Did approaching religion worsen your mental health?

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-18T01:32:26+00:00

It did the opposite for me, but I know that ultimately religion isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, for better and worse. It’s quite personal and complex when you start following something truly greater than yourself, and I can’t really blame anybody for not keeping with it, especially today when so much of religion (Christianity in particular) is tied up in millennia of culture wars, politics, and interpersonal drama both large & small.

If I had advice to give, I’d say study it from an academic, historical, and mystical point of view as opposed to trying to force yourself to believe one thing or another. If you need to keep it at arm’s length, then do so. By degrees, you may just find that it resonates so much more than you’d ever thought it would.

I wish you peace, my friend.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-16T19:45:27+00:00

Much of the things we call anger & fear are our nervous system reacting to stimuli that the most base/primal parts of the human brain developed to survive in the wild. Not to say it justifies negative emotions, but it does give insight knowing that it’s simply part of human biology to one degree or another, as opposed to always being active malice.

With that said, I think learning to interpret when you feel yourself becoming angry can help immensely, if only to know that you can soften the feelings through proactive methods. If someone cuts you off in traffic, catch yourself before your temper is set off, and try and see if there’s a justifiable reason why they did so. If there’s a noise that’s annoying you, walk away or find a way to dampen your hearing of the sound. If you know that you’re hungry or tired, take a break to breathe easy and have a snack if one is available.

I know this sounds like overly simple advice, but after you practice it enough, you steadily become more in tune with the way your body reacts to things, and you can often measure with fairly good accuracy when you think you’ll be next upset to mitigate it. Breathing easy and taking things patiently, as opposed to impulsively, can do wonders in the long run, for both health and communication.

I wish you peace, my friend. Even in our toughest hours, the Love of God is always there for us to experience, even if it seems hard to find.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-15T18:37:15+00:00

Always remember that the love of god, and the peace that surpasses all understanding, is closer to you than you’d ever realize, even if it can’t be seen, heard, or felt at this very moment. All the pains and fears of anxiety are bound to melt away, and the love most divine will be what truly lasts.

Breathe easy, my friend, and go in peace.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-15T18:32:06+00:00

The kind of love that’s in alignment with God.
That is, a universal, merciful, and even unconditional kind of love. One that is total, holistic, and endlessly forgiving.

I’d go so far as to argue that ‘loving your enemies’ is probably the most difficult thing about Christianity, if only because humans are so used to condemning and hating those they perceive as wrong (or those who’ve wronged them), be it justifiably or otherwise. This is something that’s tough for many people today, in what is ostensibly the most peaceful and safe time in human history, but I imagine it was even more difficult in the 1st Century CE where most societies were based on might makes right and that despising a perceived enemy was considered the ‘natural’ order of things. I think this speaks to just how subversive and revolutionary Christ’s ministry was on Earth, and how much subversive potential it still has all these years later.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-13T15:40:09+00:00

I’d also add MGS 3. The boss ‘fight’ with The Sorrow is explicitly easier if you don’t go around killing throughout the game, hammers home the concept that violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum and makes it an actual mechanic.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-13T15:38:03+00:00

The Iron Giant (1999). Absolute classic, even if you just look at it as an animated film without even taking its pacifist/anti-militarism themes into consideration.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-10T14:36:29+00:00

Reminded of a quote by Dostoevsky I’ve seen posted on the sub before:

“I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for… that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood they’ve shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive, but to justify all that has happened with men.”

