Agnostic.com

12 6

LINK Religious Trauma Syndrome: How some organized religion leads to mental health problems

FTA: Can you give me an example of RTS from your consulting practice?

Winell: I can give you many. One of the symptom clusters is around fear and anxiety. People indoctrinated into fundamentalist Christianity as small children sometimes have memories of being terrified by images of hell and apocalypse before their brains could begin to make sense of such ideas. Some survivors, who I prefer to call “reclaimers,” have flashbacks, panic attacks, or nightmares in adulthood even when they intellectually no longer believe the theology.

zblaze 7 Oct 21
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

12 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

Am I the only one traumatized by the Child's Bedtime Prayer: "Now I lay me down sleep, I pray the lord my soul keep. If I should die before I wake..." I remember trying my hardest not fall asleep after reciting this jewel because in my mind it was very evident that there was a real probability that I would not wake up again.

1

A friend of my mother's who believed in the same pentecostal fundamentalist bs that my mother did, told me, when I was 13 yrs old that I would not live to be 18 because "the rapture" would have happened by then and I'd either be in heaven or, if I didn't start praying and behaving as required by
god, I would be burning in hell.

That's just one example.

The psychological abuse I endured wasn't as bad as some have had to go through but I can honestly say, it affected me in ways I'll probably never understand.

1

Ever notice how people who claim they are certain of going to heaven are scared to death of dying?

1

I was never truly indoctrinated i saw the problems with religion in my early years.

2

Religion is one form of the mental illness known as Delusional Disorder, Diagnostic code DSM-5 297.1.

[theravive.com]

Read the diagnostic technique. It's very informative.

Incorrect, says the clinical psychologist (LMLP), though there are some religious delusions that meet the criteria. It is rare. Search my name in BSRB In Kansas. Last name *inner, I know about what I speak.

If you read the diagnostic technique, it's dead-on accurate that any religious belief qualifies as a delusion. They just don't like to admit it.

@ldheinz The thing about the DSM-5 is that the psychologist/mental health worker makes the final decision on diagnosis, not the book. There is a way to properly diagnose someone. You must have a personal interview or assessment with the person as a mental health care worker. I am right, even if you rather me not be. This is rational and how diagnosing is practiced. Masses of people are not diagnosed because we "want" to believe something is true.

@alanalorie, but you're saying that you CAN say religion isn't a delusion, purely on a whim, because you don't WANT to believe that what the book says is true. YOU'RE the one who's ignoring the facts to believe what you want. Is the "way to properly diagnose someone" to decide what you want the outcome to be and then just make the facts fit the desired conclusion? If the book doesn't matter, why does it exist?

@ldheinz This type of thing that happens when I tell someone they are not correct. What I say is that it is not a sign of a mental disorder. Religious content can be a symptom in some disorders. I have the facts on how to diagnosis and I am professionally trained. Your cries of me "being illogical" are unfounded. Many books do exist that are of little value. I also work correcting stigma and trying to help people from saying or announcing that others have a mental disease when it is not true. People try to say people are mentally ill whether they speak of liberals or conservatives or other groups they do not like. It does not change facts.

I also specialize in knowing to about abuse and abuse facts.

If you would like to prove me wrong. There is a site called Quora in which you can ask questions and perhaps ask other credentialed mental professionals will reply and then you will know why the above comment is incorrect. I will stop any argument with you, as this is the point where I usually receive ad hominem attacks. By the way are you a mental health professional or similar scholar?

3

I did a little checking and Dr. Winell is not a psychologist. Her degree is in Human Development.(That might sound like a trivial difference, but in academia it's not.) I'm sure she is motivated to help, but creating a 'new' disorder is a not infrequent way that practitioners attempt to get press and a reputation which increases their potential clients.
I'm not saying she's wrong, because I believe in the basic premise. However, as a research psychologist I would want to see studies before I invested belief in this.

3

THIS is another example of why the religious indoctrination of children should be classified as a felony.

@Antifred Yes. Yes, I am. Those who insist on indoctrinating their minor children should permanently lose custody, and have to do prison time. It should be classified as felony child abuse.

5

It is a form of Complex PTSD.

JK666 Level 7 Oct 22, 2018
4

All religion is a mental health problem.

3

Sorry, there is no former mental disorder called "Religious Trauma Syndrome." in the DSM-5. However, PTSD can occur in some instances when the person witnessed or saw something violent. People do use religion as abuse and it can be a theme in PTSD. However, just plain trauma can occur in many situations.

In the link: proposed by a psychologist based on her experiences in private practice.

[babcp.com]

You are correct that there is no "Religious Trauma Syndrome" in DSM-5. However, the IS a mental illness known as Delusional Disorder, Diagnostic code DSM-5 297.1. It's essentially the same thing.

[theravive.com]

@alanalorie The author of the article is a writer. The person the article refers to is a psychologist: [marlenewinell.net]

@Stephanie99 You are correct. I stand corrected, That does not mean she is correct. The abuse a child gets from simple indoctrination pales compared to what many children and adults experience. She will have to research and get it in a peer-reviewed journal before other psychologists accept it. I am tired of dealing with this. Unless someone has suffered from the serious mental pain of abuse, I do not care anymore about her. I had a man correcting me with no professional experience like he is the king of knowing everything. I have had enough. Done. Thanks for the correction.

The DSM changes. With each new edition, there are disorders that weren't there previously. Just because it's not in the DSM doesn't mean that RTS isn't a recognizable constellation of symptoms. The next edition may well include it.

3

My first memory was a Sunday school teacher telling me and some other kids that you have to do more than just go to Church to be a good Christian, you had to be a good person as well. I never saw her again. The never seeing her again stuck with me. I'm atheist now but I feel like the seeds of distrust within religion were sown many years ago.

3

I think believing in and following an organized religion is a mental health problem.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:206029
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.