Faith And Cognitive Dissonance
How many of my readers, struggle with the notion of faith and cognitive dissonance? Or __________ and cognitive dissonance?
I know that I do and I would love to hear from others who do as well!
I waver in my life, a certain amount, so for me to feel this way is not totally unusual!
For instance, one day I’ll feel totally removed from any sort of ideas of “faith,” and on another day, I am firmly rooted in my ideas of “faith.”
This is torture! But, this is also a part of my illness (I believe)!
What is your experience with faith and cognitive dissonance? Is this experience, similar to other patterns in your life that you deal with regarding the notion of cognitive dissonance?
Mentally Ill In America
He/Him. I write #poetry and #blog about #mentalhealth. We are only here for a sliver of time #lifelonglearner #helper #schizoaffective. Opinions are my own.
Good post! Having faith, or any sort of religious belief, can be tricky when you struggle with mental illness, in my experience. One of the dangers is slipping into religiosity. For me as someone with bipolar disorder, that would look like flight of ideas about religion, prophesies during manic episodes. That’s why I try to keep faith, but try not to go too far.
Also, I think everyone wavers in their faith. Doubt is an important part of having faith, I believe. The opposite of doubt is certainty, which can lead to fundamentalism.
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Hey, thanks for this comment! 🙂
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I realized i was angry at God for having me have bipolar after going to the psych hospital a few years back. I don’t hold it now but my faith hasn’t waived. I do thing it is subjective though and more on how i was raised then actual after life. If that makes sense. In a side note i raised atheists so go figure.
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I had to build everything up faith wise, as my family was little help to me. That said, I am plagued with psychosis, so I believe, yes, but it is difficult a lot of the time.
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I think wavering is pretty average. People waver in a lot of things. They bounce between times of okayness and times of unwellness. They bounce between believing they will be okay and believing they won’t be. Life is literally built upon opposites. It’s how we approach and accept those opposites that shape our understanding of things. I have learned to be comfortable with ambiguity, at which point the waverings in my understanding of faith, afterlife, not-after-life, God, not God, don’t really bother me anymore. It’s kind of like when someone deals with anxiety, sometimes accepting being uncomfortable with uncertainty is more helpful than trying to tackle the actual feelings of anxiety.
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Thanks for your comment! 🙂
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In most things I do that. Go from one side to another.
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It’s awfully frustrating I know!
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Just meant that you’re not alone!
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Thank you!
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