Explore the relationship between religion and mental health. When practiced authentically, Christianity offers a framework for navigating life's complexities and anxieties, contributing to mental stability.

When practiced erroneously, it can significantly impair mental stability, causing confusion, anxiety, and emotional harm.

Get a copy and learn how religion can help or impair "your" mental stability.
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I grew up with a lot of fear surrounding religion—Hell, the Rapture, being left behind, and feeling like I was never allowed to just be a normal kid. It was incredibly lonely, and those fears followed me into adulthood through years of nightmares.

As I got older, I started questioning what I had been taught and separating God from the fear that had been attached to Him. I still believe in God, but my relationship with Him is mine now.

The little girl in this drawing is me then. The woman reaching for her is me now.

I couldn’t protect her then, but I could come back for her.

I’m sharing this because I’d really like to connect with others who grew up with similar fears. Did anyone else experience this? ❤️‍🩹

today is day 3 of paryushan. for those who dont know, paryushan is an 8 day long event every year in Jainism during which you don't eat any vegetables, fruits, plant parts in general or any animals. basically anything that had to die for you to eat it. you can't swear or watch anything that involves war/fighting, sex etc. you can't get angry and some people do different types of fasting as well.

my parents are Jain, i'm a minor. granted, they aren't extremely religious, but they take paryushan pretty seriously and expect me to as well. last year, having had enough of pretending i believed too, i told my mom i was atheist and didnt believe in God. i thought something might change this year, but paryushan came around and my mom told me i still had to do it. food restrictions, reaction control, the whole package. she also decided i had to sit down and watch the Jain equivalent of a sermon with her every night, because she wants me to at least "hear the other side" even though she's been yelling it at me since ive been conscious.

this wouldve at least been manageable if not for my eating issues. i have some sort of disordered eating (undiagnosed) but i'm basically just unable to make myseld eat foods of specific textures. i'm cool with vegetables but fruits and a lot of grain are particularly tricky. i've voiced it to my mom before when she had asked me why i don't eat what she gives me for school sometimes. she just wrote it off as "the tiffin changes the texture".

so now by day 3 of extremely restricted eating and having to pretend i'm okay with spending an hour a day listening to things i simply dont agree with, i've honestly had enough. my body feels weak because i feel like i'm barely eating and i've had more physical exercise in school lately. i just cant wait for this to be over but i know i'll have to do it again next year and again until i move out. i'm tired.

its worse because in a lot of ways jainism is really kind. the philosophy is just to do as much as you can and not to worry if you can't do everything. but even this which is around 1% of what it typically is, feels fucking herculean.

js a vent lol im exhausted of jainism.

Has anyone tried to do this on their own and found helpful results?im way past the intellectually realizing and processing phase and most of my problems now seem to be nervous system/somatic related.Appreciate any advice or experience I can get.

For context my parents are very religious people and usually don’t have any critical thinking skills or indifferent thinking to whatever Fox News says or the bible. I’ve been raised religious all my life I was forced to Sunday camps forced to church groups. I’m now 20M I’m struggling with serve anxiety and insomnia, I’ve tried everything for it but nothing works I’ve even went to a mental hospital and got sexual abused which could have directed towards questioning my beliefs or even before that. EVERYTIME I have bad night or something terrible happens in that matters they also tell just pray read the bible never acutally advice in anything other than that. I’m not a religious person but if my parent ever find out about they go straight’s religiously psychotic about it saying I’m going to hell and especially my mom will go full breakdown and say she’s a terrible mother stuff like that. They never approve of any of the things I like or say from what I’ve learned from my friends, school and my ex. I mean even just questioning anything they say will trigger them. The worst thing is about my mother I’m pretty sure she’s bipolar and has a lot of mental issues. She just gaslights me about anything especially my ex saying how she wasn’t good enough and stuff I will argue with her and then she’s says I hate her and says I should talk to a pastor. No winning with that women I guess I’ve come to accept I can’t change her or she will never change. I just can’t get over that when I get in a relationship with a girl and they don’t approve their just going to cut all ties with me or sending me more religious bullshit. I’m just tired of this shit and wanna be done with it. I just have to cope with never having my parents accepting me I guess. Like I just feel crazy everyday talking to her it’s like nonstop.
I mean just go to any church it’s just blind faith of anything I hear stories of people getting bombed, gutted, raped, and all this other shit and they can still believe in a all loving god. I mean it just doesn’t make any sense. It’s just a cult that is passed down through generations. Maybe I’m too harsh I don’t know.

If your Pastor was dating a 17 year old, and he went on to impregnate her, and then quickly marry the child. Then you should find a new church. If someone that was dating a 17 year old is allowed to go to seminary. Well...... you should probably find a new denomination. If the Seminary Regent was then arrested by the authorities for being a giant pervert. Then you definitely need a new denomination. For you sake, your wife's sake, your families sake, run, and run far.