Do pshychiatric medications numb the prayer life?

[StudentMI]

I dunno, I’ve had a pretty good track run with strangers on the internet sometimes.

Simply put, often doctors don’t know anything about spirituality and priests don’t know much about mental illness.

The problem is you wouldn’t go to a priest if you had a tetanus infection. Ask your priest or any priest for a doctor recommendation. That’s what I did.

It’s more common with medicines that have a lot of mood stabilizing effects. The purpose is to damp down harmful emotional extremes, but often they end up affecting any sort of strong feeling.

That’s why trying a medication is necessary. I thankfully did not have that experience with any medication including what I’m currently on. What I was formally on didn’t help me much so I had to switch.

Depression is a medical condition. Refusing to seek help doesn’t make you more of a traditional Catholic or more pious. It just makes you look foolish. No offense.

 

[edwest2]

The problem is you wouldn’t go to a priest if you had a tetanus infection. Ask your priest or any priest for a doctor recommendation. That’s what I did.

That’s why trying a medication is necessary. I thankfully did not have that experience with any medication including what I’m currently on. What I was formally on didn’t help me much so I had to switch.

Depression is a medical condition. Refusing to seek help doesn’t make you more of a traditional Catholic or more pious. It just makes you look foolish. No offense.

It’s a drawback of the internet for strangers to evaluate strangers regarding mental health issues and spirituality. I’ve been hospitalized twice. I have depression and anxiety and had OCDs. It helped me to pray and to read a page from the Bible as often as I could. I knew God was there but as far as how these issues affect anyone can be different from person to person.

Hope this helps,
Ed

 

[DarkLight]

The problem is you wouldn’t go to a priest if you had a tetanus infection. Ask your priest or any priest for a doctor recommendation. That’s what I did.

Like I said, the problem was that neither in my experience knew anything about the combination. The doctor might know about meds in general, but he probably had no idea of their effect on spirituality in particular or even particularly understood its importance. The priest would understand spirituality, but not have much idea of what psychiatric medications could or could not do. So really neither could provide much of a useful answer.

 

[StudentMI]

Like I said, the problem was that neither in my experience knew anything about the combination. The doctor might know about meds in general, but he probably had no idea of their effect on spirituality in particular or even particularly understood its importance. The priest would understand spirituality, but not have much idea of what psychiatric medications could or could not do. So really neither could provide much of a useful answer.

You state your experience but you phrase them as ‘might’ and ‘would’, not ‘did’ and ‘didn’t’. Are you perhaps setting yourself up as the expert for two things you are not an expert in?

 

[DarkLight]

You state your experience but you phrase them as ‘might’ and ‘would’, not ‘did’ and ‘didn’t’. Are you perhaps setting yourself up as the expert for two things you are not an expert in?

Eh, that’s pretty much just how I talk. I wouldn’t read into it. I’m generalizing a little bit here because I’ve had multiple practitioners and I’m averaging into a general experience rather than relating specifics.

I’m not saying that I’d override the doctor on straight medical issues! But I’ve definitely found that most medical professionals don’t know a whole lot about spirituality and don’t understand serious Catholic practice. For an example, I’ve had a medical professional tell me that wanting to go to Mass every week was just being too strict and fussy and a manifestation of my anxiety. The prevailing attitude I’ve found is “if you don’t feel like praying, don’t pray.”

Priests have been more of a mixed bag. I had one wonderful priest that was also a licensed social worker who was very good. But I’ve also had priests who really just didn’t have much experience with mental illness or didn’t know what to tell me when I asked other than very vague answers.

 

[DarkLight]

Let me clarify what I’m saying here:

The use of psychiatric medications in the treatment of mental health is absolutely not something that should be avoided. But it pays to be aware of side effects. A lot of times it’s a trade, you have to accept some side effects in order to get needed treatment. That can be rough, but I wouldn’t let it discourage you from taking the steps you need to get yourself functioning. And if it has spiritual side effects, God understands you are trying to take care of myself.

What I would say is - make sure you and your doctor are on the same page. If you are concerned with spiritual side effects, it’s perfectly ok to bring this up to your doctor! But some doctors may not see things as having the same level of import that you do, or understand why you are concerned. And it’s ok to expect that, if you find a side effect is a serious problem for you, that your doctor is willing to work with you to deal with that. They are of course limited in what they can do, but a good doctor will acknowledge your concern and explain what they can and cannot offer.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Let me clarify what I’m saying here:

The use of psychiatric medications in the treatment of mental health is absolutely not something that should be avoided. But it pays to be aware of side effects. A lot of times it’s a trade, you have to accept some side effects in order to get needed treatment. That can be rough, but I wouldn’t let it discourage you from taking the steps you need to get yourself functioning. And if it has spiritual side effects, God understands you are trying to take care of myself.

What I would say is - make sure you and your doctor are on the same page. If you are concerned with spiritual side effects, it’s perfectly ok to bring this up to your doctor! But some doctors may not see things as having the same level of import that you do, or understand why you are concerned. And it’s ok to expect that, if you find a side effect is a serious problem for you, that your doctor is willing to work with you to deal with that. They are of course limited in what they can do, but a good doctor will acknowledge your concern and explain what they can and cannot offer.

