Has going to church helped your SA?

[jim_morrison]

Hi, I'm not a christian, but I was just curious if going to church or being part of a church related social group, has given you some relief from suffering from social anxiety, and from feeling alone etc? The reason I'm asking is because a person I know, says that when he became a christian and started going to church, and being around the church group it helped him alot. Thanks

[Thomas Paine]

It has in the past.

[VIncymon]

Going to Church can only help your S.A. if you join groups.

I don't know how it is in other churchs, by for mine, joining groups is a choice. So for most of my life thus far, I've just gone to church eah Sunday and nothing more.
In a way I am glad for this, because this allowed me to develop from my S.A. at my own pace.

I am in the choir now but that is because I choose to be there.

[espearite]

Yes, it has, but I've only been there for a month and a half. I will say that I am taking counseling based on scripture in conjunction and that's what came first. I have made some rapid improvement. Church for me is a piece of the pie in coming out of my SA and learning how to have relationships with others. It also depends on the church. My church is small and the people are friendly, so it was easier for me to connect with others. I hope his helps.

[meowgirl]

To be honest... no. I went to church for 2 years, joined groups, and everything and it didn't help my SA... if anything it made me very against religion... Sorry if this scares you lol, I suppose it's because I'm very open minded and, well I suppose depending on what church you go to, some of them have some very bad ideals under a golden mask. I'm just trying to warn you before hand, because I found it a waste of time. (Sorry if this offends anyone.) Faith, however, has helped me.

[solasum]

Being in church would probably only make me feel more isolated and aware of how alone I am in my views. I see what you're saying, though, about how church can offer many people a sense of community.

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by meowgirl

To be honest... no. I went to church for 2 years, joined groups, and everything and it didn't help my SA... if anything it made me very against religion... Sorry if this scares you lol, I suppose it's because I'm very open minded and, well I suppose depending on what church you go to, some of them have some very bad ideals under a golden mask. I'm just trying to warn you before hand, because I found it a waste of time. (Sorry if this offends anyone.) Faith, however, has helped me.

That doesn't sound very open minded.

Just giving you a hard time. Nothing personal.

[shygirl14]

when I go to church I feel peace and alone at the same time. I go to grow stronger with God, most of the time I can't deal with being around so many people even if I make myself stay afterwards.
The times I have join womens groups or study groups I end up missing half of them because of the overhwelming constant contact with people, and the judging of me because I am so damn quiet.
It's a constant battle

[meowgirl]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

That doesn't sound very open minded.

Just giving you a hard time. Nothing personal.

how is that not open minded? I mentioned that it depends on the church you go to and that it was only some of them...

Edit: Also by religion, i meant organized religion, not religion in general. I have also been to several churches besides just that one.

Edit: And what i meant by being open minded didn't refer to church, i meant the bad ideals that many churches i have encountered presented, especially being against gay marriage. That was what i was referring to, but i didn't go into detail.

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by meowgirl

how is that not open minded? I mentioned that it depends on the church you go to and that it was only some of them...

Edit: Also by religion, i meant organized religion, not religion in general. I have also been to several churches besides just that one.

Edit: And what i meant by being open minded didn't refer to church, i meant the bad ideals that many churches i have encountered presented, especially being against gay marriage. That was what i was referring to, but i didn't go into detail.

Nothing serious. Just pointing out that you closed your mind to "bad ideals" and made a decision on what "bad" means. This seems to me to be the definition of closing your mind. Don't get me wrong though - it's the only way to stay sane, and I do it too, no matter how hard I try not to.

And wow, I have been rapidly accumulating a large post count along with an embarrassing record of derailing and dominating threads lately. Maybe I should lay off of the caffeine mixed with sedatives. I feel like my SA is gone though and that I can speak my mind without embarrassment. Maybe the price you pay for overcoming SA is becoming annoying? lol.

[meowgirl]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

Nothing serious. Just pointing out that you closed your mind to "bad ideals" and made a decision on what "bad" means. This seems to me to be the definition of closing your mind. Don't get me wrong though - it's the only way to stay sane, and I do it too, no matter how hard I try not to.

And wow, I have been rapidly accumulating a large post count along with an embarrassing record of derailing and dominating threads lately. Maybe I should lay off of the caffeine mixed with sedatives. I feel like my SA is gone though and that I can speak my mind without embarrassment. Maybe the price you pay for overcoming SA is becoming annoying? lol.

Ahh i think I'm being misunderstood. I was simply referring to my personal experience with churches i went to, not in general. The things I was referring to though, i think, were clear cut good and bad... for example:

Father: "i get a lot of sickos with psychological problems. sheesh. I am not a psychologist."

