The Potentially lethal Danger of Publicly Suggesting Religion Can Solve Our Mental Health Issues
Or any health issues, for that matter.
I was not walking through the baffling beast that is what many refer to as America’s bible belt when I was unfortunate enough to spot it. It was not placed ever so gently on a nearby church bench that’s been there since Moses wore short pants, in an attempt to cheer up anonymous bypassers with some good old-fashioned, clean cut, Christian humor. Either would have been understood, expected and maybe even quietly respected or at bare minimum-accepted.
However, spotting an industrially commercial sized billboard on interstate 95 in Philadelphia as cars zipped past me likely unbothered by what I was appalled about as I approached it, I read the words “Feeling anxious? Jesus offers rest".
Wow. Let’s dig right in I guess, shall we?
Let me first say, I’m far more qualified to write this based off my background and knowledge gained through personal experience and information I sought out on my own initiative and for my own reasons, in the mental health and mental healthcare field, than I am as one who would consider themselves a beacon of religious knowledge or lifestyles. I’m happy to tell you this is the case because quite frankly I’d be more embarrassed if it were the other way around. I’d rather have a deeper and more thorough understanding of both our minds and the things that ail and even, in some cases, destroy them as well, then pretend I’m someone I’m not for the the sake or comfortability of someone else not named me, by forcing words I don’t necessarily feel the same about as many religious devotionists, however I respect them the exact same way I would, regardless of any and all such circumstances.
However, I do not consider myself an atheist, all while appreciating where all sides involved are coming from, to an extent anyway--which is to say I have no real dog in this fight and no wager to win by being right when I say, while Jesus may offer rest, trying to replace your psych meds with his teachings could lead to him offering you rest of the eternal variety.
Peter and Paul were known for a lot of things, however a deep understanding of the human mind and how it shapes our emotional psychology were not among them. In fairness, my extent of knowledge on those two biblical lead characters, is the cultural reference we use inna monetary or financial fashion, where we claim to have to either rob from or borrow from Peter to pay Paul, which one you use likely depends on where you grew up. In Philly, we sometimes robbed Peter and stuck up Paul, perhaps even politely, right in front of a sworn officer of the heavenly branch of the police, because we had to. We were the biblical stick up kids your parents never warned you about. Surprise motherfuckers, hands in the air. Nobody move, everyone go-ahead and touch some sky.
My level of disgust and the depths of which I disagreed with that goddamned billboard would be comparable to how any and every pope everywhere throughout land, time and space would feel about pretty much this entire piece of mine. Let me be clear, that was precisely the point I was trying to make. Except popes and pallbearers and the likes don’t have to drive by the personal essays I publish on their way to work, or pray the gay away camp, or whatever every day. In fact, they can ignore it entirely and live their entire boring ass lives never knowing such philandering filth exists in the public consumption sector, but I can’t get those grossly misleading words on that billboard out of my head. Mainly, because it’s a form of false advertising, a clear cut case of purposely spreading misinformation to the modern day masses without running so much as a simple fact check first.
Its not that it offends me, so much as it is I’m concerned for the ill informed impressionable kids who suffer from some kind of serious or severe mental health issue that will potentially and/or eventually read and believe this. Both in principle and in practice--before eventually harming someone, a bunch of someone’s, and likely themselves also. Best case scenario, they spend the majority of their lives needlessly suffering in silence, wondering why your God hasn’t come down and personally cured what ails them yet. Oh, ye of little faith. Get that kid to a fucking psychologist before we have another school shooting before Saturday, you self absorbed, self righteous psalm singer.
Jesus will not come down from the heavens with the sole mission of curing or removing a single persons anxieties--regardless of how miniscule or globally conscious and relevant they may seem to you and yours. That, is what talk and cognitive behavioral therapy are for. This is why Xanax is so damn addictive yet delicious and longed for by so many of us on the daily. Because life is fucking stressful, by default and within the confines of its very design, even on the good days if we’re being honest. That is just the nature of it. Existential angst is the trade-off we get for being the disgusting, meat eating, fabricating fornicators we are. Jesus ain’t real jazzed about much of what we jot down in our journals. Some religions would have you beheaded for the blurb they read about your last blog.
My suggestion is we leave the seven day Adventists out of our mental health maintenance plans just like we probably shouldn’t ask our therapists if they can recommend a good exorcist. Not the movie, but the made up malarchy the script was based on, that someone made up and sold to a major film studio for profit, many many moons ago.
Its simply the safe, humane and probably the most practical approach to such, so why not just do that? If Jesus offers rest, I feel like we’ll know about it without a boulevard based billboard boasting about it behind and on top of graffiti ridden buildings our citizens are often forced to frequent without ever knowing how faulty the foundation of both the structure they’re currently trapped inside and the fairytales and fictional father figured they pay thousands a month for, in the interest of cult like Catholic schools scolding their offspring for sneezing during sermon, when a simple God bless you wouldve sufficed, all the same. If you expect people to respect your beliefs blindly while justifying why you tread all over theirs, you are the problem. There’s nothing graceful or God like about egotistical arrogance, I swear to Christ. Science says so, so beat it all you indecent deacon and pedophilia practicing priests.
Peace be with you, but Jesus doesn’t have a PHD in psychology or psychiatry, he was a glorified carpenter. Non union I bet. He’d likely vote for Kamala Harris just because Trump and his Dad regularly debate over who’s more pertinent and powerful and his pop’s has really had enough of the assasination survivors bullshit, like it was the second attempt he staged, badly. Daytime soap acting at its finest, if I’m being polite given the circumstances.
But that’s what all of politics have become in this country and when you take a complete step back and truly observe it deeply--because if you have, then you must know how absurdly comical we the people, truly are.
That’s all I got, but at least I ain’t got AI, either. Thanks for letting me share. Take care everyone.