I already know that many will disagree due to their faith in “science,” but I believe that my anxiety and depression are due to negative spiritual influences. You may want to consider your mental illnesses as spiritual disorders too.

 

[BarbTh]

Prayer and our spirituality is our life with and in God.

Can God be prevented/excluded/limited in some way because of psychiatric medication or even illnesses?

I think what sometimes happens is that there are certain well trod formulas (marketed and advertised) of prayer and spirituality. It is the formula that might be prevented/excluded/limited perhaps, not the action of God Himself in a soul in their prayer life and spirituality. “I will lead the blind by a way they know not” (see Isaiah Psalm 42 below)

DaddyGirl: Psych meds “suppress spiritual functioning”? That’s quite the claim.
Where are you getting this information?

Good question.

---

**Isaiah Psalm 42 **(excerpts)
The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench (The Holy Spirit repeats this line The Gospel : Matthew Chapter 12) …
…And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight: these things have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.

 

[Rosebud77]

I already know that many will disagree due to their faith in “science,” but I believe that my anxiety and depression are due to negative spiritual influences. You may want to consider your mental illnesses as spiritual disorders too.

That is a dangerous and misleading idea. Best shunned.

This may sound harsh but I do not read your posts as “spiritual” anyways. .

And there is a wide range of mental illness and of types and effects of medication which is why a thread like this is potentially dangerous and damaging.

It is not a question of having faith in “science” but in a basic seeking for healing. If you follow your line of reasoning? No simple pain relief? No surgery in eg appendicitis?

And you say you take meds?

It is keeping a balance. q j

I was on a wide range of psych meds for many years and yes they dimmed prayer etc. Benzos especially. They are intended to mute thoughts so that is not surprising. Many of the experienced drs etc re withdrawal describe how when you are of them, colours become dazzling etc. They are meant to mute feelings that you cannot cope with. And prayer and feelings are side by side.

Anti -pyschotics are a different kettle of fish altogether and many aver they create pseudo spiritual feelings

NB I was sent down the avenues of so called “spiritual healing” along the lines Robert refers to many times and (a) it was totally false discernment and (B) all but destroyed my faith
The logic was that if you are not healed then it is because you do not have enough faith.

Thankfully I have always had and always relied on sound spiritual guidance and a faith deep enough to recover

And submitting to spiritual guidance is needful for us all

 

[Rosebud77]

Prayer and our spirituality is our life with and in God.

**Can God be prevented/excluded/limited in some way because of psychiatric medication or even illnesses? **

I do not think anyone is saying that here. I certainly am not. BUT given that eg benzos are intended to mute and deaden our emotions? They act like interference and yes that does affect how we respond and pray and percieve God
When I got off 20 years of valium, it was a dark veil was lifted and a dazzling and lovely light came, God is never limited but our perceptions can be

**I think what sometimes happens is that there are certain well trod formulas (marketed and advertised) of prayer and spirituality. It is the formula that might be prevented/excluded/limited perhaps, not the action of God Himself in a soul in their prayer life and spirituality. ** “I will lead the blind by a way they know not” (see Isaiah Psalm 42 below)

Disagree. I was not in touch with any of that . Most of my time on meds was pre-internet etc and in alienation from set patterns. My actual faith never wavered in all those years and in fact it was my striving to keep to the prayer and faith patterns I knew that held me close to God. Like glue! He held me in all the years I was shunned and medicated.

 

[Robert_Sock]

That is a dangerous and misleading idea. Best shunned.

This may sound harsh but I do not read your posts as “spiritual” anyways. .

And there is a wide range of mental illness and of types and effects of medication which is why a thread like this is potentially dangerous and damaging.

It is not a question of having faith in “science” but in a basic seeking for healing. If you follow your line of reasoning? No simple pain relief? No surgery in eg appendicitis?

And you say you take meds?

It is keeping a balance. q j

I was on a wide range of psych meds for many years and yes they dimmed prayer etc. Benzos especially. They are intended to mute thoughts so that is not surprising. Many of the experienced drs etc re withdrawal describe how when you are of them, colours become dazzling etc. They are meant to mute feelings that you cannot cope with. And prayer and feelings are side by side.

Anti -pyschotics are a different kettle of fish altogether and many aver they create pseudo spiritual feelings

NB I was sent down the avenues of so called “spiritual healing” along the lines Robert refers to many times and (a) it was totally false discernment and (B) all but destroyed my faith
The logic was that if you are not healed then it is because you do not have enough faith.

Thankfully I have always had and always relied on sound spiritual guidance and a faith deep enough to recover

And submitting to spiritual guidance is needful for us all

I’m not denying that meds are necessarily bad or ineffective, but that one should not rule out spirituality. I’m not at all interested in “new age” spirituality, but that spirituality which is fully supported by the Church. It actually sounds like we agree since you eventually relied on “sound spiritual guidance.” All that I’m trying to say in my post is that “science” is not always the answer to achieving good mental health if the mental illness came about by way of a spiritual defect or deficit.