Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Belief in God Tied to Greater Psychiatric Treatment Response

Well this article just fell into my lap this morning.  Last night I finished watching the last of the Bible series.  I had recorded it to watch at my leisure.  I was thinking how I would write that I believe in God although I do not believe in religion.  I could call myself Catholic if I want to drink.  Religion just makes it harder to believe because of all their rules.  I open up the news looking for something to write about and here is an article.
It says: “Belief in God, but not religious affiliation, is associated with a greater likelihood of treatment response among psychiatric outpatients, according to a study published in the April 25 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.”  They used to call me lucky because I would get out of so many cases against me.  I have seen miracles and as I have said I read positive books by Norman Vincent Peale.  I still can quote scriptures from those books my heart they helped me so much.  I was a very negative person.  If a miracle happen to me once and I would try the same thing again.
As for recovery I would not have recovered if it had not been for my belief in God.  How do you get by all those lonely times, your family not around and also I did not have my daughter while I was at the State Hospital.  She did not come around until three years after I was released.  “The researchers found that among treatment responders, belief in God was significantly higher compared with non-responders.  Greater reduction in depression and self-harm and greater improvements in psychological well-being also correlated significantly with higher levels of belief.  The correlation between belief and changes in depression and self-harm persisted even after controlling for age and gender.  The relationship between belief in God and depression was mediated by perceived treatment credibility/expectancy, but not by emotional regulation or community support.  Religious affiliation was linked to treatment credibility/expectancy, but did not impact treatment outcomes.”  Where do you think my hope comes from?  It is my belief that God will work things out sometimes a lot slower than I liked.
Although things always work out for the best, as always in A.A you are asked to believe in a higher power.  To succeed you always have to believe in something.  I was brought up religious and it has always just been there for me.  As I have said I have seen miracles where my own lawyer did not know how I was not charged. You would have to be there to understand.  Without those magazines from Norman Vincent Peale about people who went through tough times and came out alright, I cannot say that my time at the State Hospital would have went a lot harder and longer.
I do not force anyone to believe I am just telling my story of recovery and what I believe that keeps me going.  I am not doing so badly.  I believe that if you think positive and work towards what you want you will achieve it. No matter what mental illness you have there is always hope that they can find a medication that will help you to achieve what you want out of life there is always hope. One reason I have never talked about it is I have seen many people with mental illness that believe that they are or have been talked to God.  I separate the two in my life.

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