6 Ways To Heal From Religious Indoctrination
You’re probably living with some trauma
When I decided that Christianity (in all its forms) was based on legends and emotions, I had a lot of healing to do. Even now I don’t think I’ve fully processed or recovered from decades of training my mind to think a certain way. Accepting certain doctrines as true — ‘I am a sinner’, ‘people are either good or evil’, ‘I have the truth and all else is false teaching’, ‘God favors me’, and ‘true love waits’ — have left their marks on me.
Whichever religion you have come from, there will be agreements you made that have narrowed and distorted the way you’re able to view the world. I’m right there with you. Unfortunately, realizing you’re in a cage is not the same as being able to get out of it. First comes the realization, then comes the process of feeling safe enough to get out, and learning how to do it.
Many ex-religious people have a level of religiously-fueled trauma that they’re dealing with, be it mental, emotional, physical, or sexual. Depending on the level of this trauma, you may be able to heal yourself or you may need to be proactive in getting help. There’s no shame in seeing a therapist, for example. Believing otherwise will only hold you back from your healing.
