Distorted Views of Religion and Spirituality

Taking away his Bible may upset him, because he is learning about his Father in Heaven. Like Father like son. We all have different paths. He can be knowledgeable of scripture in a wonderful way. Sometimes we are learning all the while prayinh for our kids. You may need to focus on yourself so that you can stand your ground. And by any means, after you have done all you can do, continue to stand. This is a time to be held. And to know that we will be held and lifted up in due time.
Ephesians chapter 6 is located in the new testament. If you open in the middle of the Bible, thats psalms then proverbs in the old testament. Open towards the middle of the new testament.

He is afraid. Grandiose towards spirituality and fearful. Give him gentle reminders. Continue to do what youre doing. Involve people for direction. There isnt a lot people can do without a mainstay guardian. Pick up the phone. Give him space. Get some support. Here, i dial 211 and get immediate response from a trained responder, communicator.

:point_right::sweat_drops::latin_cross::point_left:
I know the One Creator, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorned the shame and sat down at the right side of the throne of God… Is God different? Yes He is holy. Which means like none other. So am i speaking the truth in love? Am i telling it like it is? Am i speaking the truth in loveee

yep, thats it, enjoy the spectacle…

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Sometimes when my brother calls me to rant on, I sometimes wish he’d give me a heads-up so I can make popcorn :wink:

There always seem to be themes and variations, kinda like repetitive music or poetry sometimes.

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Gotta have some humor. Better to laugh when you can then cry all the time.

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He has no clue that his Bible is put away. Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with his issues for 30 years and before that, his Dad’s. I try not to set off any triggers and MY faith has been what has sustained ME through all these years. Actually, my favorite is:
[ 30 ] Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
[ 31 ]But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 30 - 31

Be blessed…

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My son acts extremely religious when not doing well. So much so that when he is doing more of his religious rituals, I start guessing , may be he has been missing taking his meds. He gave away all his money to the religion as well. Always chanting and talking about spirituality. Delusions and hallucinations are God’s messages. Believes that God sends him direct messages and he is God’s special person. Trusts that he does not need to do anything and only chanting God’s name will solve all his problems!

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my son was wired with all sorts of religious delusions…he saw himself as the return of the Buddha, he believed he was more important then Jesus…my son believed he defeated the devil, and was now a supreme being in the universe

my son believed all this for about 12 yrs…his delusions eventually unravelled themselves…thanks to a med combo

medication is a hit and miss affair…it takes time and a lot of patience to get well again or at least adapt to the new normal

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I relate @pally …

Medication is a hit and miss affair.

Right now my son is not interested in meds or seeing a doctor. He is not so delusional that he thinks he is a religious figure, rather he picks out religious or philosophical concepts and tries to get them to apply to everything in his life, as if he thinks it will give him direction.

He has recently been almost paralyzed in his decision making process, and switches back between options multiple times in a day. His ability to plan, organize, problem solve , make realistic plans are compromised. If you met him you would think he is smart and creative and it would take a few days to realize that he is stuck in cognitive loop. He rarely mentions his hallucinations but will tell me that his thinking “isn’t clear.” My son isn’t so debilitated that he would consider meds as an option. However he has yet to figure out how to be self supporting and autonomous and not be so isolated. Was your son willing and cooperative about taking meds? How did he figure out which med combos were working? It seems that it took a lot of determination and patience on his part to be willing to work with his doctors and try different things.

Also, he must have good insurance, because otherwise I don’t think he would get to see a doctor regularly and frequently enough to make the necessary adjustments in the meds.

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Religion, Spirituality, and Schizophrenia: A Review - PMC Here’s a research article “Religion, Spirituality, and Schizophrenia: A Review”

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Our son had what I called faith-based delusions, but then I read about and his therapist confirmed that the constant loop of worry that he was not doing what God wanted him to do, that he shouldn’t do certain things or indecision about doing the “right” thing, were actually a type of OCD. (See “religious” or “scrupulosity” OCD.)

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I appreciate this and hope to read it in depth. I will get back to you on this.

I found this on a website that my son has actually looked at. Don’t know if he has read this part but I find it interesting and relevant.

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Common Scrupulosity OCD obsessions:

  • Fear of living a life of sin or one that God wouldn’t approve of.
  • Fear of doing something that doesn’t align with your moral or ethical standards.

My son appears concerned that:
He is not following the Buddhist path that leads to enlightenment and the end of suffering

He is doing something that is not aligned with Buddhist moral and ethical standards (not practicing non-attachment adequately etc., being selfish if he wants to do something that he enjoys)

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

@Crushd Thank you for sharing this. Its very good. This was one (body dysmorphia was the other ) of the first prodrome signs for my son. Being catholic… I didnt take it as serious as I should have when it first started. Hindsight is 20/20.

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On the “scrupulosity OCD” diagnosis, somewhere I read that it is entirely separate from SZ, but 40% of persons with SZ have it. Also, note how it is treated. You DO NOT try to convince the person that the their OCD fear has no basis, but rather the OCD is typically treated by voluntary exposure to the source of fear (ERP “Exposure Response Prevention” or by CBT)…you can read about this in the article or Google it.

I’ll add that a degree of social anxiety and agoraphobia are often comorbid as well. I know I had some of this which I self treated in much the same way.

It’s a bit more understandable than OCD, since the outside world is stimulus rich and can aggravate hallucinations, delusions and paranoias. Gradual increases in exposure and my own form of CBT helped me get through.

My daughter hasn’t had any religious delusions. However her father (my x) and my current sister-in-law are convinced that my daughter’s sz is a spiritual battle. Even her caseworker asked me if our house is haunted one time.

I’m mainly only offended by my sister-in-laws views on this and her views on MI people in general. I’m tired of her saying that my daughter needs a qualified person to pray over her since my daughter has obviously opened some door to make her self susceptible to satan, according to my sister-in-law.

I have 4 children. One is still very young. My older children are 16, 19, 21. Two oldest have suffered from severe depression and then my daughter 16 is dx sz spectrum which my sister-in-law labels all of this as a spiritual attack on our family.