Mental Illness, the afterlife, and people's judgements

These forums are barely active anymore except for the "show" section. But I'm still hoping this generates a decent dialogue. But if not, at least i vented and got my feelings out becuz I been aggravated about something for a while now, and just finally decided to post about it.

One thing that really irritates me about some "new age" spirituality is how they , generally speaking, handle mental illness and addiction .

I never hear someone say "well he had COPD, so when he died, his soul now gets out of breath easy." That sounds utterly ridiculous right? So would this: "she was in a wheelchair her entire life, so her soul is gonna have trouble learning to move around freely in the spirit world." That would be equally ridiculous, would it not?

Then why does mental illness and addiction get looked at differently . It's almost 2019. I have worked in the behavioral health field a long time . Addiction, mental illness, etc. is brain "stuff." Just like diabetes and arthritis and a broken arm are "body stuff", so too is "brain stuff" cuz it's the brain, which is an organ and part of the body.

So why do I often hear how those who pass over and who suffered addiction or mental illness r still suffering in the afterlife? A drunk who attaches himself to a living person who is an alcoholic to get his fix. A person who is deeply depressed ends their life and suffers in some sort of earth bound state . Should we say that about those who suffer other ailments while alive? Then why the difference with mental health issues.

It pisses me off and is not fair to those suffering. Have u ever had a family member end their life? Ever had a loved one addicted to something? Comforting to think they r still suffering in the afterlife isn't it becuz of a mental (and therefore) physical disorder .

No... when we die, our addictions, our depressions or anxieties etc shall be gone.. just like paralysis, just like cancer, etc. cuz it's a body thing . A physical thing. Stop separating one type of illness from another . U have no idea the pain ur causing by stating such ignorant bs. And by "u", I mean those who believe that crap.

End of rant.
 
These forums are barely active anymore except for the "show" section. But I'm still hoping this generates a decent dialogue. But if not, at least i vented and got my feelings out becuz I been aggravated about something for a while now, and just finally decided to post about it.

One thing that really irritates me about some "new age" spirituality is how they , generally speaking, handle mental illness and addiction .

I never hear someone say "well he had COPD, so when he died, his soul now gets out of breath easy." That sounds utterly ridiculous right? So would this: "she was in a wheelchair her entire life, so her soul is gonna have trouble learning to move around freely in the spirit world." That would be equally ridiculous, would it not?

Then why does mental illness and addiction get looked at differently . It's almost 2019. I have worked in the behavioral health field a long time . Addiction, mental illness, etc. is brain "stuff." Just like diabetes and arthritis and a broken arm are "body stuff", so too is "brain stuff" cuz it's the brain, which is an organ and part of the body.

So why do I often hear how those who pass over and who suffered addiction or mental illness r still suffering in the afterlife? A drunk who attaches himself to a living person who is an alcoholic to get his fix. A person who is deeply depressed ends their life and suffers in some sort of earth bound state . Should we say that about those who suffer other ailments while alive? Then why the difference with mental health issues.

It pisses me off and is not fair to those suffering. Have u ever had a family member end their life? Ever had a loved one addicted to something? Comforting to think they r still suffering in the afterlife isn't it becuz of a mental (and therefore) physical disorder .

No... when we die, our addictions, our depressions or anxieties etc shall be gone.. just like paralysis, just like cancer, etc. cuz it's a body thing . A physical thing. Stop separating one type of illness from another . U have no idea the pain ur causing by stating such ignorant bs. And by "u", I mean those who believe that crap.

End of rant.

And I know there will be those that say addiction or depression, anxiety , etc r symptoms of other , deeper issues, that may carry over into the afterlife. For example, a guy who has low self esteem and been screwed over a lot by people in life, may feel depressed and then end their life and carry those issues forward . I'm not really talking about those type of situations . I understand that occurs . I guess I'm talking more about those more "organic" problems, like low serotonin levels, or brain disorders / abnormalities that affect brain chemistry and lead to depression. Or what is known now about the biology of addiction and about the drive centers and reward centers of the brain. That sorta thing . Hope I made sense.
 
I agree that the biological causes of mental illnesses would not pertain in the afterlife.

But do you believe that the personality continues after death (not just consciousness but personal characteristics that make the person unique and identifiable)? If so, then some mental characteristics of the individual must continue from life to the afterlife.

