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Is atheism linked to depression/anxiety?

Do you think that being an atheist is linked to depression or anxiety?

Lincoln 3 Apr 6
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49 comments

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As for me, I was depressed and a lot mroe anxious when i was still trying to be religious. Becoming atheist relieved me of the anxiety burden. It was a great relief.

Liberated. That was the word I said when it all hit me. I felt so liberated. Indeed. ?

4

I think it's statistically quite the opposite. Athiests don't have a "moral authority" that is often a cause of depression and guilt.

My wife and I had a joke, god will get you for that, feeing sorry for people that were religiously oppressed.

So I guess you can say we saw the concept of religion depressing, especially the guilt based Judeo-Christian ethic.

4

There is corrolation, not causation.

Atheism is linked to education.
Education is linked to intelligence.
Intelligence is linked to anxiety/depression.

4

I have no idea. I would say, however, that Atheists living in areas populated by deeply religious people suffer from varying levels of persecution and harrassment. This situation could cause depression, but I doubt that being an Atheist in and of itself would cause depression. Quite the opposite I'd say. For many, it lifts a huge burden of unearned guilt.

4

Agnostics tend to be realists and in turn can be depressed because we don't view the world through rose colored glasses.

One does not need to be depressed after being really real ?

3

there's proven fact existing to show religion does in fact cause depression

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I don’t know about linked but I know many people who are atheist that have any number of psychological or psychiatric issues. But most of the people I know who suffer from these conditions, such as myself are also highly intelligent people and I think constant ideation and questioning our existence goes with the territory.

3

Depression is state of mind
Anxiety is a state of mind
Don't let your mind control you but you control your mind
Hopefully there would not be any links to worry about

Rosh Level 7 Apr 6, 2018
3

[huffingtonpost.com]
written by an atheist

[mediabiasfactcheck.com]

@DZhukovin Did you read the article? it is written by an atheist and actually mentions many of the topics that frequently come up on this site, It is a point of discussion a step beyond anecdote or opinion. Depression and anxiety are not political topics so not sure how political slant would affect reports on suicide.

@DZhukovin there is no reason for you to express yourself that way

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I'm glad you use the word "linked" instead of "caused by" or "related to". Basically, yes, I am not dumb and happy.

godef Level 7 Apr 6, 2018

Yes we must always be clear that association is not cause.

3

I can't comment with any authority other than my own. I was far more depressed and anxious when I thought that I would be eternally punished if I sinned too much.

This is a good point, if you're vulnerable to shame and guilt messages then rejecting them is a path to greater personal peace, not less. But it depends on the personality. Some people's minds tell them that religion is BS but their "hearts" tell them that god will get you for talking smack about him.

3

I think dealing with people that refuse to see their hypocrisy everyday is what causes my depression/anxiety. I really need to move.

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Quite the opposite! Much happier and a lot less worry.

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I don't think so. It has certainly relieved my anxiety because I don't force myself to obey rules I don't understand or feel comfortable with.

I had.a high sex drive when I was younger and really struggled at times with my sexual behavior. It wasn't until I let go of the fear of judgments and condemnation that I felt any better about how I was.

The internal conflict went away when I felt safe to accept who I was and not worry I was going to be punished for it.

2

I believe life is the link.

2

I'm sure that you have come across stories in which someone said they saw the face of jesus in a piece of toast. Believers, that is,anyone who holds any kind of belief will always be on the lookout for something, some link to confirm his or her belief.

It is okay to say that I do not know because nobody is expected to know everything for the simple reasons that there is not enough time in any one lifetime and knowledge is evolutionary.

2

@VictoriaNotes

[cambridge.org] Site not found

Wonder Why?

2

No. Not in the least. Why do you askthat question?

2

Au contraire it leads to greater self confidence. still need friends though

2

No... I think just the opposite. I am free from the anxiety that comes with the fear of what some god thinks of me and where I'll end up when I die.

Agreed. My emotional climate and subjective happiness are much improved without Christianity, largely through elimination of cognitive dissonance and unwanted surprises caused by a fundamentally flawed mental model of reality that I had to experience everything through as a believer. With this very leaky abstraction out of the way, my mental model improved and much more accurately explained and predicted experienced outcomes.

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That's what a believer told you? LOL

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No I think living with religious zealots intent on destroying the planet and everyone on it is though.

1

I go for the opposite, religion is gloomy. so many rules and unrealistic expectations.

1

It was the opposite for me.

1

www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and _depression

Didn't think so but evidence to the contrary

INteresting that is in conservapedia. The huffpost article I linked to came up when I copy and pasted this unless I did something wrong

I am not that computer savy - don't know what happened

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