Thoughts and experiences of life and mental health

Religion and Mental health Part M-12

Daily goal - Research mental health history.

I did an article on the history of mental illness a while back, and to my biggest surprise during my research, I found that in most of history, mental illness and religion have been intertwined.

When an individual had some form of mental disability, the diagnosis was demonic possession (one of many diagnoses linked to religion).

The witch hunt during 1600 is an enormous example of the link between mental illness and the religion humans created, some of the women burned or tortured were mentally unstable, and they were accused of performing witchcraft, or were possessed by demons.

Each culture has its own religion and each religion its own beliefs, yet religion and mental illness for some reason always become intertwined.

As a child, I was raised in a religion that if you suffered psychologically, it was because of sin, or an evil entity that clutched onto our souls, or because we failed to give enough of ourselves to our creator.

Only recently when I started actually studying mental health issues, do I understand the history and where mental health originates from.

Being mentally unstable has nothing to do with any religion, and the misconception that it does is the reason why so many people walk around and suffer a silent battle unseen by the world.

This is the reason why the suicide statistics are so high, because of the stigma created about mental disorders.

Take the time and read my full piece on the history of mental disorders later in the book to understand why religion and mental illness need to be separated and never be intertwined.

There is so much more I want to say on this topic, but I will refrain from going into detail.