Psychiatrists Prescribe Religion

People today act as though no medical professional or scientist seriously considers religion, but I know from experience that if you go to a mental health provider and tell them that your religion is something that helps you deal with and overcome your disorder and illness, they will tell you to keep doing it. 

Because the fact of the matter is that the universe and human life is an enigma and we understand virtually nothing about how things work or what lies beyond our own understandings. That's why if you go into the Self-Help section in Barnes and Noble, you'll find enough books to sink a battleship. We have our theories but we don't know really anything profound, except that life responds in a variety of ways.

Well over 10 years ago when I still lived in North Carolina, I visited a nearby mental health facility to talk with a therapist and psychiatrist, because my depression and anxiety disorder reached critically high levels. I suppose a place like rural North Carolina might be more spiritually open even in professional fields, but these were still licensed doctors and counselors with Master's degrees and PhDs.

When they asked me if I do anything on my own to deal with my mental health issues, I brought up my religion and how connection with the Gods does wonders, if not sometimes cures, my afflictions. "Well it sounds like your religion is very therapeutic for you," they said. I nodded and so did they. They consented to the idea that religion could be a form of medicine for me. Which, by the way, it has most certainly proven itself to be just that throughout the years.

The bigger question is, why and how? If mental illness is a real medical condition, then it cannot be cured by simply believing that it is. Something must intervene to turn the course. Our souls and minds are capable of reaching very high ascension, because they form the center of our being. Without them, no other part of us could exist. This means that the soul and mind have an immediate connection with Deity when they are opened to the Higher Powers. In fact, most studies have shown that religious people are less depressed than non-religious.

Anti-religious sects and hate groups would have you believe there are no benefits to religion and spirituality. They are just factually and statistically incorrect. It's one comfort I always have in this life and this world. No matter how hard or astray things get, I know the Gods are always there, and I can retreat to them for peace, healing and protection any time.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Depression Relief Proves Divinity

Religious people tend to be less depressed than non-religious. This is not an opinion, but the fact of 61% to 67% of studies on the subject. It's been something long thought to be true. While there are always exceptions to every rule, the over all reality is that people who are religious and spiritual tend to have better mental health, which you would think shatters the idea that religion is a "mental illness," as some non-religious people ridiculously claim. The bigger picture is that this is hard evidence that Divinity exists. Why? For the simple fact that depression is a real condition, a chemical imbalance, and thus, it's not something that you can "believe" away. In order for the affliction to be conquered or controlled, order and balance must be restored. So what do religious people have in this case that non-religious do not? The presence of Gods and ascension inside and around them.

All that is Divine can do good for the human condition. Take the Sun for instance, which was and still is a God to certain people and groups. The Sun's light and rays have proven healing powers (Apollon being God of the sun and healing). The light can as well push depression out of the mind and even heal infants of jaundice. The Sun saves the babies from permanent brain damage and death caused by this affliction. Again, jaundice is not something you can "believe" away. The Gods are literally staring us right in the face if we would simply open our eyes and look. Higher Powers are obvious.

Being someone who has battled severe depression and severe anxiety disorder in his own life since I was a teenager, I can attest to the power of the Gods in confronting the conditions. The medicine provided by the Gods and my doctors also helped a great deal (as they were meant to), but without the Gods themselves I feel I would have simply been soiling the problem. The Gods are the ones who lift our minds to a higher plane. Our lives become unbothered, at least in my experience, by the typical obstacles of mundane life. When I walk into my temple, all my troubles leave my mind. When I sit in the hot rays of the Sun, it's as if nothing else matters, an overwhelming sense of good, love and security takes over.

Perhaps this observation has been with us even as far back as ancient Greece, when Homer wrote, "Those who depart from the Gods, I find to be in wanting."

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

The Greeks Kept Plague Away Through Piety and Physicians

The ancient Greeks were no strangers to disease. In fact, no human culture ever has been. The Greeks knew that disease and disorders were an issue, which is why they had doctors and physicians. The ancient Greeks were the forefathers of modern medicine. They were also highly spiritual and pious people who often gave more to their Gods than they did to themselves, and it was no different when there was a virus going around. They used medicine, doctors, prayer and sacrifice to combat it. They did not think either method was a waste of time. Plato himself wrote about the success the Athenians once had in keeping infection out of their City through spiritual means in the Dialogue of Symposium. 

"I shall try to go through for you the speech about Love I once heard from a woman of Mantinea, Diotima - a woman who was wise about many things besides this: once she even put off the plague for ten years by telling the Athenians what sacrifices to make." 

Plato was not a writer of fiction. He recorded the actual events of his society and the people around him. The Greeks, for an ancient people, knew quite a bit about the medical field, but no matter how much knowledge they gained or philosophy they discussed, it never made their Gods irrelevant or unnecessary. In fact, any good thing that happened or was discovered, was naturally followed by thanks to a God or Gods for the success. They did nothing without their Gods. Or, in other words, they knew that without their Gods, they could accomplish nothing. 

Therefore, even now as we face another virus or plague, I don't think we should forget the importance of our spirituality and the salvation and care that it can bring to us. A while back, I was talking with a member of my temple who lives out of state. They claimed they contracted Covid19 and that Apollon instructed them on how to get rid of it. They have since made a full recovery. I note in this story that neither this person nor Apollon turned away from the medical field. In fact, Apollon IS the God of medicine. If we examine this person's story carefully, we see the hallmark of a Greek mindset, which is the combination of spirituality and science. Science is the pursuit of truth, and the Gods are the truth.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Work Cited: Plato Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper, page 484, 201d.