Abandoned by God

[BEattitude]

How do you deal with a mentally ill (minor disease eg depression/anxiety) person who BELIEVES that God has totally abandoned him? What if it was a spouse? How do you convince them of something. What if they were already seeking help from a mental health provider?

 

[awalt]

We don’t know what God’s plan is for them or us, or anyone for that matter. So first we pray. Pray for the cure of this person, pray their faith grows and they become closer to God, and pray that they have the courage, as do their family and friends, to endure this suffering.

Second, we have to understand we are not ion control. So there is no cause and effect that can make this better. Only by submitting ourselves completely to God’s will do the things we pray for have a chance of succeeding.

God gave us all gifts. Pray for discernment on our gifts, and how to use them to help this person and their family and friends.

If you want to read something good, read Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris. Chirst asks up to take up our cross to be with him, and that can be a very hard, traumatic thing to do. For me this letter helps.

Good luck and God bless you!

 

[Em_in_FL]

How do you deal with a mentally ill (minor disease eg depression/anxiety) person who BELIEVES that God has totally abandoned him? What if it was a spouse? How do you convince them of something. What if they were already seeking help from a mental health provider?

I would contact your pastor and ask if there were any counseling services provided by the diocese. Often times there are Catholic psycologists (or local priests) that are specifically trained in this area.

I sympathize with your situation as my husband has had “religious-based” anxiety/depression as well…
Feel free to PM me if you need to chat at all…
You’ll be in my prayers…

 

[Tietjen]

How do you deal with a mentally ill (minor disease eg depression/anxiety) person who BELIEVES that God has totally abandoned him? What if it was a spouse? How do you convince them of something. What if they were already seeking help from a mental health provider?

A simple answer (maybe too simple) might be to approach it by saying that the simple fact that their heart is still beating helps to prove that God is with them. I know, I know… we all take it for granted that our hearts will continue to beat throughout the day, but what makes the heart continue to beat, the mind continue to think, the lungs to continue to take in air? Doctors will say things like, electrical impulses, etc. Okay, what creates the impulses? If there is a known answer to that, what causes that particular thing? Most of us take life for granted, but the truth is that every breath we take, every beat of our hearts, is in itself a miracle and proves that God is there. What other object made from the clay of the earth can say as much?

 

[littleone]

How do you deal with a mentally ill (minor disease eg depression/anxiety) person who BELIEVES that God has totally abandoned him? What if it was a spouse? How do you convince them of something. What if they were already seeking help from a mental health provider?

I would ask the person if God is Love and can love forget people? We know what the answer is and from there go on to asking them who is putting this thought on their mind, because we know that it is satan (don’t tell them this )
Ask if Jesus is love …then tell the person that Jesus tells us that He will not leave us orphans, in other words He will not disown us.

God bless

littleone

 

[stbruno]

If God has worked in your life in some powerful way or you know someone who has been changed through the power of God, then witness that to this person…

Tell them the story, tell them that you are praying for their full recovery. Keep in regular contact with them, so they believe and realize that you have not abandoned them…and that God works through people to help others.

It’s like the story of the guy who was in a flood and is sitting on the roof of his house. He prays to God to be rescued.

Here comes a person in a life raft, but the man refuses to leave. Here comes another person in a boat, but the man refuses to leave,
Here comes a rescue helicopter but the man refuses to leave.
Finally the water covers the house and he drowns.
He gets to the gates of heaven, and he says to God, how come you did not come to rescue me.
And God replies, I did come…I sent a raft, a boat and a helicopter but you did not respond to any of these efforts to help you.

God reaches out to us, you still have to reach out and take his hand for his power to work through your life.
Invite this person to come with you to adoration and just sit for one hour before the Blessed Sacrament together.
Hopefully, just this act alone, things will change, if they are just willing to try.
With all things, pray, pray and pray some more.
God bless you.

 

[puzzleannie]

they cannot probably accept help on the spiritual front unless and until they seek help for the underlying medical and psychological problem.