I keep thinking, what is the point?

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ellam25

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I have posted before about my anxiety. I am just having a really tough summer. I am pregnant due in November.
Anyway, I have a friend who is a protestant christian, and everytime he talks to me he says “this fall will be the tribulation” or something about the end being this year and has been trying to give me books and things about it. Everytime something happens, (like an earthquake, the fires in the PN, volcanic activity, anything to do with the economy etc) he tells me it is God at work and that these are signs that Jesus will be coming soon. The “blood moon” is another big thing he keeps going on about, and I feel like the old me would have laughed off his claims. I have told him I don’t like hearing any of this, but he will just say that if I am afraid, that means my soul is in peril. Anyway, I did some internet searches and have indeed found MANY people claiming that huge things will happen in the fall, not Jesus coming, but many people dying and being punished for their sins in a “great tribulation”. It terrifies me, and I keep imagining watching my husband die horribly, or not getting to meet my baby because some fireballs fall on earth. I stopped helping my mom plan my baby shower for October 4, because this voice in my head keeps thinking “What is the point? We will probably be dead anyway.” And my husband doesn’t understand why I am no longer interested in painting the nursery or keeping the house clean. I have even stopped eating almost entirely and only eat enough to make sure my baby is getting enough. I am seeing a psychiatrist, but she does not understand where I am coming from, and although I have stopped talking to my friend almost entirely, I can’t get his stories or the Internets stories out of my head. I pray, but that does little good because I just can’t stop thinking about it. All this talk is ruining my life and I don’t know how to stop it.
 
Is that man talking in the spirit of strengthening weak knees or is he talking down to you?

The whole of the words of Jesus and the Apostles is very eschatological. Are Christians going to help each other? Are they going to trust God for their needs? These are the questions He will ask when He judges Christians. The rapture will be after the Great Tribulation.

Churches are imperfect and have fudged over these angles. We need His Spirit.
 
Stories of the apocalypse happening at this time or that time have been happening for as long as I can remember and even before my time from my studies at school. It is all based on assumptions that *always * prove to be wrong. The world was supposed to end in 2012, 2000, and so forth yet it never did despite so many people believing it would.

Things have always been wrong with the world. The economy crashes occasionally, earthquakes occur, volcanoes erupt. It’s all been the same. These aren’t indicators of any impending doomsday, so don’t worry. Pray for a peace of mind and keep doing the duties of your state of life. The world will *not * end in autumn.
 
-+ From what you have written, You are suffering from depression.

-+ You need to go to your priest for spiritual help - especially the blessing for pregnant women and the Sacrament of Healing - the devil preys upon the depressed!

-+ You need to go to your OBGYN and talk to your doctor about this situation and get a referral to a psychologist that deals with post-partum depression. Not every psychologist understands this condition or wants to believe that such exists and that may be the case with your current psychologist. You need a psychologist that understands the current findings regarding women’s health.

-+ ABSOLUTLY, quit dwelling on the end times - there are a lot of, well, well intentioned but mostly misinformed people that think they know the end of time… our Lord clearly says that no-one but God the Father knows, not even the Angels, nor by our Lord’s own words the Son know the end of days. Receive the Sacraments, pray, and live a good life… Trust in Jesus.
Matthew 24:36
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father
Acts 1:7
6So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”…

Be at Peace
 
Glad you stopped talking to your friend. If he brings it up again tell him, “Look, I am pregnant, I am (however pregnant women feel when they are pregnant) and I just plain do not want to constantly hear about your end time speculation. It is just annoying. Please stop” He is going to feel mighty stupid when nothing happens this fall. Or he might do a bunch of mental gymnastics to convince himself that he was not wrong even when nothing happens.