Regular mass "Let's please pray for the homosexuals suffering from their disorder..."

Girl at one of the church groups... " yeah and she told her boyfriend that she didn't want to have kids and that was so wrong of her, her boyfriend wanted a lot of them"

I know i am being "closed minded" to a certain extent... but I just can't see how these things can be right.

Haha and no you aren't being annoying. just making things more clear... when i read my post back then i can see how it implies a lot of things that are controversial I don't mean to make things like that, I was just quoting my own personal experience with church. thx for your input paine

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by meowgirl

Ahh i think I'm being misunderstood. I was simply referring to my personal experience with churches i went to, not in general. The things I was referring to though, i think, were clear cut good and bad... for example:

Father: "i get a lot of sickos with psychological problems. sheesh. I am not a psychologist."

Regular mass "Let's please pray for the homosexuals suffering from their disorder..."

Girl at one of the church groups... " yeah and she told her boyfriend that she didn't want to have kids and that was so wrong of her, her boyfriend wanted a lot of them"

I know i am being "closed minded" to a certain extent... but I just can't see how these things can be right.

Haha and no you aren't being annoying. just making things more clear... when i read my post back then i can see how it implies a lot of things that are controversial I don't mean to make things like that, I was just quoting my own personal experience with church. thx for your input paine

Nope, no misunderstanding.

And I didn't personally find anything you said controversial. I just enjoy pointing out other people's hypocrisy sometimes. That probably makes me a hypocrite myself though, but I'm good at it. I think it's because I've experienced life from so many different point of views already, including Atheism, and they all turned out to be flawed and filled with *******s. Finally I decided to settle on Agnosticism so I can freely appreciate everyone's point of view, but my beliefs usually depend on whoever gives me the most seductive reason to try their point of view again.

[meowgirl]

haha, well you are an interesting character.^_^ i too am agnostic, but yeah, i have my bouts of spirituality come over me sometimes. lol.

[Hippo]

Going any place where you are goign to see the same people on a regular basis is good for making friends, because it allows you to slowly get used to people. I made a lot of friends when i went to church.

But i realize that the only reason i made friends was because of the process of time. I didn't make those friends as a result of employing disciplined techniques to over come SA. Once i left that church, I realized that the experience had been just a band-aid, my SA was still there and had not been dealt with.

People in churches come and go. You might be a part of a great church but one day you might have to move away and leave that church behind. Then you will have to start all over again.

Simply going to church is not enough, the only way to get over SA is to dilligently practice techniques to overcome it.

[millenniumman75]

Churches are for people all searching for the same thing.....healing. When you get to understand that everybody is imperfect and we are all in this life together, it's a starting point. You have to pick the right one, though. I didn't back in 2000 and it took me four years to realize that that church was downright dangerous with rogue pastors and everything. I ended up with severe SA in the summer of 2004.

Since then, I attended a couple of local churches for about a year. I started attending my current church in 2006 and became a member in January. They didn't even push membership; it is just required to vote on church things. The people seem really nice. It is an environment where you can practice the techniques.

[kpiper0101]

I wouldn't say going to church has helped my SA, but my belief in a higher power has helped me to not feel alone, and has given me hope and the strength to cope with my SA. I'm Catholic and the church nearest me is a bit too conservative for me; I'd prefer a lower class, more charismatic crowd. I feel out of place there, and don't really socialize, but I've been going for so many years, I'm at least comfortable enough to continue attending. I think going to church could help some people with SA if they were fortunate enough to pick the right church with the right type of people for them; same would hold true of any other social group though I suppose.

[Marci07]

Originally Posted by kpiper0101

I wouldn't say going to church has helped my SA, but my belief in a higher power has helped me to not feel alone, and has given me hope and the strength to cope with my SA.

The church itself would be like going to any other place where people meet. You will find all types of people. Some people want to help too much right away and don't understand that you need your time and some other churches can just ignore you.

What I got from the church when I became Christian was the ability to connect to a higher power so I wouldn't feel alone. Becoming a Christian brought healing, a sense of peace, and a sense of worth that I didn't experience before. Now, when I'm alone with no friends, I can pray and connect to this higher power so I can release my anxious thoughts.

Becoming a Christian made feel accepted and I never experienced that before. Becoming a Chistian helped me with my depression. It didn't get rid of SA, although I can deal with it a LOT better than before, and it cured my depression.

[millenniumman75]

Becoming a Christian is allowing God to come in and show you how to be a person in Him. That's where the Bible comes in (the B-word!). Verses and passages on various people and what happened to them. It als also gives guidance on how to live.

[LostInReverie]

No, I stopped going to church because socializing seems to be a requirement and I cannot handle being around so many people.