There has been a strange van showing up at Joyce's house at night since she has been home. The speculation between Mom and I is that Joyce has a boyfriend.
"Oh no!" my father said last night when I mentioned it. "That is that wacky preacher of hers who is giving her religious counseling for her mental illness."
Religious counseling for mental illness? I scoffed. Joyce has a bio-chemical imbalance in the brain and that causes her mental illness. Only medications can help.
I was once told schizophrenia was a gift of insight from God by my grandmother's preacher. I could see and hear spiritual matters most normal people couldn't. When I was mentally ill this only fueled the fire that was my malfunctioning brain. I thought I had a direct connection with God. Kind of like a hotline to spirituality. They put me on an atypical anti-psychotic and any religious tendencies I had disappeared. It was all a delusion. I sometimes miss that religious fervor as it is much easier to explain the scary unknown and a chaotic world with God involved. It was comforting in an odd way. Truly the opiate of the masses.
8 comments:
I'm sorry that your friend is doing so poorly and her family made the decision that she needs permanent help. But it does sound like they're making the right decision. I feel sorry for her poor tortured soul.
I hope you'll be able to visit her and she won't be too far away.
Have a good weekend my friend!
Just wanted to say Hi. Because of my eyes I haven't been on the computer very much, but I still read your blog. My blog is so boring right now..nothing to say these days. Can you take some video of Maggie and post it. that always brings a smile to my face.
Take care and Hugs
Tory
Just stopping by to say hi to you..I hope that you have a good day. I am having a rough time right now...not wanting to post about it right now but perhaps this weekend I will..........
Hi Andrew. I have been enjoying your blog for quite some time and I see that you love trains. Well, I buy really neat cd's from Ohio Distinctive for $5.
Today I received their latest sale and it's for........
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I would like to send you this CD as a gift I just need an address.
If you leave your e-mail address in a comment on my blog I will delete it and e-mail you for your address (or I can mail it to your attention at your father's pharmacy). I think you would love this CD!
Darlene
you're right she needs her meds and not just some pastor guy praying over her. That is why God uses gifted Doctors to help those with cancer or diabetes or mental illnesses. But prayer is good too but she needs a doctor as well
God created man. I'd trust God long before I'd trust a "gifted" doctor. So far they haven't got a clue as to how to help Joyce.
I'd say at this point, a little prayer wouldn't hurt from one of those "preacher guys".
You'd be amazed at what God can do when one trusts in Him. He sure as heck won't hand you a bunch of pills.
Andrew, My daughter joined a creepy church when she was a teenager, and in the throes of her bipolar illness. I knew her pastor. He had left our mainline church. He called one day and asked if he could pray for her, because he was sure that what was going on with her was "demonic." I replied that we could both see that she was troubled, but that what he called "demonic" I called a "chemical imbalance." I asked, "Do you mean prayer or exorcism?" "Oh, just a prayer," he said, soothingly. Well, of course, it seemed like an exorcism to my daughter. It didn't help, and she was sure that she was evil and that God had abandoned her.
I feel like it was I who abandoned her to this man's craven stupidity. Fortunately, she left that church soon after and, over 20 years later, is able to function quite well, thanks to wise therapists and medication. Thank God that she lives in the 21st century!
OK, I do believe in healing and I do believe in God. However, I also believe that God gave us doctors to help us with our illnesses. God doesn't choose to heal everyone and I can't answer why. But this also doesn't mean that her pastor is wacko. I only hope he's encouraging her to take her meds and maybe praying with her for strength to do so.
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