A real friend would stop if you put it that way. And please, do not buy into this end time hype. I grew up protestant. I always believed, as a kid, that I would not reach adulthood because I knew, for sure, that Jesus was coming back very soon. Well, I am 30 now and still waiting. I am a young adult still, but I reached adulthood! Believe what The Church teaches on the matter. And that is that “NOBODY KNOWS” Stay ready for God, and you do not have to worry about being caught unready. Please do not stress out this. Do not go looking up info about The end times on the internet. It will only stress you out more. Glad you are at least getting some professional help. God bless.
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
Glad you stopped talking to your friend. If he brings it up again tell him, “Look, I am pregnant, I am (however pregnant women feel when they are pregnant) and I just plain do not want to constantly hear about your end time speculation. It is just annoying. Please stop”

A real friend would stop if you put it that way. And please, do not buy into this end time hype. I grew up protestant. I always believed, as a kid, that I would not reach adulthood because I knew, for sure, that Jesus was coming back very soon. Well, I am 30 now and still waiting. I am a young adult still, but I reached adulthood! Believe what The Church teaches on the matter. And that is that “NOBODY KNOWS” Stay ready for God, and you do not have to worry about being caught unready. Please do not stress out this. Do not go looking up info about The end times on the internet. It will only stress you out more. Glad you are at least getting some professional help. God bless.
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Thabk you for your response. He knows how I feel about the subject but he goes on anyway which is why I cut ties from him. Like I said the old me would have been like dude, youre crazy but now i just find myself adding on to the what if its true list. I just cant help.myself. idk if its hormones or what but I feel like Im going insane.
 
**RELAX, be peaceful, and enjoy the miracle of the new little life growing within you ! Seriously, would Pope Francis schedule all of this for next year if the world were ending this fall? (There is WAY, WAY more than this scheduled, this is just a snapshot of some of the beginning of next year and the end of next year). Totally trust Jesus’ words when He said nobody will know ahead of time when the end of the world will come, so always be ready.

Jubilee 2015/2016 - The calendar of big events with Pope Francis

On April 11, was published the Papal Bull through which Pope Francis announced the Jubilee. The Bull’s title is “Misericordiae Vultus” (Mercy Jubilee); Pope Francis said that the indulgence, as announced before, can be obtained also outside Rome and he has chosen the Festival of Immaculate Conception as symbolic date to start the Jubilee because the end of the Second Vatican Council will be celebrated in that date. For anybody who wants to take part in this big event and wants to seize the opportunity to meet Pope Francis, here follows the program of the Jubilee:

December 2015

Tuesday, 8 •Festival of Immaculate Conception
•Opening of the Holy Door of the St. Peter’s Basilica

Sunday, 13 •Third Sunday of the Advent
• Opening of the Holy door of the Arch basilica of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and in the Cathedrals of the World

January 2016

Friday, 1 •Festival of Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
•World Day of Peace
•Openings of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore)

Tuesday, 19 – Thursday, 21 •Jubilee of operators of pilgrimages

Monday, 25 •Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle
•Ecumenical Celebration of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

February 2016

Tuesday, 2 •of the Presentation of God and Day of the Consecrated Life
•Jubilee of the Consecrated Life and closing of the Year of the Consecrated Life

Wednesday, 10 •Ash Wednesday
•Shipping of the Mercy Missionaries to the St. Peter’s Basilica

Monday, 22 •Chair of Saint Peter
•Jubilee of the Roman Curia, the Governorate and of the Institutions linked to the Holy See

September 2016

Sunday, 4 •XXIII Sunday of Ordinary Time
•Memory of Consecrated Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Monday, the 5th)
•Jubilee of operators and volunteers of mercy

Sunday, 25 •XXVI Sunday of Ordinary Time
•Jubilee of catechists

October 2016

Saturday, 8 and Sunday, 9 •Saturday and Sunday after the festival of the Our Lady of the Rosary
•Marian Jubilee

November 2016

Tuesday, 1 •All Saints’ Day
•Saint Mass in memory of defunct believers

Sunday, 6 •XXXII Sunday of Ordinary Time
•Jubilee of imprisoned of Saint Peter

Sunday, 3 • XXXIII Sunday of Ordinary Time
•Closure of the Holy Door of the Basilicas in Rome and in the Dioceses

Sunday, 20 •Festival of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo, Re dell’Universo, in Rome)
•Closure of the Holy Door in Saint Peter’s Basilica and conclusion of the Mercy**
 
I think you’d be best to find another psychiatrist or psychologist that does understand where you’re coming from. This is the most important thing for you right now.

And I think it would be a good idea to explain to your husband, as well as you can, what is going on. He won’t be able to fix it (and, given what men can sometimes be like, it would probably be a good idea to tell him you don’t expect him to fix it), but if he knows what is going on, at least you can work through this difficult time together.

