A Little Chat First.
"I asked a psychologist (and very religious) friend something similar to this once. Her response?"
"A general rule of psychology with few exceptions is to not diagnose a patient you've never even had a conversation with. It doesn't matter what actions you can see. Or what accounts you're given. Or even the writings left behind. Trying to diagnose someone sight unseen is sloppy."
"She ranked it on par with those posts you see all over reddit or Facebook or Tumblr where people will diagnose fictional characters with tons of mental disorders. It's a fun thought exercise, but that's the best it could be."
"Usually it's just obnoxious to see someone claim that every personality quirk a hero displays is actually a symptom of their autism/ADHD/ PTSD/ manic- depressive disorder."
"The anthropologist in me also would like to add that many disorders are culturally defined and that we cannot assume a non-human entity would have the same psychology as a human. It's too anthropomorphic. Maybe everything God does is actually completely normal for a God, and a God that acts more rational by human standards would be the one with the mental disorder."
"Now is this all a long winded way to avoid answering the question? Yes it is. But I still found it worth a thought."
The Cosmics....
"Cosmic vanity."
"He created an entire planet of life for the sole purpose of worshiping him and living by his doctrine."
"Also psychopath."
Where to Begin.
"Floods? Plagues? Telling his followers to murder their sons? Sending his own son to Earth so he can be crucified? Sending people that don't follow his random rules to hell to be tortured for eternity? Psychopath anyone?"
The "Experiment"
Giphy"I'm not a psychologist but I've read the entire bible. Dude sounds like a massive narcissist with a superiority complex. He literally created humans just to praise and worship him. And whenever they slip up, eternal torture. Just for the lolz I guess."
"Another theory is that the God of the bible is like a kid stomping on ants for fun, and essentially the whole world is his fun "experiment." This one makes a bit more sense, imo. XD"
Severe Behavior.
"Homicidal maniac."
"Crap man, I respect your decisions, but she ate an APPLE my guy."
Forget Diagnosis...
Screw diagnosis, dude would be getting some serious meds right away. (Not a psychologist, but you make a bear kill 42 kids for teasing a bald guy, there's issues)."
No Need to Punish.
"A narcissist with an emphasis on abuse. The relationship between follower and God mimics spousal abuse to a T. No matter how horrible God treats his followers, they all claim they deserve the punishment he gives as it is their fault and God does it because he loves them. If only they were better then he wouldn't need to punish them."
Toxic.
Giphy"Reprehensible bully with seriously toxic jealousy."
"I'm an actual psychologist. God would have the first legit case of Dissociative Identity Disorder (aka "Multiple Personalities") given how many authors have written as "Him" over the last 6,000 years."
He's batty and insane.
"Antisocial personality disorder. He's batty and insane."
"Been there. I've had so many clients tell me that they're God."
"So probably schizophrenia."
How Meta.
Giphy"God complex."
mkkart
"Meta question, if you are able to diagnose God, could you even diagnose him with his an illness named after him."
"Like, could you diagnose Narcissus with narcissistic personality disorder?"
Mavikiu
Wink. Wink.
"I see what you did there God I am not falling for that I want to go to heaven."
Ikon701
"1000 IQ God trying to catch people slipping."
ogprichard
"Yeah good thing I would only diagnose God with being good wink wink."
quavo-fan
"Abraham put that knife down right now."
"The old testament makes God look like a psycho, but I sometimes wonder if it might not have gone down something like this:"
"Abraham put that knife down right now."
"But Lord, you commanded me to sacrifice my son --"
"I keep telling you, the voices you hear after eating those mushrooms that grow on the riverbank aren't me."
I_throw_socks_at_cat
So erratic.
"Bipolar, just any time I read the damn thing and god is involved I just think "he has bipolar." Jesus is pretty chill though except when he cursed the fig tree for all eternity for not having any figs. God on the other hand is just unpredictably erratic."
ElephantsOnTurtle
Darn Kids.
"Disappointed in his kids."
fermat1432
"Haha. So disappointed that he allows them to die in completely avoidable situations and condemns them to hell."
LATER4LUS
"delusions of grandeur"
"Probably an unpopular post, but: nothing."
"A key criteria for diagnosing someone for most things is that the problem needs to cause "clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning."
"It's an important step for dismissing false positives--that's why someone who spends their weekends dressing up like a dog is one thing, but a person who shows up at work to pee on everything and howl at the moon has issues."
"Considering that, at least insofar as the Bible is concerned, God has absolutely no distress or impairment, it would be pretty hard to justify diagnosing him with something."
"I mean, would you diagnose the Queen of England with "delusions of grandeur" because she insists that she's the Queen of England? Probably not. Same thing here, just on a bigger scale."
PM_NUDES_4_DEGRADING
The Bottom of the barrel...
""Psychotic depression from his profound loneliness, and we are his resultant psychosis.
crossedword
"Like, for real. You're an all powerful, all knowing entity born out of nothing, and all that surrounds you is dark vast nothingness. Of course you'd go insane, you want to see anything, have a purpose. So you make humans. Modeled after the only thing you've ever known, yourself. If God is real, maybe we are just his own delirium."
ague_doctor
Which Book?
