Touchy Subject - Deliverance Ministry/Mental Disorders(and just my life..)

Crypto: If you had/have a spiritual problem, nothing apart from Jesus Christ is going to set it right.

I'm not saying all the issues we go through are physical in nature. But a Christian woman who is active in church, has a solid walk with God and tried every other avenue of treatment... That isn't a spiritual issue.

My own symptoms weren't spiritual, they were a reaction to years and years of abuse. The people who insisted it was demons really hurt me a lot. That's why I spoke up here. If it is a spiritual problem, no medication will solve it. But if it's a physical problem, putting blame on a person for not being a good enough Christian or not having enough faith is extremely detrimental.

I don't get how that could hurt you, you need to recognize that they exist, but not over obsess with it like I do sometimes.

Everything is generalized into the spiritual realm, isn't it? That isn't to say medication is bad, I take medication for mild anxiety and that's it. I've tried almost every anti-psychotic medication and its either turned me into a zombie or made things worse.

To add to your ending, I don't think anyone here believes that not being a good enough christian or having enough faith has any impact on how healthy you are.

Perhaps we will truly never understand everything whether it be the spirit of bi polar disorder; a spirit causing the physical problem; a curse; chemical imbalances from living in a broken world; or maybe even all of the above. There is still a healing in order and our imperfect minds perhaps cannot conceive all that we are trying to.

Well, for you to understand why that hurt me, I'll have to explain.

My dad was very physically, verbally and emotionally abusive to me throughout my childhood. I repressed the memories of the abuse until I was 15, when I began to have vivd flashbacks and nightmares of the abuse. A flashback is like a waking nightmare. It's seeing the trauma as if it's happening right in the moment.

I didn't know if what I was remembering was real or not. I didn't know if I just hated my dad or if the things I saw were real. I had few friends, and they left when I tried to talk about what had happened. I started to hurt myself physically because of the internal pain. I took over-the-counter medicines to try and numb what was happening. I was admitted to the ER on several occasions with heart attack-like symptoms, but no one knew about the abuse (because I stopped trying to tell people). I tried to take my own life at 18. My mom didn't know why all this was happening, and she kicked me out of the house.

That year, when I was 18, I came back to God. But I was still in an amazing amount of emotional pain. The trauma of the abuse, the trauma of losing my family, the pain of feeling completely alone in the world, it was so hard. I went to church each week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and twice on Sundays, prayed daily, and tried to read my bible daily. I tried talking to a pastor about my ongoing anxiety and paralyzing fear, and (after a couple of minutes) he told me I needed to be in the word more and pray more. When I tried to tell him I already was as much as I could be, he told me to come to church more.

I was so sad and hurt, and angry that God would demand so much more of me than I could ever give.

Three people separately made it their business to tell me that psychiatric medications are "unbiblical." When I stopped my meds, I lost it. One of them eventually came back and apologized to me for her words.

And I can't count the people who have told me that I just need to rebuke the evil spirits and things like that. It is very, very hurtful. Especially when you DO pray and rebuke the spirits and NOTHING HAPPENS.

From all those types of conversations, the emphasis was only on WHAT I NEEDED TO DO. Which is ludicrous. And unbiblical. God's strength is sufficient for me. I live medication-free today by His grace and His grace alone, not because of something I did or an incantation I prayed or because I did more FOR God.

Sometimes, I think people need to just shut up and be there with a person when they're in pain. Mourn with them. Comfort them with their presence. And they shouldn't try to fix what they can't comprehend.

I never expected immediate results. I did expect SOME results, and I did not expect it to get worse.

What do you think was the single most helpful thing that happened, in all of that pain? Would you think people telling me it was demonic after ten minutes of conversation helped? The ones who told me to go off my meds? The ones who forced their (very limited and flawed) knowledge on me?

The thing that helped me most was one friend. His name was Brian, and he never once mentioned demons or possession. When I couldn't even read because I was so terrified, he read the bible to me. He prayed with me for healing. He played his guitar and sang songs of worship with me. And he did this between the hours of 5 and 7 AM, when my flashbacks and nightmares and anxiety were the worst. He never once made a move on me. And to this day, I've never met another Christian who would come out of a dead sleep to provide that kind of support even once, let alone 2-3 days a week for months. He also invited me to go to church with him, small bible studies, large bible studies. He introduced me to other women in Christ. And I thank God for sending my friend Brian, who showed me that not everyone was horrible and mean-spirited and judgmental.