People have been predicting the end of the world since abut the end of the first century AD. Many of the first generations of Christians expected to see the return of Christ themselves–although they didn’t set a date for it, it just seemed to make sense that the Lord would return soon. There was a huge amount of the same sort of thing before the year 1000.

You may find this list helpful: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events

You may also want to read this: earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015
Wikipedia had this summary of the points made in the article:
Writing for Earth & Sky Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd point out that the referenced verse also says the “sun will be turned into darkness”, an apparent reference to a solar eclipse. They note that since the Jewish Calendar is lunar, one sixth of all eclipses will occur during Passover or Sukkot. Furthermore, there have been 62 tetrads since the first century AD, though only eight of them have coincided with both the feasts. Thus, the event is not as unusual as Hagee and Biltz imply. Additionally, three of the four eclipses in the tetrad will not even be visible in the biblical homeland of Israel, casting further doubt on Hagee and Biltz’s interpretation.
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In any case, since Jesus explicitly told us that we are not to know when the end is coming, we are supposed to be ready for it at all times. How do we get ready for it? By living our lives according to God’s laws, lovingly and productively, and accepting today’s joys, pains, and duties. The world could end tomorrow, or it could end in the year 5000 or 50,000. Regardless of which it is, we should live our lives the same way. Presumably that is why we aren’t to know.

Even if the world were to end this Fall, which I don’t presume to know, but I highly doubt, is this how you would want to spend God’s gift of the intervening time?

–Jen
 
Hormones absolutely make us crazy. You’re in a vulnerable condition right now. Thankfully, you already know that you need to try to keep things in perspective and not to latch onto the weirdness that this “friend” and his soulmates on the Internet are feeding you! Just try to recognize it for the weirdness thst it is, and try to distract yourself by getting the nursery ready and looking forward to meeting your little baby!
 
When my sister was pregnant, she became obsessed with the Mayan-end-of-the-world-prediction. She was convinced they were all going to die and she kept saying she didn’t want to have the baby because of the end of the world. After my niece was born, she insisted she wasn’t going to have any more children because of the end of the world. Well, as we all know, the world did not end. Apparently, this sort of concern is a thing for pregnant women. The world is probably not going to end, and even if it does, we are supposed to wait in joyful hope for the coming of the Lord, not worry about balls of fire. If you are really anxious, I think you should get a second opinion from another doc. I’m due in November too, so I’ll be praying to St. Gerard for you!
 
👍👍
mjs2001 said:
Hormones absolutely make us crazy. You’re in a vulnerable condition right now. Thankfully, you already know that you need to try to keep things in perspective and not to latch onto the weirdness that this “friend” and his soulmates on the Internet are feeding you! Just try to recognize it for the weirdness thst it is, and try to distract yourself by getting the nursery ready and looking forward to meeting your little baby!
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LaughingBoy1503 said:
Well, I am 30 now and still waiting.
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I’m a bit more than twice your age & I’m also waiting. Over the last 45 years or so I’ve heard a ton of predictions & not a one of them has come true. Some of the predictions have even been repeated from time to time because no one seems to remember the earlier failed predictions.

I think it’s similar to horror movies - some people like to scare themselves. 😃
 
I struggle with anxiety, too. It seems when I try to prove or disprove things, it just adds fuel to the fire. I don’t at all agree with your friend. However, in terms of the anxiety, I would probably just say that I don’t know the future. No one really does. When those doubts arise, don’t give them any power. Shrug them off and move on. Don’t let anxiety steal the joy of being pregnant and planning a beautiful life for your baby.:hug3:
 
z_0101 said:
-+ From what you have written, You are suffering from depression.

-+ You need to go to your priest for spiritual help - especially the blessing for pregnant women and the Sacrament of Healing - the devil preys upon the depressed!

-+ You need to go to your OBGYN and talk to your doctor about this situation and get a referral to a psychologist that deals with post-partum depression. Not every psychologist understands this condition or wants to believe that such exists and that may be the case with your current psychologist. You need a psychologist that understands the current findings regarding women’s health.