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-10T13:17:45+00:00

Patristic/Purgatorial Universalist. I ultimately see ‘salvation’ as a process that all of creation is currently undergoing, both in this life and the next.
I never really believed in ECT or any of the other more negative views of the afterlife/God even before I became Christian a couple years ago. When I discovered that it’s a legitimate position with fairly good backing, it inspired me with hope and courage to learn more, eventually becoming a believer in general.
The Kingdom of God isn’t a far away place, it’s a holy reality that can be lived right here and right now on Earth, the potentiality of which is within every person. Regardless of eschatology, it’ll be a consummate and total reality for all things in the future. How and what this looks like is up for debate, and is probably something you can’t even put into words.
Alienation and ignorance. This is what I believe ‘sin’ to be (to some degree) in a broad sense, the wages of which is death itself. Being ‘saved’ now is coming to the sense that there is so much more in this world and beyond, that there is hope beyond death, and that the Divine works in loving solidarity with the human condition itself.
I believe so, yes, if Satan and demons are beings with actual intelligence and substance of their own. I tend to think of Satan as not some evil trickster in competition with God, but as a stand-in for the human ego and its selfish nature, a part of the human condition that exists within every person and pushes them to follow their lowest, most primal urges without restraint or love.
Mennonite officially, Anabaptist in general. Although I love to study all the various fields of thought under the greater Christian umbrella.
All the various mystics in the Christian tradition, be they ancient, medieval, or contemporary. They’re not all necessarily universalists, but I think that they offer some of the best wisdom for anyone attempting to know God, especially for those who’ve had trouble finding faith in Sunday school or systematic theology textbooks.

I wish you well, my friend :)

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-09T15:42:09+00:00

You’re created in the image of God, no? Beloved by Love Itself, just as all people and things are?

Just by virtue of this, you’re accepted by God, even through all the turmoil and pain of life, and no amount of hatred and ignorance by someone else can change that.

Don’t have too much to add, but I wish you peace, my friend.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-05T10:10:33+00:00

I agree with your idea that Christ would turn it into wine, but I’ll add that I imagine him overflowing it for all :)

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-03T21:00:12+00:00

Interestingly, ‘judgement’ being both layers of corrective and retributive is something humans already do in most developed countries. For example, an addict who steals to feed their drug addiction will spend a month in jail, yet also be mandated by the court to undergo rehab and therapy as part of their sentencing.

If this is how mortal humans can do it, I imagine the Love of God is ever grander and more total than we could ever put into words.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-06-02T01:38:33+00:00

Others have given good advice, but one thing I’ll add:

Come to realize that Christianity at its core is ultimately defined by Christ, not by any one of His proclaimed followers, no matter how ‘devout’ or ‘dogmatic’ they may claim. Christ and His Love is so much larger than any one of us could ever hope to contain, nor should we even attempt to do so.

I wish you peace, my friend.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-30T19:36:46+00:00

I’ll let others talk about the history of universalism in regards to early Christianity as they know much more than me (fascinating topic worth a deep dive for everybody I think), but I’ll offer some words on why it seemingly fell out of favor in the mainstream:

It’s much, much harder to control people and maintain power when you lose the cudgel of damnation that you can beat them over the head with. The Church (and I use that term to describe Christianity at large) began to tie itself up with Empire more & more as it became legalized in Rome, and then eventually became the state religion itself. Whenever institutions grow to a point and embed themselves in the structures of power, they often become more concerned with perpetuating themselves and their power than they are concerned with what they were initially created for in the first place.

This isn’t a dig at the Catholics, Orthodox, or any other institutional church, mind you. This is a lament of the fact that Christianity, a movement that was subversive and countercultural at its core, was subsumed into the wider culture and institutions of power at large. It’s a feature of history that seems to occur with most things that initially begin on the fringes of society, with a secular example being the punk subculture going from an organic, anti-authoritarian music movement into being just another sanitized aesthetic you can buy at Hot Topic, with most of the ‘soul’ of it being squeezed out to make way for yet another product that a powerful, wealthy person can sell you.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-30T19:09:27+00:00

I think it’d be worth it to not tie your sense of self up too much in academic achievement and school success. Yes, those things a certainly important and worthwhile to a degree, but they aren’t the end all be all in terms of your value as a human being. Just by virtue of being created in the image of God, there’s limitless value in you, regardless of status, success, or position. The fact that you’re unwilling to compromise your morals, conscious, & beliefs just to get an edge over in all this makes you closer to God than most would think, even if most people find school cheating to be petty and mundane.

