Losing faith. Why should I believe in God?

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Wow I’m so glad to hear that you’ve, if not completely overcome your mental illness, greatly reduced it. That’s fantastic. Congratulations! I have been white-knuckling it for a while now and actually am looking at starting medication as well as therapy. I’m not sure if it will completely help me, but if it doesn’t I will look into the above that you mentioned. Thank you! And again congrats because I know what a burden it is and can only imagine what being free would feel like.😀
 
@Walterross: Thanks for your congratulations on my remission.

As I suggested, cognitive behavioral therapy will help, if you get a good psychologist. The best will help you recognize behaviors and thoughts that worsen your state of mind. Google around for a good therapist. Look at their patient ratings. God bless you and carry on!
 
Sometimes God will put us through a stage I forgot what is called but our preist talked about it. It is when one feels God is silent.There are reasons for this, one is are you praying to him ? If you are not then he really isn’t there. You don’t know a person until you spend time with them. Another reason why this could be happening is cause you are filled with anxiety and fear. Remember the devil strikes you best when you are anxious he wants you to have all these questions and be anxoius cause you are vulnurble when you are anxouis.Or maybe He is testing your faith so you will be stronger. Remember all those scientists saying the world happend by accident is equal to saying a bunch of random letters were thrown up in the air and by accident made the dictionary.
 
I know miracles cannot convince anyone, but just thought I would mention again the tilma of the Virgin of Guadalupe. You may have heard that the microscope reveals many people captured in the reflections of her eyes. And I recently learned about the constellations on the tilma: they are correct as of the date of Juan Diego’s meeting with the Virgin Mary, but they are portrayed as seen from above, from the vantage point of space in fact. Not to say heaven is up in the sky, but Jesus did appear to “ascend” when he left earth.

There is also the miracle of Lanciano. Really, there is plenty of physical proof of God’s existence. But it sounds as if you want him clearly present in your life. If you read the Bible diligently, you should begin to sense him more clearly.
He did say, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.
 
njlisa said:
As I suggested, cognitive behavioral therapy will help, if you get a good psychologist. The best will help you recognize behaviors and thoughts that worsen your state of mind. Google around for a good therapist. Look at their patient ratings. God bless you and carry on!
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Thank you! God bless you as well!
 
‘modernism’ means many things but it denies the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
It denies faith and reason go together, which The Catholic Church teaches.
Why are you afraid of dying? Like Paul The Apostle wrote, to be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord.
The dangers of the so-called age of reason enlightenment;
has been shown by millions upon millions of crimes against humanity.
such as, ‘The Reign of Terror,’ in France; the atrocities of The Soviet Union
and Communist China — plus now the wholesale murder of over
100,000 helpless babies every single day worldwide right now.
The magnitude of these atrocities far exceeds by astronomical proportions
the crimes against humanity of hypocritical Christians.
Saying The Catholic Church teaches ‘blind faith’ or inferring it shows lack of knowledge.
here is a good series from a humble well educated informed man.

 
From reading your post it seems it is not necessarily God that you are having trouble believing in, but a God who frequently helps people in a way that can be objectively proved.

The two concepts are different.
 
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That is true.
Presumption (I can sin because God will forgive me or there is no God so no sin)
& despair (I can’t help but sin denying the Power of God; or there is no God sin anyway)
and things like that, to the extent that a conscience is ‘seared’ obscures the free
gift of faith everyone gets and, unless they truly desire deliverance from God;
they become fodder for evil of the flesh, world, and devil.
Isn’t it odd that Satan makes monstrous possessed demoniac(s) rarely; but seduces sweet talkers to seduce others into sin more? I guess it is diabolical ‘good’ cop ‘bad’ cop; or some other analogy. It seems the seducers are more insidious.
" You believe that God is one. You are doing well! Even the demons believe that , and shudder!" - James 2:19
“O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?” - James 2:20
Faith by Grace turns into hope and hope by Grace turns into Covenant Love for God;
and in that Covenant true charity for neighbors. Not just trying to look good to one’s self
and others; but proclaiming the Good News, Salvation Through Jesus Christ Raised
from the dead - conquering sin and death — to conquer personal sin attachments;
giving God the Glory as the basis for sincere charity for others.
“You are My friends if you do what I command you.” - John 15:14

“By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” - 1 John 5:2-5
having truly believed in not just of Jesus The Son of God; we desire virtue within; live virtuous lives as witnesses; and assert virtue to others - to go along with sharing earthly necessities. Yes?
“If you really keep the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” - James 2:8
 
The chemical imbalance theory has never actually been proven.
 
@MarkoB0726

You are correct in that the term “chemical imbalance” is simplistic. And you are correct that nothing is ever “proven” in medicine. It is an art as well as a science. Research goes on.

Harvard Medical School explains the biochemistry of depression far better than I could.

www.health.harvard.edu

What causes depression? - Harvard Health

Depression has many possible causes, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications, and medical problems. It's believed that several of th...
www.health.harvard.edu www.health.harvard.edu
 
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Great conversation here. I am an habitually skeptical over thinker myself who has lapsed, but I often want to return to a life in Christ and the Church. I can relate to the OP and appreciate many of the thoughtful responses and encouragement he is receiving here.
 
Fair enough, but as someone who’s had to take antidepressants for almost 20 years, I don’t think they actually cure major depression. They may alleviate the symptoms, but they certainly don’t heal the hole in one’s heart. We also don’t know what the long-term consequences of these drugs may be, which is the scariest part.
 
@MarkoB0726: You and I walked the same road, brother in Christ. I went through the same misery for decades. No medications work for me. I refer you to one of my earlier posts. (I’m sorry if you’ve read it already.)
njlisa said:
For decades, I was treated for intractable depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I took many different anti-depressants, sedatives, and pain medications. None of them worked. I’m not weak. I’m not indifferent. I’m not a coward. I white-knuckled my way through seemingly endless years of horrible depression.

And finally, New Jersey loosened medical marijuana policies. Many more conditions could be treated. This story is true. (And no, I’m not claiming it’s a miracle.) I started consuming a non-intoxicating variety one day, and the next day, the lights were on. I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t depressed, and my mind was firing on all pistons.
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Glad to hear you found something that worked. I’m weaning off Pristiq (under medical supervision) and it’s getting somewhat difficult. I don’t think I wanna try medical marijuana at this point. I wanna see if regular cardio will help.
 
@MarkoB0726 I pray you find something that works for you. I went through two series of transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment. I had to go three or four times a week. The entire treatment took six weeks. It did work briefly for me. It’s not shock therapy. And it’s done in your doctor’s office. You’re alert and awake with a gizmo on your head sends magnetic zaps into your brain. It’s not painful. It’s annoying more than anything else. But it didn’t bother me. No medication is a taken before, during or after.

For more information, check out the NeuroStar site.
 
Thanks I’ll look into it as a possible solution down the road.
 
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