BLOG

EVERYONE should feel welcome to comment without feeling attacked by another guest.

We should stop and remind ourselves of this before we start typing; with the end result appearing we were intentionally rude to one of:
*THERESE's GUESTS.*

There Is No Reason to Behave This Way, Just Excuses.

"A horse tried to convince a tiger it was better to be a horse and that it was wrong to be a tiger. The tiger became angry and bit the horse, whereupon the horse turned around and kicked the tiger.

It is the nature of the horse to be a horse and it is the nature of a tiger to be a tiger. Neither is more or less or more than the other. Both are equal in the eyes of God."

May God Bless Us All Equally with Love and Compassion..

BTW, I think all this back-and-forth is basically about (despite Kyxapka's denials) having different senses of humor. And, of course, nothing wrong with that, ultimately.

But it's certainly not about lack of reverence, unless one considers Therese's career of editing dozens of Catholic-themed books to be lack of reverence.

Funny Shnitz. Remember the days when freedom of speech was important? Freedom from religion is important too. But if left up to the sheeple.... sleep y'all, sleep away.

There are some people who live 90 years.
And there are some people who live one year 90 times.

Rather than put a label on ourself as:

* Christian
* Jew
* Moslem
* Buddhist etc.

Instead make a commitment to be:

* Christ-Like
* God-Like
* Mohammed-Like etc.

We are always both student and teacher in every encounter of our life.

> BTW, I think all this back-and-forth is basically about (despite Kyxapka's denials) having
> different senses of humor. And, of course, nothing wrong with that, ultimately.

Larry, please go back and reread my posts. You don't seem to be understanding my point. I am not objecting to humor or saying that some subjects can never be joked about. My complaint is with the VENUE. If Therese's original article had been posted on Fark or McSweeney's, I assure you I would not have been writing to complain. I don't go trawling around the Internet, looking for occasions to post long, self-righteous manifestos on how the public should be more sensitive to the mentally ill for my hobby.

When you go to a web site dedicated to humor, there's a certain risk that the material may not suit your personal taste--but Therese's blog ISN'T one of those web sites. She's supposed to be providing a comforting and uplifting resource for people looking for insights into spirituality and mental illness. Being cheeky and offensive to her target audience seems more than counterintuitive to me--it's in bad taste.

Yes, all those classical tenets of Catholicism attracted me when I hung around them. When I had visions I had a choice between thinking I was a loony and Hildegarde von Bingen. I chose Hildegarde. But there are other tenets, like the problems of celibacy and the ordination of women which I find insurmountable. (Not to mention that I had the horrific experience of feeling a priest was coming on to me when I went to him for pastoral counseling!)

But really, as the saying goes - the ways are many - the PATH is ONE. We all see this spiritual journey through our cultural lens. Mine is really a high church Protestantism - or a Celtic Christianity - but whatever WORKS.

It is reassuring that traditionally religious traditions have seen people such as ourselves, who are beyond the norm, as being that way closer to God. (and nowadays, we would add creativity.) Holding on to that traditional sense and its rituals can be something to hold on to when the mental storms descend.

Please listen my advice and accaept Islam please research about Islam dont look only with your own media and books please be more objective

I have a mother with mental health issues who is a devout Catholic. She uses the church to cover up for all of the issues that have come up as a result of her 'visions', paranoia, projecting, violence, etc. We've dealt with it all of our lives. All of my siblings have left the church as a result (two have become atheists!). If I didn't have this back ground I might find your list funny.