sorry I don't believe in god but even if I did would have to ask you,

why do you think your thoughts come from either god or the devil, aren't they your thoughts? Last time I check god gave you free will meaning no one has power over you but you. And thoughts are just thoughts, not evil or good, They only become evil if you act on them.

But I love how thoughts can't be our own they have to come from something else?

I believe in a god and many dieties. I call on them to keep me safe and sane. Sometimes in my psychosis I believe that my safe haven has left me and that eveil forces are at work spinning to take my life force from me. That is when I have to decide to either left go and give in or fight for my life energy. I hope that you fight for your life energy Zanny, you are a good person and you deserve peace...

I cannot say I blame you for feeling this way. The first couple years I dealt with a full blown mental illness my nightmares became much more vivid and worse, and a number of them would keep on having religious themes...not in a good way. For a while I was frightened and thought that it must have had something to do with the devil, although I didnt know how one could fight that or what it meant.

Although I, like anyone else, can never say for SURE whats the devil / god / which religion is right etc. I eventually chose to abandon this thinking. For two reasons :

1. Say, by chance, it IS the devil / demonic forces, just for the sake of working it out. I actually had a good relationship with a local priest for a while and I was in a completely different situation at the time but there was still the main topic of - what do I do if (friend, me, whoever) IS dealing with the devil or a demon??? His answer was simple. Don't pay attention to it. Don't give it the emotion, the energy, the thought. His reasoning was that all those bad forces thrive off of the energy that people give to them. We chose to leave the situation behind (most of us anyway) and those of us who did leave were not taunted by it again.

2. Ok now for some more graspable ideas. When I was living in New York I went to a day program there and for a good number of groups we actually did talk a bit about thoughts. Because as Im sure many people can also say that our thoughts can be scary, intimidating, etc. Well we talked about it and broke it down to the simple fact that our thoughts do not contain a plethora of hidden meaning. To have a thought is only having a small spark in your brain. Just a little *zip* and thats all. So, thinking that way, they arent so scary. Why be afraid of a little blip on the radar that is only there for a small fraction of a second? It is just a function. Ive found taking this idea in has allowed me to let go of a lot of unsettling thoughts / dreams.

Thanks you guys for your input. I appreciate it.

Everyone's faith wavers. Personally, I think that it makes our faith stronger when we question it, because we seek God's face.

I would say that the thoughts are what everyone else says-a product of the "ism" that you have and not the devil. To me, evil is the bad energy and the truly malicious acts that folks do in the world, not intrusive thoughts.

Things like this might indicate that the mind is trying to process some issue or trauma. Many times this can happen. Check with your counselor on that. As well, it could be a side effect of meds-you might need adjusting. But yes--many times, the mind tries to cope or it is maxed out from daily stressors and I think that we get intrusive, compulsive thoughts or obsessions.

I will say that you can learn from this situation and there might be a spiritual lesson from it, like "Don't condemn yourself" or "Take care of yourself." or something like that.....I think that we learn spiritually FROM what we experience.

Satan doesn't have to do much; mankind provides enough ills for mankind.

Also, beware religious zealotry. When religion gets in the way of mental health, then you have to take care of you and block out what someone else says, even if they are a religious authority.

To me, the most telling thing is when we can feel God in our relationships, or if we can learn a life lesson through the scripture.

I do not, and will not ever--condone the following:

1. being attacked or chided on a psychiatric symptom that I am experiencing/doing that is managed with meds and therapy

2. never attack someone else for their beliefs-regardless of what those beliefs are

3. I will never believe that one Christian church is better than another or is more exclusive.

4. I will never believe that one doctrinal point is better or worse than another

Example: baptism in Jesus name vs. Father, Son and HG

5. never go so far as to unduly sacrifice my mental health or resource over anything that will render me insane or incapacitated
_______________

About 6 years ago, a lady from a super-Pentacostal church wanted me to take my 19 month old son to Atlanta with her on a friggin' whim....OKAY.....NO!!!!!!!!!!1

Now, I have a friend who attends a *nice* Pentacostal church and sometimes, I go with her. They allow you to *sit down* or eat if you are tired. They allow you to leave if you need to. They DONT THINK that you are possessed if you have a mental illness..........

ETC by EKC

It's confusing to me, too, so I take Seroquel to stay sane instead.