Can church be bad for your health?
Someone I know has talked to a counselor about various issues and feelings they’ve been facing. The counselor found it interesting how their entire life revolved around “church” and how much of their present anxiety comes from how they feel when they attend church, though they’ve recently stopped attending regularly. The counselor decided to delve deeper into their experience with church for a few
secessions. Many of the situations that they experienced in church were rather traumatic emotionally, including the loss of their marriage. The individual feels very troubled, stressed, and deeply depressed after “attending church”. Negative and hurtful thoughts and memories flood the mind when they walk through the doors. Normally after returning home they experience a deep valley of depression for a few days that frightens them.
If they continue attending church they become militantly “dedicated” to the point of outbursts, anger, and unreasonableness. Eventually it snaps and they fall apart emotionally.
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Insert a lot of drama here
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Even when attending another church where nothing negative has happened the individual finds themselves almost in a cold sweat and feeling nearly frantic. Friends and family have pointed out that when they had been attending church in the recent two years they had become cold, unemotional, and heartless. The counselor stated that they have
symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder originating from the
emotional abuse, or perceived emotional abuse, that they received in church. I pulled this from a website to see if this was possible. Here is a paragraph illustrated the causes of PTSD:
What causes PTSD?
Virtually any trauma, defined as an event that is life-threatening or that severely compromises the emotional well-being of an individual or causes intense fear, may cause PTSD. Such events often include either experiencing or witnessing a severe accident or physical injury, receiving a life-threatening medical diagnosis, being the victim of kidnapping or torture, exposure to war combat or to a natural disaster, exposure to other disaster (for example, plane crash) or terrorist attack, being the victim of rape, mugging, robbery, or assault, enduring physical, sexual, emotional, or other forms of abuse, as well as involvement in civil conflict. Although the diagnosis of PTSD currently requires that the sufferer has a history of experiencing a traumatic event as defined here, people may develop PTSD in reaction to events that may not qualify as traumatic but can be devastating life events like divorce or unemployment.
It was the counselor’s opinion that after years of being in a church wherein the individual’s performance was always judged so strictly, fearsome rebukes from the pulpit issued, and unreasonable demands and accusations from leadership they person faces deep emotional trauma. Their marriage fell apart while trying to appease the church and meet unreasonable standards, schedules, and obedience. This too contributes to the emotional pain they experience in regards to discussing “church” or attending “church”. The counselor has encouraged a therapy involving rapid eye movements and has advised that the individual approach “attending church” with caution. Prescribing medication is the last resort according to these counselor, the hopes are that the individual in question can overcome their deep emotional trauma through therapeutic means not involving drugs. The counselor has also encouraged the person to find a way to maintain and practice their spirituality in alternative faith communities if they feel they must remain spiritual.
Is it possible that negative experiences with church over an extended period of time can result in PTSD or deep emotional trauma? Is it possible that after such experiences “traditional church” could be bad for the mental and emotional health of some individuals?