-+ ABSOLUTLY, quit dwelling on the end times - there are a lot of, well, well intentioned but mostly misinformed people that think they know the end of time… our Lord clearly says that no-one but God the Father knows, not even the Angels, nor by our Lord’s own words the Son know the end of days. Receive the Sacraments, pray, and live a good life… Trust in Jesus.
Matthew 24:36
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father
Acts 1:7
6So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”…

Be at Peace
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Very well stated.
There is no such thing as the rapture. It’s made up. Be at peace. And I will pray for your safe delivery. God bless you abundantly, today, and always.
 
ellam25, you have received very good advice in this thread. I stand behind everything that has been said, except perhaps that you are depressed or require psychological consultation. It’s too vague to conclude things like that.

Fear of death, while somewhat illogical from a Catholic standpoint, is very common. Nobody likes to imagine what would happen to them or their family in the event of a tragedy. But I’m sure anybody would tell you, thinking about these things is not constructive. Get it out of your mind and focus on the good, while remaining thankful and true to God. Jesus said himself: live for today, and do not worry about tommorow.

I know where you’re coming from. When I have exciting things planned for the future, the thought of it being taken away from me due to death terrifies me. For me, it’s usually when I travel on a plane to go back home. Hearing about all the air disasters recently only ignites my worries. But when the time comes, I pray that God keeps me safe and let it be according to his will, sit back, and enjoy the view.

It’s funny. People like your friend get held up reading internet blogs or books warning of the apocalypse etc, yet they pay no attention to what Jesus says on the manner. It does not occur to them, that these people spreading these false claims, however spiritual they may seem, cannot possibly speak louder than the Bible, which is the word of God itself. So my advice to you and your friend; throw away the junk that you read about things which are not approved by the Church, and focus on the advice given by Jesus himself in the book that has more historical significance and accuracy than anything else ever will. The bible 🙂

God bless, and good luck with your pregnancy.
 
Domiy said:
ellam25, you have received very good advice in this thread. I stand behind everything that has been said, except perhaps that you are depressed or require psychological consultation. It’s too vague to conclude things like that.

Fear of death, while somewhat illogical from a Catholic standpoint, is very common. Nobody likes to imagine what would happen to them or their family in the event of a tragedy. But I’m sure anybody would tell you, thinking about these things is not constructive. Get it out of your mind and focus on the good, while remaining thankful and true to God. Jesus said himself: live for today, and do not worry about tommorow.

I know where you’re coming from. When I have exciting things planned for the future, the thought of it being taken away from me due to death terrifies me. For me, it’s usually when I travel on a plane to go back home. Hearing about all the air disasters recently only ignites my worries. But when the time comes, I pray that God keeps me safe and let it be according to his will, sit back, and enjoy the view.

It’s funny. People like your friend get held up reading internet blogs or books warning of the apocalypse etc, yet they pay no attention to what Jesus says on the manner. It does not occur to them, that these people spreading these false claims, however spiritual they may seem, cannot possibly speak louder than the Bible, which is the word of God itself. So my advice to you and your friend; throw away the junk that you read about things which are not approved by the Church, and focus on the advice given by Jesus himself in the book that has more historical significance and accuracy than anything else ever will. The bible 🙂

God bless, and good luck with your pregnancy.
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Yes. Absolutely.
People won’t take advice on child rearing from strangers on the internet, but salvation?
Sure. Whatevs.

Be at peace.
God bless your entire family.
 
I haven’t had time yet to finish reading all the replies (& the ones I have read are excellent) but I want to say a couple things:

–I’m a psychotherapist with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. Psychiatrists, like the one you’re seeing, are medical doctors with NO training (not even one class!) in counseling. They spend 15 minutes with a patient, writes a prescription, and brings in the next person. This is NOT a criticism; they serve a critically important component of mental health care. But I suggest you find yourself a psychologist, psychotherapist, or counselor. Please be wary of any evangelical or Protestant counselor who does not support your Catholic faith. There are “counselors” or “pastoral counselors” who may or may not have had adequate training, and these are NOT bound by the same ethical guidelines as properly trained therapists (read: it is extremely unethical to try to persuade a client/patient to alter their doctrine or religious beliefs based on the “counselor’s” values and beliefs; however well meaning, this is grounds for a grievance or sanctions on a professional therapist).

