Poll How Has Your Belief In A Higher Power Changed After Your Trauma?

[heidi]

I think I still carry the same beliefs I had from before. If I was born this way I probably would have developed different beliefs because I'm a different person now.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I used to be religious even during my trauma's but I think I clung to religion becasue I had nothing else.

Now, I am not religious and question God. I do believe in God ( because I think something created the earth, space and us humans) but I disagree with religion and think God has a bad up sense of humor. I think religion is outdated and I can not understand how God is 'merciful' but terrible things happen ( Holocaust for example.)

All in all, yes my traumas have changed my view. In fact, Other peoples trauma has changed my view. I don't want to worship my higher power becasue I think there are better things to do. I honestly think small good, from the heart deeds count more.

Anyway, not wanting to get to deeply into this. I don't want to start a disagreement.

 

[Philippa]

thanks but I'm not here for pity, no offense intended. What I really want to know is do people with PTSD remember what their life was like before the event? Can you look back and say to yourself "I want to be like that again?" Is getting back to the way things used to be really a goal?

I wasn't offering it as pity. Sorry you took it that way. I had a feeling you might though after I posted it, but I hoped that was just me worrying about it too much.

I was expressing how I find it hard to fathom how people can and do do these things to others, and that I was sorry that you went through all that, but that's not the same as pitying you, I felt bad for you is all. It's remarkable that you survived.

 

[ExanimisRex]

Remarkable is a good word for it, lol. I often wonder how and why I did survive, was it just dumb luck or is there a purpose for me being here? I suppose that brings us back to the subject of this thread.

 

[Philippa]

It never ceases to amaze me how resilient humans are. You are clearly not interested in being a victim, so maybe your purpose is to allow your powerful self to shine despite all the crap that's been thrown at you?

 

[Raj]

I believe in in God as a Christian. I do not believe in religion, example (your going to hell because you dance, or you have to go to church every Sunday or you are an addict (one of the only friends that never lied to me was an addict). I believe all humans have a creator and for me personally sin is a very real problem. My faith has gone up and down like a yo-yo, but it is always there and currently very strong.

Without my loving and yes sometimes, many times beyond my meager human understanding "Heavenly Father" I know I would not be here (mother wanted to abort me). For me it is a very personal and real relationship that I can't live without. For me faith is being thankful for another day with my breath in me, even if that day is truly terrible and praying with hope in my heart that the next day will be brighter for me or made brighter for another Human-being because I still am blessed enough to exist.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I believe in in God as a Christian. I do not believe in religion

I don't understand this Raj. How can you be Christian but not believe in religion? As Christianity is a religion. Perhaps a better way of saying it would be you are spiritual? Or maybe you meant you believe in God as Christians do?

Spiritual sums me up pretty well. I do believe in God and follow somethings of my religion mostly out of habit and familiarity, which I guess makes me believe in religion but I do not follow the basics of my religion so I would not be religious. It makes sense to me becasue my religion is very every day and all day based.

It is confusing I know. I do differ on the level of my spirituality but it doesn't increase, rather it gets only lower with very little growth in return.

 

[Raj]

Religion and being religious are probably not the same thing to me as they are to others, for example you have to be good or you go to hell along with you have to go to your place of worship dressed a certain way even or give specific offerings for specific sins or needs. I don't buy into that for me it is a personal relationship (I except freely given forgiveness and follow the example of doing good just to do it) and I am excepted as I was created to and worship in a way that predates organized Christian church buildings. I believe in only people being the "Christian Church" in a relationship with Christ. Buildings saying they churches reject the homeless and some do feed orphans trying to get the prostitutes off theirs "good streets", yet people of faith and without faith do this out of love. I judge none, my relationship leads me to a faith that a higher power will judge.

How about this before I had a relationship with Christ I believed everything bad done to me was my fault, now I know those were evil people doing evil things to me. I could still religiously take the blame like I did (daily hitting myself to dull the pain) or I could except that I live in a world with evil in it! Others have their right to religion or to no faith at all, I see my higher power as a personal Father child relationship and justice is not always easy to see in a family or in even the world's eyes.

I am loved so how can I not love others, trust can still be lost or earned. My time and concern and other things are given when physically capable and yes this can be done without or with faith religiously (to look good, feel good about yourself or even religiously get ahead on the job at the detriment of family). These types of efforts can also be done in secret to let others know they are cared for more than they know and without having to feel that they owe anyone for what they have received. In the U.S. disasters have looters, yet they also have neighbor and strangers sometimes from other countries showing love that is my faith in my "Relationship". I am religiously on this forum as it helps me to be a better husband and father, yet I don't worship it.

 

[ExanimisRex]

I think Raj stated it clearer with his first post but everything is not always clear when looking from another point of view or perspective. I am a Christian because the teachings of Jesus make more sense to me in today's society than any other "religion" that I've studied. I don't constantly quote the bible, I don't start every conversation with "let me tell you about Jesus" If you knew me in person, you would probably not know anything about what I believe unless you asked. I do not follow a religion, I do not have to live by standards set by a religious sect, I live by the standards that I understand.

What I have always had a problem with is having no faith. I'm sure that all here with ptsd know what it's like to be suicidal. Suicide is a part of PTSD and yet we are still here, I'm 54 years old and don't remember a time when suicide was not a part of my waking life, this is sad but true. Without Christianity I would not still be here, my faith tells me that it is "wrong". If I had no faith in an afterlife, if I believed that death was equal to oblivion, why should I suffer this life? Why not end it before it gets any worse? I believe that the only way to win this "game" is to die of natural causes, to finish the game by the rules and I pray for the strength to make it to the end. I do not follow a religion but I am a Christian and live my life with Christian hope and faith.

I do not need to go to any certain church to be a Christian anymore that I need to attend the Democratic convention to be a Democrat.

 

[Work It Out]

There are some who believe faith has a direct link to functioning of the nervous system.

I would say yes, absolutely yes, and without a doubt! Having faith in something is absolutely necessary to function.

It's funny (peculiar) that this happens to be a topic... one thing I did after my trauma, but when I was still somewhat functioning, is take a night class with my favorite professor -- Sociology of Religion. :) It seemed to be the right thing do, and to be quite honest, I really went to the class just to listen to him talk. You could say I had lost all faith initially with my PTSD; that's what drove me crazy is not only losing faith in a higher power, but losing faith in the people around me.

Being in that class helped me remember what I already used to know deep down on the inside -- that faith, no matter what kind it is [even "logic-based" as Lucycat and Snowblower described], is essential to having a well-functioning body, mind, and mind and body that work together. That's what we can lose when get PTSD; that's what we can lose when we have trauma. But as many of you know, by making the right choices, we can start to turn things around for ourselves.

Raj,

I am loved so how can I not love others

This is such a great perspective; I wish and hope that I can remember this everyday. It seems to be what I forgot the most. And I'm so glad to hear what everyone else has had to say. Faith, at least me having faith in others as well as myself, is one of the most critical issues for me with my situation.

 

[Changing4Best]

I was raised atheist, but believe in God and His Son Jesus now. (Also the Holy Spirit). I go to church. However, when I came to know Jesus personally, I was homeless and being abused daily by a "boyfriend" that I could not get away from. He had me followed always, until one day, shortly after I came to know Jesus, I ran away from him by escaping through a forest. His spy missed that I'd escaped, I think, and so did not follow me, but I can only guess. All I know is that I tried to escape 17 times before that and always ended up back being with the guy again. Long story....

It was such a blessing to escape to safety! I live 600 miles from there now.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Yessum! My faith has been one of the biggest factors in my healing!