What can psychologists/psychiatrists offer for Catholics?

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NuclearReceptor

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I’ve been contemplating seeing a psychologist or therapist (for anxiety, depression).

But what do they offer for Catholics? Aren’t we supposed to just have recourse to prayer and penance, and just deal with life without complaining and being sad?

I’m just constantly disappointed in life and now, I’m verging on just not caring about anything anymore. Don’t want to feel joy because in the end, it was just a false illusion. Don’t want to feel sadness, well, because it’s sad.

God seems to just not care. What I thought might be providence was just…false expectations and hope. I have nowhere to go, dead end.

If we take antidepressants, is that an un-Catholic or spiritually imperfect? Do we just have to suck it up and pray away the depression?
 
NuclearReceptor said:
t what do they offer for Catholics? Aren’t we supposed to just have recourse to prayer and penance, and just deal with life without complaining and being sad?

I’m just constantly disappointed in life and now, I’m verging on just not caring about anything anymore. Don’t want to feel joy because in the end, it was just a false illusion. Don’t want to feel sadness, well, because it’s sad.

God seems to just not care. What I thought might be providence was just…false expectations and hope. I have nowhere to go, dead end.

If we take antidepressants, is that an un-Catholic or spiritually imperfect? Do we just have to suck it up and pray away the depression?
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They can offer a lot.

check out http://www.catholictherapists.com/

www.catholictherapists.com

How We Can Help | CatholicTherapist.com

CatholicTherapists.com was conceived for those individuals and families who seek specifically Catholic practitioners.
www.catholictherapists.com www.catholictherapists.com

Link to a free guide for Catholics before starting therapy:
http://www.catholictherapists.com/before-starting-therapy
 
Why do you think going to a doctor of mental health is different than seeing your typical doctor
 
I too am depressed and have felt most of these feelings

We are obligated to save people dying because life is precious
But we do not have to go extreme measures

So you are not wrong to seek therapy because we are to treat those in danger of dying

Depression is a disease and isn’t anti-Catholic to have or get treatment for

I hope we both can have our view on life changed soon buddy
 
Because we can’t be expected to cure cancer or other physical illnesses ourselves, but depression seems to be my personal fault — lack of trust in God, lack of faith, not enough prayer, etc.
 
I keep asking myself, What did I do wrong that this is happening? How long will God punish me or leave me in this dark? Will anything improve? How do I regain God’s love and favor?

The only perceptible feeling is God’s anger and punishment.
 
I have those things too

But they aren’t the cause

Many things contribute

Those things aren’t good for it but it’s not the cause

I like to think God is near us even when we run away
 
@NuclearReceptor - please know you are in our prayers.

The Catholic Church acknowledges that anxiety and depression are real medical problems.

The Church does NOT tell us that we should attempt to pray our medical issues away. We are supposed to take care of our bodies, and that includes seeking medical treatment for medical issues.

St. Luke was a doctor and writer of his Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles. Do you think when he became a disciple of Christ, he stopped being a doctor? Personally, I doubt it. I’m sure he still used his medical knowledge to help people AND used prayer.

After all, it is the Catholic Church that invented the hospital, and it was the Catholic Church that built hospitals all over the world.

So please rest assured, that your faith supports you seeking the help you need. And I can personally tell you, speaking with a Catholic therapist can be a big help to not just your physical life, but your spiritual one too. That’s why I recommend http://www.catholictherapists.com/

God Bless
 
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NuclearReceptor said:
but depression seems to be my personal fault — lack of trust in God, lack of faith, not enough prayer, etc.
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Why do you think that? Just because it’s invisible? Depression is a real medical condition, as the Church acknowledges. It is not the result of insufficient faith. Go attend to your mental health. By all means, keep praying, but there is zero wrong with you seeing a mental health provider.
 
I came back to the Church with in 2006 after a 10 year absence and my faith was stronger than it had ever been. Now, I had struggled with depression all my life and was sinking deeper and deeper at the time. I was in therapy and on medications. My return to the Church did not end my depression. After my return I was committed to psych wards at least half-a-dozen times and finally hospitalized for 6.5 weeks and given 12 ECT treatments. Those treatments, in 2008. turned my mental health around.

God used my psychiatrists and mental health therapists to help lift me out of the life-threatening depression I was in. My talk therapy is on-going, as is a medication regimen. My faith is stronger than it has ever been.

No, anti-depressants are not ‘un-Catholic’ or spiritually imperfect. They are used to treat real medical conditions. Would you tell a diabetic to avoid insulin and other medications, suck it up and pray away the high blood sugar levels?

Not all sadness is depression but if one feels down for an extended length of time it’s probably time to seek a counselor and/or the advice of a medical doctor(PCP or psychiatrist) for help.

You will be in my prayers.
 
NuclearReceptor said:
If we take antidepressants, is that an un-Catholic or spiritually imperfect? Do we just have to suck it up and pray away the depression?
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I have to say I empathise with what you seem to be saying. If I can dare make any criticism of Catholicism, it is that we are encouraged to “avoid introspection.” Just get on with it and do good works. Psychology might be deemed self-absorption or self-pity.
There is certainly an old school brand of this way of thinking, which my parents were raised on.
However I will admit, some Catholics value psychology and of course there are Catholic psychologists who can help you, as suggested by other posters.
I am interested in this area myself but a little old to be seeking a career in it. I think we need to counsel people spiritually and psychologically at the same time. Sometimes there is overlap and our needs can be met with both.
“Just pray and fast” is very unhelpful advice , by itself imo. It shows a lack of sensitivity and interest in what the person is going through. Sure a lot of us need some discipline in our lives but we also need empathy and compassion.
 
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NuclearReceptor said:
But what do they offer for Catholics? Aren’t we supposed to just have recourse to prayer and penance, and just deal with life without complaining and being sad?
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I think you have us confused with one of those Protestant sects that doesn’t see doctors.
Catholicism has never, ever taught that you’re not supposed to seek treatment for a mental condition or that you’re supposed to just “pray it away”.

The sheer number of people on this board having issues with family problems, marital situations, SSA etc. just underscores to me the need for good Catholic mental health professionals to help them with these things.
 
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I think the title should have been…

What can the Catholic Church offer psychologists/psychiatrists.

The answers would be much more productive.
 
Doesn’t dissatisfaction with life mean some sort of sin that prevents worthy reception? It may not be mortal sin per se, but I don’t think I can partake of the Eucharist in this state…

I just sort of feel abandoned by God — that after countless graces, He no longer sends them because I have not used the previous ones correctly…
 
These are fine, for people who are not suffering from a mental disease/ disorder or the aftermath of trauma.

Someone who is suffering from clinical depression obviously is not going to get to “happiness” doing these things, because they have an illness, probably with physical components.
 
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