Well, I don't think we(christians) can be possessed, just afflicted and influenced. We become more and more of who God originally wanted us to be even though we will never be perfect in this life. Your anxiety and nightmares weren't from God. And how did it get worse? In what way?

God's strength is sufficient for me. I live medication-free today by His grace and His grace alone, not because of something I did or an incantation I prayed or because I did more FOR God.

Sometimes, I think people need to just shut up and be there with a person when they're in pain. Mourn with them. Comfort them with their presence. And they shouldn't try to fix what they can't comprehend.

i don't think christians can be possessed either but I do think Satan tries and tempt us and lead us away from God and His purpose for our lives. Even Jesus had to resist the devil and his temptation. read the account of what happened to Jesus in the desert. Just because there is darkness around you doesn't mean it is your fault or even anything you can do about it except pray and allow God to deal with it.

Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. the visions get worse, the nightmares replay over and over again and you feel like its not working and your not doing enough and there is something wrong with you. if only you did more it would get better.

Its a trap that we should not let ourselves get snared in. Instead remember these Bible verses:

James 4:7-10
New King James Version (NKJV)

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up

Notice it did not tell you to do any thing except submit to God and Resist the devil and GOD will lift you up. you are cleansed through the blood of Jesus. through your FAITH in Him and His Grace. Remember God is our Heavenly Father all you have to do is call out to Him and He will answer. I think your friend was God's answer to your prayers. Stay blessed. have cuddle with my daughter....

ah but sanctification is not something we do

True, a christian can not be posessed by a demon however, that does not mean that everyone will be instantly delivered from deeply embedded mental and emotional conditions that may have existed in this person's life for many years. Such issues are called "oppression" and they are the result Demonic forces which have attempted to force their wills upon us through their influence on people that walk in and out of our lives. For example: an absent or abusive parent, a sexual predator, etc.

As we are exposed to various stresses through out our lives, we develop various coping mechanisms in order to deal with these stressful situations. Over time these mechanisms become deeply embedded behavioral strongholds that may very well have some kind of sinful addiction attached such as doubt / depression, lust / fornication, etc.

Unfortunately many "believers" today, with their "have to have it now" mentalities, have adopted a mindset where everything and anything is the result of an indwelling bad spirit that must be cast out immediately. The simple truth is that must of the junk in a believers life are behavior strongholds that the believer tends to fall back into when the going get's tough. They have yet to learn how to place their complete trust in God and follow the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit who's desire is to set you free from sin and strongholds through the power of sanctification. Unfortunately much of the modern has willingly tossed the basic teachings of sanctification into the garbage in exchange for doctrines of compromise which allow them to embrace sinful yet spiritually anemic lifestyles which has rendered the modern church spiritually powerless and useless.

Read this:

Schizophrenia.com - Schizophrenia is a Brain Disease

I'm not saying that satan and his followers can't use their influence to make our lives worse. I'm saying that mental illness isn't a spiritual issue. Not unless you think OTHER physical illnesses are. Diseases that change the structure of the brain are DISEASES, not DEMONS.

Just because there is a spiritual cure does not mean it has a spiritual cause.

And if you want to argue your point further, try finding some biblical basis for your argument. Right now, what I'm seeing is a lot of "This is how I believe things are" and not a lot of "This is what the bible says about..."

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Why do so many people care where it comes from? It's obviously not from God.

Read this:

Schizophrenia.com - Schizophrenia is a Brain Disease

I'm not saying that satan and his followers can't use their influence to make our lives worse. I'm saying that mental illness isn't a spiritual issue. Not unless you think OTHER physical illnesses are. Diseases that change the structure of the brain are DISEASES, not DEMONS.

Just because there is a spiritual cure does not mean it has a spiritual cause.

And if you want to argue your point further, try finding some biblical basis for your argument. Right now, what I'm seeing is a lot of "This is how I believe things are" and not a lot of "This is what the bible says about..."

Read this:

Schizophrenia.com - Schizophrenia is a Brain Disease

I'm not saying that satan and his followers can't use their influence to make our lives worse. I'm saying that mental illness isn't a spiritual issue. Not unless you think OTHER physical illnesses are. Diseases that change the structure of the brain are DISEASES, not DEMONS.

Just because there is a spiritual cure does not mean it has a spiritual cause.

And if you want to argue your point further, try finding some biblical basis for your argument. Right now, what I'm seeing is a lot of "This is how I believe things are" and not a lot of "This is what the bible says about..."