Sometimes a biological condition can influence a person's thinking and cause cognitive distortions that would remain after death. And certain mental issues are mostly cognitive. Patterns of thinking do not necessarily change after death (they might or might not depending on how fixated the person is) the way biological afflictions change. People become earth bound for more reasons than just alcoholism. When you are attached to something it fills your mind and in the afterlife you go where your thoughts take you. If you are attached to your home you might linger there. If you are attached to alcohol you might stay at a bar. If you are a fundamentalist atheist and you hate the possibility of the afterlife it will be harder for you to leave the earth plane because you can't conceive that there can be anywhere else to go. But each individual is different. You can't say that every alcoholic will haunt a bar in the afterlife although some might.

And if you commit suicide there is no special punishment in the afterlife. But you can't escape your karma either even if the suicide is caused by biological factors.That's the deal we get when we incarnate, everyone is influenced by things beyond their control yet to some extent we are all responsible for our actions.

People sometimes identify anxieties in this life as being due to experiences in a previous life. Does it makes sense that they would not have had that anxiety in the afterlife inbetween lives? In the afterlife you wouldn't necessarily have airplanes so you wouldn't experience fear of flying, but that doesn't mean the effects of an unpleasant plane crash in life would not influence your mental state in the afterlife.

If I haven't addressed every point you made it is because I am not really trying to refute your premise only to clarify some of the issues where I can.


From my web site and blog:

Suicide:
https://sites.google.com/site/chs4o8pt/suicide

What are ghosts:
http://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-are-ghosts.html
 
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The prevailing proponent (new age?) opinion appears to be that the ‘mental’ is by definition non-physical. Under that model a ‘mental’ illness would be a higher order of malaise. Our experiences are not brain based but filtered through the brain. Thus, if one’s experiences are predominantly melancholic, whither the melancholia?

Not sure I agree, but it’s an interesting question.
 
These forums are barely active anymore except for the "show" section. But I'm still hoping this generates a decent dialogue. But if not, at least i vented and got my feelings out becuz I been aggravated about something for a while now, and just finally decided to post about it.

One thing that really irritates me about some "new age" spirituality is how they , generally speaking, handle mental illness and addiction .

I never hear someone say "well he had COPD, so when he died, his soul now gets out of breath easy." That sounds utterly ridiculous right? So would this: "she was in a wheelchair her entire life, so her soul is gonna have trouble learning to move around freely in the spirit world." That would be equally ridiculous, would it not?

Then why does mental illness and addiction get looked at differently . It's almost 2019. I have worked in the behavioral health field a long time . Addiction, mental illness, etc. is brain "stuff." Just like diabetes and arthritis and a broken arm are "body stuff", so too is "brain stuff" cuz it's the brain, which is an organ and part of the body.

So why do I often hear how those who pass over and who suffered addiction or mental illness r still suffering in the afterlife? A drunk who attaches himself to a living person who is an alcoholic to get his fix. A person who is deeply depressed ends their life and suffers in some sort of earth bound state . Should we say that about those who suffer other ailments while alive? Then why the difference with mental health issues.

It pisses me off and is not fair to those suffering. Have u ever had a family member end their life? Ever had a loved one addicted to something? Comforting to think they r still suffering in the afterlife isn't it becuz of a mental (and therefore) physical disorder .

No... when we die, our addictions, our depressions or anxieties etc shall be gone.. just like paralysis, just like cancer, etc. cuz it's a body thing . A physical thing. Stop separating one type of illness from another . U have no idea the pain ur causing by stating such ignorant bs. And by "u", I mean those who believe that crap.

End of rant.
Bill,
First of all, I don't think the discussions we have here are suitable for everyone. Maybe they are not for you, and certainly anyone who is prone to depression should think carefully before getting involved here - because we are searching for the truth (not fairness or ways to be comforting).

I am not sure we do hear often that people who have a mental illness continue to suffer on the other side. However, the basic problem is that:

1) There seems to be no way that physical matter can be conscious. Physical matter simply evolves in time under physical laws - how can that generate awareness?

2) Mental illnesses clearly involve consciousness, however whether that means that they extend in some way after death, is not clear. Once you take a non-physical perspective, some mental illnesses such as MPD, obviously suggest that multiple spirits become attached to one physical body, and this causes confusion. Perhaps all these spirits separate at death and cease to have problems - who knows.