"It really depends on which book of the Bible you're reading. I feel God in the New Testament was probably when the drugs started kicking in and he wasn't so angry anymore. Either that or he had a well-hidden Alcohol Use Disorder early on (drunk on power?) but he straightened up once he had a kid."
vampedvixen
The Litany.
"If you look at it like a relationship, he's an abuser. Look at the signs.
• "always "testing" you""
• "doesn't want you to associate with people He doesn't accept and will shut you from His kingdom if you do so"
• wants your complete dedication at any cost to you""
• ""demands you do things because "He loves you"
• ""has a plan for you that you have no say in
• you are not allowed to do a great number of things or He'll smite you; however unless you literally beg for forgiveness, to hell with you"
• "creates a perfect being (Satan) and then says if you do anything like that guy, you are bad."
"The guy is a disaster. So many people are in an abusive relationship with someone that doesn't even exist."
my_hat_is_fat
You're Crazy. That's All.
Giphy"ITT: the general consensus seems to be sociopathic malignant narcissist with extreme anger issues and major bipolar disorder with a history of close relations abuse, with a possibility of borderline personality disorder."
weretomato
These are some interesting theories. Do you have something to share? Let us know in the comments below.
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nick256 asked, [Serious]Did You Ever Regret Talking To A Therapist/Psychiatrist? Why?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
"Thinking happy thoughts" does not help with depression or anxiety.
GiphyYeah, when I was in my late teens this therapist suggested I should only think happy thoughts, that the abuse I received was my own fault for not standing up for myself, and when all of that didn't work she prescribed a high dose of Xanax for me. Literally said she would be beating the s*** out of her own daughter if she found out she was cutting herself like me (back then). I thought this was the norm and she was right, a better therapist later on told me that she was messed up and demanded the company she was with to make sure she wouldn't ever have another client again. Apparently she got many, many complaints as she did this to many of her clients.
This is bad advice.
Had a therapist who recommended me to go visit my dad whose girlfriend had a month prior tried to strangle me to death, and had abused me for well over a year. I was five at that time.
Props for trying.
GiphyI've been seeing a therapist for a year and it's been great. Some sessions are better than others, but it's helped me considerably with my issues of anxiety and depression.
However, she suggested than I try one of the group classes, and I was hesitant. But I figured that the worst that could happen was a bad experience, and signed up for one.
It went fine until the doctor/teacher asked to share what was bothering us. I was not at all prepared for this. It takes a long time for me to open up to someone other than a doctor about this stuff, I was not remotely okay with sharing this information with total strangers. I basically had an anxiety attack while waiting for my turn, and did my best to hide it when I was asked to speak, but I wasn't able to form coherent sentences. The doctor reminded me to try some of the basic anxiety coping mechanisms and I basically clammed up after that. I spent the rest of the class trying to not dwell on the fact that I had a anxiety attack right in front of people.
I felt worse after that than I did before I stared seeking help. It only really took me a week or so to feel normal again, but there is no way that I'll ever do any kind of group therapy again.
Malpractice 101. Crohn's can cause depression, however.
At around age 12 I started getting terrible, burning stomach aches. All I could do was lay in my bed, waiting for it to go away. Went to my doctor and he "diagnosed" me with lactose-intolerance (I did drink a lot of milk) and depression/anxiety. Made me go to a therapist but I just knew that wasn't the issue. Mentally I was fine, still am. Kept going to these over and over again, learning nothing, while my health state got worse and worse. My body turned to bones, my skin was as pale as a ghost. But no, I was "just sad." (Don't worry, I know depression is more than just being sad.) It almost got to a point where they just about convinced me they were right, and it was just a mental thing. Finally went to a professional and was immediately diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Within a month after receiving treatment, my skin color came back, and I gained around 10-15 pounds after being deathly below what I should have been. It wasn't totally the therapist's fault, but it still made a little upset that I was always just told I was wrong.
"Religious therapist" should be considered an oxymoron.
I did! I found it really difficult to talk about things and it was emotionally draining.
I'm a reserved kind of guy, and I don't talk about that kind of thing, so opening up was unnatural and too much to deal with for me.
I also saw a Christian therapist, which in hindsight maybe wasn't the best idea for someone questioning their sexuality.
That's not how it works.
GiphyThere was a time when I felt down a lot, so I figured seeing a therapist might be a smart move. She told me emotions are a triangle of happy, sad, and angry if I recall correctly.
"whenever you feel sad or angry, just think about things that make you happy"
That's it, that's all there is to it apparently.
Thanks doc.
Just pray! Pray it all away!
Yes. Husband and I went to marriage counseling after a large marriage altering event. He chose a Christian counselor. I had misgivings, but went anyway.
Chick basically spent every session telling us to read some workbook she was selling (not even one she had written), and then ended in prayer. Yea, not helpful at all. We ended up only going a handful of times and working things out on our own instead.
