Feeling closeness to God, or a sign of mental illness

[Jesusismyfriend]

A couple of years ago, I was struggling in the areas of faith, and life in general. At times, I felt God was trying to draw me so close to Him, I felt as if He was reaching out and touching me. I didn’t literally feel a hand. If I had tried to feel it as if it was there, I know I wouldn’t felt anything, except maybe air. At times, I even felt like I heard Him whisper I love you. Around this time, I was in the process of losing a job and dealing with childhood abuse issues. I needed God to be near.
My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia. No doctors have ever diagnosed me with this illness. There has been a belief that I struggle with a dissociative illness, but I have read about that, and it doesn’t fit what I felt. I just wanted to know people’s beliefs on it.

 

[danserr]

A couple of years ago, I was struggling in the areas of faith, and life in general. At times, I felt God was trying to draw me so close to Him, I felt as if He was reaching out and touching me. I didn’t literally feel a hand. If I had tried to feel it as if it was there, I know I wouldn’t felt anything, except maybe air. At times, I even felt like I heard Him whisper I love you. Around this time, I was in the process of losing a job and dealing with childhood abuse issues. I needed God to be near.
My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia. No doctors have ever diagnosed me with this illness. There has been a belief that I struggle with a dissociative illness, but I have read about that, and it doesn’t fit what I felt. I just wanted to know people’s beliefs on it.

Most Christians do believe that God can be known and experienced, so I don’t think he is always distant.

It’s hard to say because I don’t know much about your situation, but I think it makes sense for you to believe that you may be experiencing God. Especially since you don’t have any reason to doubt it, or the reasons you have been given to doubt it have problems.

It is actually a lot like trusting one’s senses. Why should I trust my senses? I could be hallucinating, in theory, but unless I have good evidence that I am, then I should trust my senses. In the same way, if you are sensing God’s presence, you should trust that sense unless have have reason to doubt it.

 

[willofgods]

If you are worried about mental health, see a psychiatrist.

That said, for many budding professionals (i.e., psychology students, and medical students) when they hear about an illness (physical or psychological) there’s a phenomenon whose name escapes me at the moment where they see those symptoms of the illness and match them with experiences of their own; i.e., they see malady X and are sure they suffer from it!

The same might be going on with you and your friend.

Just because a symptom is present does NOT mean you have the sickness in question.
Furthermore, just because something resembles a symptom does not make it the actual symptom in question.

Just some food for thought

 

[Justicia_et_Pax]

A couple of years ago, I was struggling in the areas of faith, and life in general. At times, I felt God was trying to draw me so close to Him, I felt as if He was reaching out and touching me. I didn’t literally feel a hand. If I had tried to feel it as if it was there, I know I wouldn’t felt anything, except maybe air. At times, I even felt like I heard Him whisper I love you. Around this time, I was in the process of losing a job and dealing with childhood abuse issues. I needed God to be near.
My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia. No doctors have ever diagnosed me with this illness. There has been a belief that I struggle with a dissociative illness, but I have read about that, and it doesn’t fit what I felt. I just wanted to know people’s beliefs on it.

As someone who’s schizoaffective, I wouldn’t say that’s schizophrenia at all. I believe our God is a very personal one: we call Him ‘Our Father’, after all. I believe He reaches out to us, especially in times of trouble or vulnerability

 

[puzzleannie]

A ? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia…

Unless your friend is a psychiatrist or pschologist experience in diagnosing and treating mental illness, and made this statement after examining you and testing you, he had no right and no basis for making such an absurd statement. He does not sound like much of a friend. Unless your friend is Jesus Christ he cannot claim to have enough knowledge of God and how he works to make statements like that, either.

The proper person to ask about spiritual experiences is your priest in confession or during spiritual direction, not friends who don’t even believe in having a relationship with God.

btw my beliefs are irrelevant when it comes to discerning a subjective experience reported by another person. I have no qualifications either as a pscyhologist or spiritual director nor do most people here. Nobody has the right to pronounce on the reality of the spiritual state of another person except someone who knows the person, knows the experience, and helps according to the spiritual discernment rules of the Catholic Church. It is the height of arrogance to declare somebody is mentally ill simply on the basis of a subjective experience.

