God and the Crazies in Maniacs, Prophecy, and Old Friends
- July 30, 2017, 3:50 p.m.
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- Public
Today I want to talk about something I think alot about. As a prospective religion/psychology major I am always pondering the idea of mental illness.
Most people see mental illness as an obstacle to overcome, or an affliction of the devil. I think we ought to discuss another theory. One that lends itself to an apparent need of diversity.
It’s surely true that sometimes mental illness is an onstacle or an affliction, that’s why we call it an illness after all. But also I think it’s worth considering that maybe sometimes mental illness can be a gift. I know what you are thinking: That’s insain! I must be crazy right? It’s possible. But we hear in some denominations the idea of gifts from God. The gift of healing, or prophecy, the gift of seeing and speaking with spirits, of speaking in tongues. Aren’t these all things that modern science would consider crazy? Yet we experience them.
Maybe the megalomaniacs are born leaders. Maybe the psycopaths are masters of logic. Schizos? Maybe not all of the things they see are halucinations. It’s scary to talk about mental illness in a positive light, but God made us in his image. If we are born with an affliction of the mind isn’t it possible there’s a reason? I believe there is a reason for everything. Prophets have always been called crazy, and so have geniuses. Why are we assuming that all ‘crazy’ people need to be fixed?
Can we stop for a second and consider that some of them are simply born unique for a reason? I’m not suggesting that people should not seek help for mental illness. I’m suggesting that we not condemn people as being ill simply because they experience life differently. Here is how I approach mental illness from a spirirual standpoint. First I ask:
Is this illness hurting you or the people around you?
Sometimes its hard to tell. Certainly most of those with antisocial personality disorder or autism might have no idea how their actions or perceptions of the world affect the people around them. That’s what proffesionals are for. But if you can see that their mental illness is not hurting anyone then perhaps it does not need to be ‘fixed’.
How does your illness affect the way you see the world and how you behave?
Are you happy? Do you see the world as a wonderful adventure? It it a beautiful mystery? Or are you afraid of life? God did not give us a spirit of fear. He made this world for us to enjoy and discover and work in.
Are you productive in your life?
Does your mental illness make it difficult for you to make progress? If so perhaps it should be addressed.
Does your illness cause you to sin?
If so, perhaps this needs to be addressed. If you find it difficult to love and help people or to love yourself or to get out of bed in the morning, than this is an obstacle. If you are lustful, or you are prideful, or greedy, or gluttonous then perhaps this is an obstacle. If not, perhaps the world should worry less about fixing you and more about accepting you.
Everyone is not made to be the same. That would be boring. We are each unique and beautiful creatures. Sometimes the package comes with mental illness. Sometimes that is a problem, but the point I am making is that sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes our differences are just another part of what make us special.
Last updated July 30, 2017
White Rabbit ⋅ July 30, 2017
I love this. Here is a video that you might enjoy about a guy and his "mental illness" and how it has benefited his identity in ways that are amazing. Let me know your thoughts 🙂😊
https://youtu.be/6xUEg2WxGqQ
LachrymoseBeauty White Rabbit ⋅ July 30, 2017
I love this video. Thank you for sharing it with me. :)
White Rabbit LachrymoseBeauty ⋅ July 30, 2017
It's my pleasure!
Here I am again! ⋅ July 30, 2017
I am a member of a large Wiccan tradition, so of course I know lots of people who see visions, auras, hear voices, etc. The difference between them an a schizophrenic or psychotic, I guess, is that they know that what they're seeing, hearing, etc., is on another energetic level and not "here." And they don't hear voices, see things, etc. that are telling them to do bad things to people. A lot of esoteric (wiccans, witches) work in the medical field, including mental health.
LachrymoseBeauty Here I am again! ⋅ July 30, 2017
Many psychotic/schizophrenic peiple are also aware that what they are seeing or hearing is not real and not really there. It is also a common misconception that dellusions always manifest as harmful. Sometimes a psychotic person will hear voices telling them to do harmful things but not always. One of the most common halucinations is simply hearing aomeone calling your name when nobody is there. We may very well be talking about the same group of people.
Here I am again! LachrymoseBeauty ⋅ July 31, 2017
There's definitely an overlap! I have known one or two Wiccans who also talked about having been treated for schizophrenia.
HalloweenValentine ⋅ July 30, 2017
I have always thought if you have certain mental illness, it is sometimes just showing you what you need to work on in your life. Not just repressing and being ashamed of it. Depression and anxiety are ones I deal with and that is how I try to see it. Working through it. If I didn't have those aspects of my personality, I wouldn't be me. I don't enjoy having depression and anxiety, but I think it makes me a stronger willed person, and maybe one day I can work through it to the point it isn't bad anymore, or maybe it will just fade. Or maybe it will be with me forever or possibly get worse...I hope not, but you never know. It's all unique to the individual, and makes us unique. Repressing, hiding or trying to "fix" it with medication only will make us end up all the same. Just a world of emotionless meat sacks! ;) haha, that's definitely how I felt when I tried anti-depressants! I worry I will be not lovable because of my depression and anxiety. Like that has to be "cured" before I can ever be loved. That is how our society makes me feel anyway. But I think we should all be loved. No one is perfect or without their issues. A very backwards society. Being loved and accepted for who we are, with all our issues, would definitely help us feel more sane I think. Anyway, not sure if I added anything, just blabbing haha. Nice entry though. Interesting to read. Something I think about a lot as well as I try to work through my issues and not be ashamed of myself about them.
LachrymoseBeauty HalloweenValentine ⋅ July 30, 2017
I'm glad you enjoyed my entry. I didn't have alot of luck when I tried antideppresants either. Medical marijuana helped for a while but then started to spike my anxiety. It's good to know I'm not alone in my thought process or my struggle.