I would say for the longest time I struggled with my homosexuality, I even voluntarily placed myself into therapy to "cure" myself of it. It made me incredibly depressed and suicidal, I even attempted to take my own life at the age of fourteen because of all the bullying I suffered from religious families/children and the discontent/ pressure from religious leaders. I lost friends when I came out in high school and almost lost my home when I came out to my mother. Currently now the relationships I have with friends and my mother are much better now that lots of time has passed.

Organized religion is not my cup of tea although I would go to a service with someone provided the church is open and liberal

Religion has caused me great mental aggravation. Just when I have to listen to annoying, judgmental, narcissistic believers.

I'm a therapist. I have seen how religion has affected people in regards to guilt and fear, I think for obvious reasons. Also, it is, for lack of a better word, interesting working with people diagnosed with schizophrenia who are having religious based delusions. My own personal experience, I was never religious. However, I spent several years looking for some indication I would exist in some form after I died. Now that I have given up on that useless pursuit, I actually fear death less. And yes, psychiatry is not immune to negative influences from social norms - dysfunctional belief systems.

Religion is generally shown to help with mood issues because it offers solace, purpose and meaning, whether or not that is justified. It serves as a security blanket for those times when things don't make sense or they are intolerable. Conversely, atheism without the creation of personal meaning leaves people with existential angst. Think about where people go when something terrible happens for which there is no identifiable reason. They want to know how and why it happened. They need a reason that they can grasp as part of the scheme of things in order to process circumstances and not be so overwhelmed that they come undone. Religion offers a way out of that I.e "god's will." Kind of like spiritual Xanax.