Continued prayers for you! As St Padre Pio says pray hope and don't worry! I know that sounds impossible right now but I pray it is soon possible for you.
I hate it when people over spiritualize mental illness. I often hear in Catholic circles things like, if they would just pray more, or trust in God etc. Thankfully, I have a daughter who is getting her Masters in counselling at a Catholic University and they are including physiological along with spiritual. There’s a Catholic explosion happening in this area. The whole person as St. John of the Cross taught. Trauma causes physiological change etc.
Very good point. The whole spiritual aspect regarding spiritual warfare has been neglected and a renewal has been very much needed, but it is only one aspect. Mind, body and spirit need to be factored in. One thing I have come to greatly appreciate over the last year is how much the effect of proper nutrition can have on depression and well-being as well. We live in a world created and framed by God and there are certain rules and laws to it. I have seen many secular and religious clergy who give no credence to nutrition. Meanwhile they are burning themselves out.
Good point. I do Deliverance prayers daily for my kids, family and have seen its power. Keto has helped me a lot with low moods and helps in many other ways. So I agree, we do as much as we can on practical levels and then accept the cross for the rest
This is it, like you said we can over emphasize the spiritual and start diagnosing issues as being only spiritual. Meanwhile it might just take some changes in diet or some other aspect of our lives. Or not, it can be the cross. The human person is extremely complex and simple diagnoses can be harmful. Because the guy mentioned could now be blaming themselves for a whole bunch of stuff that isn't true. Or sometimes Catholics like to shame others when problems come up by saying to another they aren't trusting God enough and the like.
Thank you, Carmelite, for adding this cautionary and wholistic perspective. Brendan appears to have been struggling for some time.
She'll no doubt be very busy once she's ready to start. In some places it's very difficult to find help that is balanced between the physiological, psychological as well as the spiritual. May God bless her in her vocation, as well as those she will be helping ~
I also have a daughter who had her masters degree in psychology but she died last year from lack of good treatment. She suffered from mental illness and trauma, not possession. But we become magnets when we are in a negative way mentally...I know from my own experience. A good prayer life plus the right doctors and medicine isn't always easy to find. The mental Healthcare situation is broken.. I am thankful for myself having the right help but without fighting for it, it's hard to get. Not easy to fight for yourself when you are in bad mental and spiritual shape...
God bless you Agnes. What a profound grievance for you. I am so sorry. We have lots of mental health in our families as well. God bless you. I have been following Dr. Bob Schultz work. Have you heard of him? He has three books called, “ Be Healed, Be Restored and Be Transformed. I personally get Internal Family Systems counselling and it has been very helpful. I have been through alot of childhood trauma and the focus in healing is in rediscovering your dignity as a child of God. Often in trauma, you have a disordered view of God the father and believe many lies about your value and worth. The Lord has been really showing me the path to transforming my wounds. I am even taking Teresium courses on spiritual theology and its focus is on Gods healing of our wounds.
We are hoping, but in Canada there’s not alot of openness to Christian counselling…..in our area anyway. She’s trying to get her internship with a Christian psychologist now. The hope is to open a Christian counseling facility with a few others. We shall see what the Lord has in mind.
I'm in Nova Scotia and while there are counsellors who will say they are Christian, they have no qualms to send one to the local Buddhist temple or yoga class. From personal experience, this is very dangerous stuff. Mental health here is not aimed at the needs of the individual, it's a "cookie cutter" approach, funded of course by the gov't. Legislation was has been proposed (& maybe passed) here to allow govt to access health care files. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the good help I have received, but as Agnes mentioned above, sometimes you really have to fight for it. I'll keep your daughter in my prayers. It's wonderful that she is working towards helping people who need and want this care ~
Thank you! I will check it out! I am always willing to take a step towards more healing in order to help myself and my family. God bless..
I have suffered from depression and associated mental health issues for over 55 years. I tried many forms of therapy and spiritual healers over the years to no avail. It was only when I discovered how to pray and offer my sufferings in the Divine Will spirituality that things began to change. The dark suicidal thoughts which I had nearly every day stopped. I have not had a dark period in approx. 5 years. I have an almost constant awareness nowadays of the Holy Spirit guiding my thoughts and what I speak of. It is a work in progress though and I need to do my part in response to the graces.
Our healing of wounds comes through infused contemplation. Direct contact with God. Though other means can assist us to this point. The Carmelites,and our practice of daily mental prayer is what started the healing process for me. Not to get too personal online, but I have CPTSD. But have come a very long way in healing. Though won’t be completed until heaven. Much involves the purification of the memory and that’s why people may need some counselling for awhile. Some memories you need to reconcile with God and yourself. At times a good Catholic counsellor and or spiritual director familiar with trauma, can assist that process.