 

[Barbkw]

My Dad was hospitialized in stroke rehab when my Mom had a massive heartattack at the apartment complex, which was located next door to the hospital.

A police office came to my house around 11:00 p.m. to inform me of my Mom’s fatal condition.

As I walked alone, up the steps to the emergency room area of the hospital, I felt a hand on the back of my shoulder gently pushing me forword.

I don’t exactly know which spiritual being it was. Possibly the Holy Spirit or my guardian angel.

 

[anodos]

My Dad was hospitialized in stroke rehab when my Mom had a massive heartattack at the apartment complex, which was located next door to the hospital.

A police office came to my house around 11:00 p.m. to inform me of my Mom’s fatal condition.

As I walked alone, up the steps to the emergency room area of the hospital, I felt a hand on the back of my shoulder gently pushing me forword.

I don’t exactly know which spiritual being it was. Possibly the Holy Spirit or my guardian angel.

This is fascinating…I hope that the impression was a source of comfort and strength for you. I had a similar experience, though not under such difficult conditions. I definitely felt a big right hand on my shoulder blade. I don’t know why; I was going through a period of doubt and uncertainty, but it wasn’t extreme. Anyway, it freaked me out (in a good way )
Feeling close to God is not a sign of mental illness. It just isn’t the norm, perhaps. Even when a person who has a mental illness feels this way, that doesn’t mean that the feeling is just a symptom of their illness.

 

[Barbkw]

This is fascinating…I hope that the impression was a source of comfort and strength for you. I had a similar experience, though not under such difficult conditions. I definitely felt a big right hand on my shoulder blade. I don’t know why; I was going through a period of doubt and uncertainty, but it wasn’t extreme. Anyway, it scared me half to death (in a good way )
Feeling close to God is not a sign of mental illness. It just isn’t the norm, perhaps. Even when a person who has a mental illness feels this way, that doesn’t mean that the feeling is just a symptom of their illness.

Yes, great comfort and strength. I felt half a person walking up those steps. That hand touched my back and it filled me with hope.

 

[empther]

It’s not mental illness to feel God is present. The Bible says he is.
　
Psalm 121:
The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

Psalm 15:
I keep the LORD always before me;
with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken

Psalm 73:
Yet I am always with you;
you take hold of my right hand

Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
He maketh me to lie in green pastures; he leadeth me to still waters
Though I walk through the valley of death I fear no evil for Thou art with me
Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

Matthew 28:20
I am with you always

 

[fhansen]

A couple of years ago, I was struggling in the areas of faith, and life in general. At times, I felt God was trying to draw me so close to Him, I felt as if He was reaching out and touching me. I didn’t literally feel a hand. If I had tried to feel it as if it was there, I know I wouldn’t felt anything, except maybe air. At times, I even felt like I heard Him whisper I love you. Around this time, I was in the process of losing a job and dealing with childhood abuse issues. I needed God to be near.
My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia. No doctors have ever diagnosed me with this illness. There has been a belief that I struggle with a dissociative illness, but I have read about that, and it doesn’t fit what I felt. I just wanted to know people’s beliefs on it.

Sure, God loves us so much He came down here and died for us-but He doesn’t want to get close?? It’s always good to be near to God, and He uses those times of crisis to draw us. It’s not He who keeps His distance-it’s us until we find out we need Him, that is. “Come near to God and he will come near to you”. James 4:8 He’s just waiting for us.

 

[anodos]

Sure, God loves us so much He came down here and died for us-but He doesn’t want to get close??

Well put.

 

[Moontown_Rabbit]

My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness?

Back in the 80’s, I spent a couple of years living in a Catholic contemplative community (not quite a monastery but very similar). After leaving the community I went through a pretty rough time, and since I was living in the secular world the natural course of action was to consult a psychiatrist. I did this for several years however I encountered a serious problem. Whenever I tried to express things in religious terms, my psychiatrist refused to take me seriously. His approach was to regard religious language as a metaphorical tool based upon fantasy (best case), or he would interpret my spiritual ramblings as symptoms of mental illness (worst case). I eventually realized that if I introduced him to the people I had met at the contemplative community - some of the most amazing people I have ever known - he would conclude that each one of them was insane to some degree. I visited a few other psychiatrists and encountered the same difficulty. There may be some exceptional psychiatrists/psychologists out there but the conclusion I have reached is that in our society a true believer will be diagnosed as mentally ill.