I don't know if you are convinced by materialism, or if you are just consumed by the question of possible unfairness. Remember that this world is pretty damn unfair - fairness doesn't seem to be central to anything!

I hope 'we' are not causing pain to anyone. Are you saying that you encounter sufferers who tell you they are reading Skeptiko and listening to the podcasts?

David
 
The prevailing proponent (new age?) opinion appears to be that the ‘mental’ is by definition non-physical. Under that model a ‘mental’ illness would be a higher order of malaise. Our experiences are not brain based but filtered through the brain. Thus, if one’s experiences are predominantly melancholic, whither the melancholia?

Not sure I agree, but it’s an interesting question.
I think my best analogy is with driving a car, and it goes wrong. Have you ever found that for a moment it is hard to disentangle whether you are at fault/ill or if the car is failing. Normally we stop the car and disentangle our feelings - recognising that it is the car that has failed. Perhaps there is an analogy with someone struggling with a faulty body or with a faulty mind-body connection, who then dies and separates from the body.

Remember that most of us see these issues probabilistically. I think it is fairly probable that there is a non-material realm, but I am not certain - I don't believe in the same way religious people do. You say that you are 'not sure you agree' - well fine, we are all somewhere on the same spectrum!

David
 
These forums are barely active anymore except for the "show" section. But I'm still hoping this generates a decent dialogue. But if not, at least i vented and got my feelings out becuz I been aggravated about something for a while now, and just finally decided to post about it.

One thing that really irritates me about some "new age" spirituality is how they , generally speaking, handle mental illness and addiction .

I never hear someone say "well he had COPD, so when he died, his soul now gets out of breath easy." That sounds utterly ridiculous right? So would this: "she was in a wheelchair her entire life, so her soul is gonna have trouble learning to move around freely in the spirit world." That would be equally ridiculous, would it not?

Then why does mental illness and addiction get looked at differently . It's almost 2019. I have worked in the behavioral health field a long time . Addiction, mental illness, etc. is brain "stuff." Just like diabetes and arthritis and a broken arm are "body stuff", so too is "brain stuff" cuz it's the brain, which is an organ and part of the body.

So why do I often hear how those who pass over and who suffered addiction or mental illness r still suffering in the afterlife? A drunk who attaches himself to a living person who is an alcoholic to get his fix. A person who is deeply depressed ends their life and suffers in some sort of earth bound state . Should we say that about those who suffer other ailments while alive? Then why the difference with mental health issues.

It pisses me off and is not fair to those suffering. Have u ever had a family member end their life? Ever had a loved one addicted to something? Comforting to think they r still suffering in the afterlife isn't it becuz of a mental (and therefore) physical disorder .

No... when we die, our addictions, our depressions or anxieties etc shall be gone.. just like paralysis, just like cancer, etc. cuz it's a body thing . A physical thing. Stop separating one type of illness from another . U have no idea the pain ur causing by stating such ignorant bs. And by "u", I mean those who believe that crap.

End of rant.

Nothing about consciousness is "broken" in those suffering mental illness. The "mechanism" or "hardware" of the brain may be broken in some way. Quantum affects on the human brain actually seem to explain why (some) antidepressants work, particularly lithium:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-spin-on-the-quantum-brain-20161102/

So, I agree with you. If our consciousness continues after physical death, it won't be a "lost" or "tortured" consciousness for those of us that experienced mental illness in our physical bodies. None of us will have to traverse some limbo state before we are able to traverse the "spirit world." That is just New Age spiritual bs. Freed from a physically broken mechanism, whether it be "broken" lungs (COPD), a "broken" spinal cord (paralysis), or a "broken" brain (mental illness), our consciousness will move freely throughout the cosmos, perhaps dissipate into a "collective consciousness," maybe even reattach itself to a brand new physical body.

And notice that I put "broken" in quotes. Suffering mental illness does not make you "broken," just like suffering paralysis does not make you "broken." It merely means that some part of your body is not working the way that it would in a typical person. Consciousness has nothing to do with that.
 
Freed from a physically broken mechanism, whether it be "broken" lungs (COPD), a "broken" spinal cord (paralysis), or a "broken" brain (mental illness), our consciousness will move freely throughout the cosmos, perhaps dissipate into a "collective consciousness," maybe even reattach itself to a brand new physical body.

Dissipating into a collective consciousness is New Age spiritual BS.
 
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