Mental Illness and Moral Culpability

[Holly3278]

Hi everyone. I have three mental illnesses: borderline personality disorder, major depression, and anxiety disorder. Anyway, the borderline personality disorder is the main problem. It causes very frequent mood swings which in essence causes me to one minute not care if I’m sinning and the next minute to be scrupulous. Well, maybe not from minute to minute but certainly from hour to hour sometimes. So my question is, after you have looked over what borderline personality disorder is in my link I offered, do you think that I have a reduced culpability for my sins? I don’t think I do but one of my friends does. Please help!

 

[UndertheRadar]

I think that this is something that only you can answer for yourself. If the illness affects your reasoning at the time of a sin, then I would not say that you would be held responsible. After having read the link, it sounds to me like this question might not have a single answer, but vary from time to time, and similarly, from mood to mood. In general, I think that mental illness lessens responsibility significantly by reducing our reasoning to evaluate the situation, thus altering the will which is dependent upon reason.

 

[Holly3278]

I think that this is something that only you can answer for yourself. If the illness affects your reasoning at the time of a sin, then I would not say that you would be held responsible. After having read the link, it sounds to me like this question might not have a single answer, but vary from time to time, and similarly, from mood to mood. In general, I think that mental illness lessens responsibility significantly by reducing our reasoning to evaluate the situation, thus altering the will which is dependent upon reason.

Oh ok. I figured as much. So basically my culpability would depend on the mood I am in due to my illness?

 

[UndertheRadar]

Oh ok. I figured as much. So basically my culpability would depend on the mood I am in due to my illness?

St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, says that a voluntary act must be guided by knowledge. He says that ignorance (in your case I think it might be called temporary ignorance) may deprive one of knowledge, thereby making the act involuntary. I think the question you will need to ask yourself in these situations is: “Was my reasoning impaired so that I was not aware of the gravity of the “sin” at the time it was committed, and did I, of my own accord, act freely?” It is hard advising you to do this when I am on the outside looking in. I would advise you to speak with a priest that you trust.

 

[Holly3278]

St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, says that a voluntary act must be guided by knowledge. He says that ignorance (in your case I think it might be called temporary ignorance) may deprive one of knowledge, thereby making the act involuntary. I think the question you will need to ask yourself in these situations is: “Was my reasoning impaired so that I was not aware of the gravity of the “sin” at the time it was committed, and did I, of my own accord, act freely?” It is hard advising you to do this when I am on the outside looking in. I would advise you to speak with a priest that you trust.

Thank you for your advise UndertheRadar. I fully intend to speak with my priest about this. I don’t know when I’ll get that chance but it will surely be sometime in the next week or two depending on how busy he is.

 

[Ruthie]

I read the NIMH website, Holly, and based on that, I second UnderTheRadar’s advice. I’d like to add my own:

Bouncing as you do from scrupulosity to indifference, I’d say you need to be patient with yourself. I suggest asking both our perfect Mother Mary to pray for you - she who is infinitely patient - and asking St. Dymphna also to intercede for you. She’s the patron saint of the mentally ill. Since I began doing that, my therapy for type II bipolar has gotten much more successful!

Ruthie