My Sister is getting worse..Using GOD to make her point

[blondguy]

Hey everyone

Similar to SmallWolf this can be difficult to discuss as a champion

I have posted a similar topic a few years back....Just trying again

My younger sister insists that I physically crush my collection of many of my movies as she doesnt believe that generalized anxiety or Schizophrenia are mental health conditions. She is adamant that these illnesses are caused by Satan....and yes I am serious, unfortunately.

I joined Beyond Blue in January 2016 and am well educated in many areas of mental health and providing the best quality support and TLC possible over a long period of time. 

Can anyone assist me on this as its having a negative effect my long term recovery from chronic anxiety issues. My sister said she doesnt follow religion as "she is in God's immediate family"

If it helps anyone understand, my sister has firmly mentioned that my thrillers and horror movies have to be crushed and not donated to charity as they are portals for Satan.

Any level of support on this would be really appreciated

my kindest always

Paul

[therising]

Hi Paul

That's an enormous amount of grief and challenge for you to be facing (the passing of your mum and girlfriend) without people around you challenging you on top of it all. I wish there was something I could say to ease the pain and the struggle you face on a daily basis. There is some relief in knowing that you have so much support from so many of the beautiful people on the forums here, something you deserve especially when considering how supportive you've been of others over the years and what a great guide you've been to many.

When re-reading your initial post I realised you were speaking of your sister's take on what she believes schizophrenia and other mental health conditions to be. I thought it was she who experienced schizophrenia. Apologies, as I was coming from the wrong perspective.

I've found the rabbit hole of spiritual beliefs and practices to be extensive, surprising and somewhat questionable at times and have developed the attitude of 'Each to their own' or 'Whatever works'. When first beginning to seriously explore that rabbit hole close to 20 years ago (after coming out of long term depression), it began as simple. The more I went into it, the more variety of beliefs I found. I also found how easy it is for one thing to lead to another, especially with access to social media and the internet in general these days.

If someone has a thought 'What if schizophrenia and other mental health conditions are the work of the devil' and they type that possibility into their search engine, you can be guaranteed a whole stack of things that validate that thought will come up. They may find a stack of bible quotes that relate to it, people who've done research into it and people who can fully convince them of it. With that validation can come a fixed belief system, whether it's the truth of the matter or not. Things can also take a turn or a sudden detour. Amongst what comes up in the search may be 'Metatron's message on mental health conditions'. Btw, there is a belief system (not my cup of tea by the way but each to their own) that has many believers and followers. The belief is in extra terrestrial communication, which relates to Metatron. So what began as questioning the work of the devil now turns into 'The dark alien forces at play with our minds'. An open minded person needs to be careful with researching on the internet and needs to be discerning with what they access on social media. While there a plenty of theories out there as to what lies behind certain mental health conditions, some theories can be valid, proven or interesting and some can be questionable. It's our choice when it comes to what we choose to follow or believe in. Enforcing our wholehearted beliefs on others is another story.

Being able to say to someone 'I can understand your beliefs but I don't share them, as I have my own' can be a respectful way of shutting down a conversation. If they persist with enforcing their beliefs, the response could be 'I have the option of putting my beliefs on you but I choose not to, out of respect. I prefer we have a mutually respectful relationship, something we both need to agree in order for the relationship to be able to continue'. A last ditch effort could sound like 'Your beliefs and insistence are causing me stress and leading me to experience mental health issues. You need to seriously question what you're doing'.