Religion v. Therapy: Which Would You Recommend? (religious leader)

[michel]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Suppose a friend came to you saying she felt worthless and that life was meaningless to her. Would you recommend she try religion or therapy first? Why?

Both Physical aiment are - for the most part - I believe (and I am not the only one), the physical manifestation of what is going "wrong" in the mind of the person in question - simplistic examples are :- Elderly people lose their sight because they don't really want to see what is going on in the world anymore...........and many such examples.

It comes from the holistic approach.

[Draka]

Originally Posted by sojourner

So... I take it that's a "no" for religion being recommended. What if you perceived that, even though you don't need God, the person who comes to you does need God?

Unfortunately throughout all of this, the point not brought up is, if the person already has some religion in their lives. If they are not a religious person to start with, how could one point them in the direction of any particular religion? You would have to know what their beliefs were first. Best to send them to therapy. If they eventually find some religion then fine, but I wouldn't point them in the direction of any religion for that is presumptious and just may make things worse for them depending on what the religion teaches.

Even broaching the subject of religion should only be done if you are extrememly close to the person and it is not a matter of being suicidal or mentally disturbed. There is a difference between feeling depressed or having a lot of stuff going on in your life that you have to deal with and actually having severe mental issues that need professional help. Recommending religion blindly to someone may do more harm than good.