Well, here we have an ethics violation.
Yes.
So my ex-school has this system where a psychologist will come in and talk to kids that the school thinks needs some therapy. The school pays for the psychologist to assess the student and if the psychologist thinks that the student needs some extra therapy, the school will then allow for extra sessions. I suffer from a lot depression and PTSD but I have a psychiatrist outside of school that helps me so much, but regardless of my improving mental state, the school wants me to see that psychologist that they have just in case.
So I went in there, explained that I am doing really well and that I just want to spend some of my free time I have for myself but the school psychologist didn't want to hear that and continues to question me on and on about stuff and so I eventually told her that yes I do have recurring nightmares of my mother who was abusive sometimes and that affects my sleep a bit, it's no big deal, it doesn't affect my mood or my overall performance at school but the psychologist wanting the money, goes to the school and tells them "She has reoccurring nightmares of her mother and I think she needs some extra therapy," basically exploiting that ONE THING I SAID SO THAT SHE CAN GET MORE MONEY.
I found the sessions really unhelpful and it sometimes even cause me panic attacks afterwards because that of a psychologist digs up well buried memories that I have long forgotten back to the surface and pretty much undoing all the ACTUALLY USEFUL THERAPY WORK THAT MY PSYCHIATRIST OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL DID. I got so fed up at one of the sessions that I walked out and my father made a formal complaint to the school board saying that they are forcing me to do unnecessary treatment despite several different requests cancelling therapy sessions.
Takes a lot to be this hangry.
GiphyI was suicidal and the therapist told me I was probably just hungry.
Awkward. And seriously unprofessional.
Yeah. Wife and I went to a marriage counselor. He tried to rub one off when we were talking about our sex life.
On whose side was this therapist?
Yes, very much so. I struggled a lot as a teen with bullying at school and what amounted to what I now recognize as emotional abuse at home. I was very depressed and anxious. I started having thoughts of suicide at age 13. I eventually convinced my parents to let me see a psychiatrist, though they didn't really think there was a problem. I was a HS freshman at the time, so 15-16.
I liked the doctor a lot at first. He was friendly, he really listened to me talk about my issues, and he was the only sympathetic adult in my life at that point - I thought. After a while, he told me the way I was being treated at home was very wrong, and he wanted me to bring my dad in to a session so we could all talk about it together. He felt that if he were mediating the conversation, my dad might actually take my feelings seriously. I thought, "Wow, this is great, I will finally be heard!"
The next time I came in, I brought my dad, but the doc did a complete 180, talking about me with my dad as if I weren't even there. He told him he was doing a good job as a parent, but I was just a bad and rebellious kid who did everything for attention. The best thing to do, he said, was ignore my attention-seeking behaviors and not validate them in any way. He said he didn't believe I was really depressed at all and was faking to get drugs.
A friend had died in a car accident just a few days before, so I was already in an emotionally vulnerable place. Whenever I tried to speak, they'd just talk over me, like I was just some thing, not a person with feelings. I started to cry, so the doctor pointed at me and said, pretty triumphantly, "See! She's crying now because she knows I'm right. I can't be right because I'm old, isn't that right, downhereforyoursoul? You can't stand for an adult to be right!"
I tuned out whatever was being said after that, just quietly cried while they continued discussing me and my issues with authority or whatever. Home life worsened after that because now there was even less of a chance for me to ever be listened to or taken seriously. I self-medicated with drugs and alcohol. It was many years before I felt comfortable seeking help again.
That ahole is probably retired or dead by now, but f*ck him. I'm still salty about it.
This is profoundly unhelpful.
GiphyYes, she repeated what I have to do is change my personality. Feeling depressed and anxious is about my personality... Interesting.
Isn't it the therapist's job to recognize signs of abuse?
Yep! My therapist, who is been seeing for a year prior for other reasons, had incredibly unreasonable expectations for a new relationship of mine. Talking about "true love" and how "some people just get so lucky finding 'their person' so young". I remember having misgivings at the time, but continued seeing her. Started having relationship problems so brought him with me to the therapist. Therapist started getting erratic and giving contradictory advice in the same session. Ended up having to dump the therapist before dumping the SO.
Ironically, this therapist is supposedly the best in my area for post-abuse counseling.
When your therapist violates confidentiality...
Yep. As a teen I had a few sessions with a psychologist. I wanted to go in order to talk about some historical trauma but my father was paying for the sessions because he wanted me to figure out how to better adapt to life with his new batshit crazy wife. After a few sessions, I found out that the psychologist was having regular discussions over the phone with my father and disclosing what I was saying during our sessions. I promptly freaked out and then refused to seek psychological help (which I really needed) for close to a decade.
Don't treat patients like customers.
GiphyShe treated me like a product and did her job like it from a checklist. I wasn't in a good mental state at the time and she pushed too many of my buttons. The most notable thing I said to her was "stop regurgitating the same bile you find off of the internet and do your f*cking job."