Whether or not you consider yourself a religious or spiritual individual, chances are you are familiar with the belief that relying on a higher spiritual being is linked to attaining happiness and fulfillment. Many people correlate religiosity with positive attributes: personal success, decent mental health and answers to our seemingly eternal existential crises. However, this is not always the case.
There is a distinct relationship between religious beliefs and mental illness that has gone unnoticed or ignored for quite some time. An understanding of “God” as an entity is not always the missing piece of the puzzle that will send people merrily on their way to eternal happiness. In some cases, this understanding can be the cause of anxiety and depressive disorders.
As a moderately religious individual, I am not here to debunk the merits of everyone’s respective belief systems. Religious practice is known to increase during times of stress and can act as a buffer to alleviate many detrimental effects that stress can have on one’s physical and mental state. In addition, one study showed that religious involvement was directly correlated with a reduction in unhealthy or risky behaviors, an increased level of social coherence and strong beliefs pertaining to coping with painful experiences. An additional finding published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion proved that religious belief held a palliative role in the assuaging of one’s physical pain.
There is no doubt that relying somewhat on a higher power can help individuals in times of need. Being a part of a religious community can lessen feelings of loneliness and provide a “purpose” to life that may have been lacking beforehand. It is this belief in a benevolent, loving God or higher power that helps individuals move past dark times. But this particular understanding of God is not identical across the board of religious teachings. A study published in the Journal of Religion and Health showed that those people who see God as a vengeful and frightening entity are more susceptible to anxiety disorders, depression and paranoia, as well as obsessive and compulsive behaviors.
A belief in an angry God (who does not offer the same protection a kind God would) is the reason many religious people may fall prey to mental illness. This specific comprehension of God actually increases feelings of guilt and shame in an individual because of the constant fear of making mistakes that will not be forgiven. In addition, one’s quest to better understand God and religion after traumatic life events can further deteriorate the mental state of an individual and lead to increased psychological distress and in some cases, a higher risk of mortality.
Experts from University College London studied the relationship between religious understanding and mental illness and published the surprising results in the academic journal Psychological Medicine. The study followed a large group of people with varying degrees of religiousness for one year, checking up on each of them at 6 and 12 months. The outcome was unforeseen: Those people with the strongest religious beliefs were at a higher risk for depression, twice as likely to experience major depression than those who held a more secular view on life.
There is no possible way to declare that religion helps or hinders one’s mental state. But it is clear from the above evidence that a certain understanding of God can definitely lead to an increased susceptibility to mental illnesses. Religion has incredible power to provide us with positivity and confidence, but it can also affect us negatively. Being aware of its ability to do so gives us the power to overcome any adverse implications. We should be consistently evaluating our personal convictions to ensure that our understanding of spirituality is only able to act as a valuable addition to daily life.