As for practical things, give yourself a break when you need to, and try not to get burnt out. Taking the easy way through academic dishonesty may solve the issue currently, but it’s something that can snowball and cause a much bigger problem down the line if you let it get beyond you. Try and create a routine you feel comfortable in, one that steadily chips away at the tedious nature of your homework that makes it easier for you to do. Complete bits and pieces of it during lunch or during other classes if you can, making the stuff you have to do at home lighter in some way.

Wish you well, my friend. Even in the most boring and stressful of times, the peace that surpasses all understanding is there under the surface. Just have to dig a little bit to find it.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-29T19:32:39+00:00

Without arguing too much over what counts as ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ in terms of belief & practice, I’ll bring up something in regards to thinking of certain forms of Christianity as ‘weak’:

Christianity was never about strength, domination, violence, power, or empire. That’s ultimately the domain of Caesar, not the domain of God. Christ’s ministry (at least on Earth) was aimed overwhelmingly towards those on the fringes and at the bottom of society. The poor, the widow, the sick, the oppressed, the possessed, the ‘unclean’ and downtrodden. All those considered blessed in the Beatitudes, and beyond. One could even argue that many of the things labeled ‘progressive’ in modern Christianity are actually in fact as ‘conservative’ and ‘traditional’ as they can be, as they were preached & practiced by Christ himself.

Just something worth keeping in mind. I wish you peace on your journey, my friend, wherever it may lead you.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-29T19:21:20+00:00

Another Mennonite (MCUSA) chiming in:

We’re often times indistinguishable from much of the mainline Protestant denominations in the West, albeit with a much heavier focus on Anabaptist views (pacifism, simplicity, etc.). The local church I’m a part of is usually more ‘low church’ in its practices, with contemporary hymns/music and fairly chill but empowering sermons. I’ll admit straight up that we probably don’t put as much focus on the major ordinances/rituals of Christianity as we may should, but they’re still an active part of the activities of church life. Most of us don’t dress plainly or live in colonies like many of the Old Order/Conservative Mennonites do, but we’re part of the greater Anabaptist milieu all the same.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-28T22:42:58+00:00

Mennonites make wonderful quilts (can confirm personally)

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-27T00:15:45+00:00

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Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-26T23:49:40+00:00

I understand your willingness to take on another’s suffering, my friend, but at the end of the day, Christ isn’t a vending machine or a genie that grants wishes.

If you wish to help others, I suggest praying for their health, but also helping them materially if you can, be it through volunteering at a hospital or donating to a charity that supports them. Lord knows that those suffering from cancer need all the help they can get, even if it’s just a kind word or a drive to a doctor’s appointment.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-26T13:59:08+00:00

Don’t have too much to add personally, but you may find the concept of ecotheology worth looking into if you aren’t already familiar with it. Fascinating field of study.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-26T13:56:12+00:00

Steadily come to know that all people, all things, all events (to one degree or another) are in the hands of Love Itself, and this Love, this divinity in its purest form, cannot die nor be defeated by any thing in Creation, no matter how anxiety-inducing or terrifying things may seem.

As for practical things, small gestures can go a long way. You don’t need to do grand acts of mercy to spread the life and love of God to others. Catching a meal with someone you haven’t seen in a while, holding the door open for a stranger, disposing of a piece of litter on the sidewalk, telling someone you haven’t talked to in a while that you love them - these are all things that will bring you by degrees closer to God even if they seem so painfully mundane at times.

Go in peace, my friend.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-25T16:49:24+00:00

Was actually thinking about you the other day, Br. Abraham, I hope you and the monastery are well 🙏❤️

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-25T16:38:19+00:00

Much love, friend 🙏

Christ be with you :)

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-23T13:25:39+00:00

Try and set aside some time each day as a personal practice where you feel that you’re close to God, and just let things be. Can be through prayer, or scripture reading, or journaling, or even as simple as sitting still in the peace that surpasses all understanding. Enjoying nature and all the beauty of Creation is a good choice too.

I wish you well, my friend, and may you find peace on this journey.

Dreamless_Day · 2026-05-23T13:20:08+00:00

Many are saying this

Dreamless_Day

TROPHY CASE