I have heard Priests say to continue on with Dr.s and counselors for my help with my mental illness. My parish just heard a homily about the blind man who was blind, not because of his or his parents sin, but for the glory of God. Yes, sins may cause suffering, but to say unconfessed sins are to blame for emotional problems in general is wrong. Tim
I would say that unconfessed sins have caused me distress and the Lord may have even allowed suffering to push me into humility and be reconciled with Him, but I would avoid a blanket statement regarding emotional problems being the cause of unconfessed sins. Sometimes the problems come from the suffering and are redemptive after the reconciliation. Tim
I haven’t heard anything but can tell you it is true with me. I went years without confession, when I fell away from the Church. During those years, I went through depression, anxiety, social problems, etc… When I came back and went to confession, these emotional problems lessened over time and eventually went away
Yes. Along with confession, I had a support group in the healing ministry to help w/ my emotional state. A couple of those people were spiritual directors as well. They had psychology backgrounds and knowledge of the importance of confession. If I didn’t have the support group, confession by itself may not have brought total healing.
I have to use a combination of religous and secular. This can be tough as the secular won’t always except the religous experience. But a smart Dr. knows when it is beneficial and will give room for religous growth, though morally positive. I think the confessional, the medical, and as you suggest, a S.D. with a background in psychology would be a great combination. But finding a S.D. is hard enough as is. This is a tough cross to balance while carrying. A secular grief counselor may say one is being too hard on ones self during an examination of conscience as an example I’ve experienced. And a religous may not intercede when needed as to leave it up to medical professionals if mental illness is thought to be the cause. It can be a lonesome walk and discernment of what is self and what is spiritual should be paramount. Tim
well if I wanted to make a claim through the modern science of psychology I would need an authoritative source, which I do not have, because I make no such claim. However, it is evident in the very nature of sin that it does damage, and when not confessed, remedied and atoned for, obviously some of that damage will be internal and affect not only the spiritual health but the emotional health of the sinner as well as the victim (sometimes sinner and victim are the same). I don’t have a source at hand but researchers from time to time also claim their are physical consequences to sin.