–I have a cancer disease and have another (my 13th in as many years) surgery scheduled for the 18th. I have been crippled with anxiety since learning or this last week. I tell you this only to tell you that you are not alone and also that anxiety is vastly different than worry. If you ruminate and worry, discipline your mind and stop. However, anxiety is a PHYSIOLOGICAL reaction of which you CANNOT control. You have to ride it out. Check out a branch of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); there are resources online or message me & I’ll recommend the best books. DBT was originally designed to treat Borderline Personality and I am NOT suggesting that is your issue (your histrionic apocalyptic friend perhaps–okay, that was in bad taste but I couldn’t help it 😉 ). But research, though fairly new has found DBT skills to be extremely helpful in many mental issues, namely anxiety and depression (both of which your symptomology suggests). I personally use DBT (another therapy I use is Acceptance & Commitment Therapy ACT which compliments CBT and DBT beautifully) with both my clients, who have great success when they work the skills, as well as on my own in dealing with a life-threatening disease. There are a gazillion DBT skills so it is trial and error to find what works for you, you have to be disciplined to actively apply these skills, but when you do you can, if not alleviate, and least suffer LESS as your symptoms ride themselves out. I know this is a lot of information but if you want message me and I’ll give you my email.

–I was sick and lost weight through both of my pregnancies, but my heart was so very happy. After my first daughter was born and the lovely crashing hormone torture began, I had massive anxiety and sobbing fits for about five weeks! My poor husband! But it passed and being a mother is the main thing pushing me to continue to fight my disease (it’s genetic, both kids have it, my brother has it, & my daddy died from it so it’s also important I am a good example for them as they cope with their own version of the disease).

–be kind to yourself. I send you LOTS of LOVE and prayers. I will offer my Mass intention on your behalf this weekend.

–and for the love of Pete, stay away from the histrionic friend! He’s not being a good friend to you!
 
I think alot of this is due to fear, so many people today (myself included) are extremely scared of death, mainly because no one really knows what happens during this process, and probably many are scared of standing before God for their judgement.

Essentially, the world ‘ends’ for lots of people every day, as many die each day around the world, but there is a huge difference in dying and being alive on earth when the second coming happens, that will be an event so BIG and so unique, hard to even guess what it will be like, but I think its safe to say it will be nothing like a normal death.

It is true there has been many predictions on the second coming/ end of our world, many seem to think it will coincide with some religious holiday or celebration, but Jesus told us, he would come like a thief in the night…think about that statement…that means he will come at a time NO ONE is expecting him to, it will be a big surprise, Im curious whether he meant a surprise for all people, only christians, secular people, etc? Ive seen alot of comments on here that people are very doubtful it will happen in Sept 2015, so they are going about life NOT expecting it to happen…Gee, just the thing Jesus spoke of!
 
mikekle said:
I think alot of this is due to fear, so many people today (myself included) are extremely scared of death, mainly because no one really knows what happens during this process, and probably many are scared of standing before God for their judgement.

Essentially, the world ‘ends’ for lots of people every day, as many die each day around the world, but there is a huge difference in dying and being alive on earth when the second coming happens, that will be an event so BIG and so unique, hard to even guess what it will be like, but I think its safe to say it will be nothing like a normal death.

It is true there has been many predictions on the second coming/ end of our world, many seem to think it will coincide with some religious holiday or celebration, but Jesus told us, he would come like a thief in the night…think about that statement…that means he will come at a time NO ONE is expecting him to, it will be a big surprise, Im curious whether he meant a surprise for all people, only christians, secular people, etc? Ive seen alot of comments on here that people are very doubtful it will happen in Sept 2015, so they are going about life NOT expecting it to happen…Gee, just the thing Jesus spoke of!
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These are only a few people that don’t think it will happen this year…go on any article about a natural disaster happening and people are all over it saying Jesus is coming soon. I’m appreciative of those who are trying to comfort me.
However, and this is a big however, I am not afraid of his second coming. I would welcome it! What I am terrified of is natural disasters, dying in a horrible way, watching my loved ones die, and then possibly living during the reign of the anti christ. My biggest fear is being tortured and being seperated from those I love and being alone in a world during an apocolyptic aftermath. (Not saying I would be necessarily, but I think about this stuff often…what if I die from a nuclear fallout? an earthquake? etc) Thanks for your reply.
 
To the others: Thank you for your answers. I am going to try and do my best to work this out and try to find adequate help.
 
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