 

[Jesusismyfriend]

Yeah. Well I did mention this to a couple of friends before. They believed Schizophrenia was the cause, but one of them is dealing with alcoholism, which is kind of mental illness on it’s own. And she kept telling me I must have seen something (visual hallucination) even though I told her I just felt it. She didn’t understand.
The person who believed I have Schizophrenia is a Schizophrenic himself. That’s why he felt he could try and diagnose me. I did hear what I believed was God speaking to me once when I was suicidal. I was asking God why I was suffering so much, and he more or less said,“hang in there.” I don’t get why a mental disorder would tell you to do that.

 

[Justicia_et_Pax]

Yeah. Well I did mention this to a couple of friends before. They believed Schizophrenia was the cause, but one of them is dealing with alcoholism, which is kind of mental illness on it’s own. And she kept telling me I must have seen something (visual hallucination) even though I told her I just felt it. She didn’t understand.
The person who believed I have Schizophrenia is a Schizophrenic himself. That’s why he felt he could try and diagnose me. I did hear what I believed was God speaking to me once when I was suicidal. I was asking God why I was suffering so much, and he more or less said,“hang in there.” I don’t get why a mental disorder would tell you to do that.

Is this friend a believer though? Would your friend accept a spiritual explanation?

 

[Brightest_Star]

I’d say that since God is inside us all, He is about as close as He can get.

I think you know the answer to your own question because you felt it in your heart, and in your soul.
Your instinct was that it was God, not that it was a misfiring synapse. Go with that.

Just remember that you cannot put limits on God. If He wants to be close, He can be.

 

[John21652]

A couple of years ago, I was struggling in the areas of faith, and life in general. At times, I felt God was trying to draw me so close to Him, I felt as if He was reaching out and touching me. I didn’t literally feel a hand. If I had tried to feel it as if it was there, I know I wouldn’t felt anything, except maybe air. At times, I even felt like I heard Him whisper I love you. Around this time, I was in the process of losing a job and dealing with childhood abuse issues. I needed God to be near.
My question is, if a person feels that God is so close you can feel Him near, is that something spiritual or is it mental illness? A friend told me that God tends to be distant. He cares, but He would not ever be that close to anyone on Earth, maybe because of our sinfullness. I don’t know. He told me I likely had Schizophrenia. No doctors have ever diagnosed me with this illness. There has been a belief that I struggle with a dissociative illness, but I have read about that, and it doesn’t fit what I felt. I just wanted to know people’s beliefs on it.

There will always be somone who will tell you in these circumstances that you are imagining things, or that there is something wrong with you. I think you need to have a good lomg talk with a Priest. Your experiences sound typically mystical and who are we, or anyone else, to discount it? . Remember that the essential feature of mysticism is an overpowering sense of close personal communion with God. In some of its later exponents this has taken the form of a belief in ecstasy and trance, and of miraculous manifestations to the enraptured believer. It has also sometimes tended to attach to the immanence as distinct from the transcendence of God.

Talk to a Priest and then you’ll maybe know.

 

[Jesusismyfriend]

Is this friend a believer though? Would your friend accept a spiritual explanation?

Oh yeah. All the people who I talked to were believers, except some of my therapists. They just either don’t believe that God can get close, or just haven’t experienced it themselves yet. She kept claiming I had had a visual hallucination, and I was confused about how a hallucination you feel and cannot see would be considered visual.

 

[Justicia_et_Pax]

Oh yeah. All the people who I talked to were believers, except some of my therapists. They just either don’t believe that God can get close, or just haven’t experienced it themselves yet. She kept claiming I had had a visual hallucination, and I was confused about how a hallucination you feel and cannot see would be considered visual.

I would still say stick to your gut instinct. Sensing God isn’t unnatural, outrageous, particularly unusual, or anything like that. It is also not a visual hallucination, as you quite rightly say. If you saw with your eyes the Virgin Mary, for example… well, that could be a visual hallucination

Stick with your instincts on this one, I’d say. God bless you and give you the wisdom and strength to understand your experience