TOP 12 Symptoms of Religious Trauma & What is Religious Trauma?

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Find out the top 12 symptoms of religious trauma and what religious trauma is!

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According to Psychologist Marlene Winell, who coined the term, religious trauma syndrome...The abuse is 2 fold:

1. It comes from within the teachings of the cult
2. The severing of the faith and the faith community

Is found in all fundamentalist religions, and cults that require a complete unwavering commitment to their authority, their version of God, and their sacred texts, as interpreted by their religious leaders.

You can find it in every Christianity (and its many variants, such as Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, Pentecostals, Baptist, and the list goes on, but also within the other Abrahamic religions of Islam and Judaism and other various cults

Religious trauma syndrome is VERY real. And can be compared to a combination of PTSD and complex PTSD.

But it’s different from other traumas.

You see, with Religious Trauma, the social context is completely different from all other trauma recovery situations. Natural disaster experiences, war crimes, childhood sexual abuse, or family violence, are all understood by friends and professionals who are likely to be sympathetic and supportive.

In the case of religious abuse, a person is often hounded by peers, family, and church members to return to the tribe, while being reminded that they are condemned otherwise.

In essence, they are pressured to return to the perpetrator of their abuse. Their suffering is not seen.

In fact, they are typically made an outcast when they do not return and this social rejection is an added layer of serious injury absent from other varieties of trauma.

Survivors of religious trauma, are constantly surrounded by potential triggers like; holidays, music, phrases (“I’ll pray for you”), movies, smells, foods, dreams, memories and so much more.

They're conditioned to believe that they're fundamentally flawed. That they're 'just not good enough’ and must constantly strive for perfection. They're also expected to keep their mouth shut and carry on, despite their growing questions and concerns. They're called ‘too sensitive’ or accused of taking religion the wrong way. Told to ‘just get over it’ and have faith.

Often they've been shamed, attacked, and ultimately shunned for their rebellious, deviant nature.

According to Winell, those most at risk for this type of trauma are:
1. Raised in the religion
2. Sheltered from the world (homeschooling is often used for this)
3.Very sincerely involved
4. Comes from a very controlling religion/cult
5. Sexually abused or intimidated by leaders

I first saw the symptoms that Marlene had in her published articles found here: https://www.lgbtchristians.eu/images/pdf/VilniusTrainingMaterials/Religious%20Trauma%20EN.pdf

But after talking to many people about this issue, I have expanded on below.

The TOP 12 Symptoms are:
• Cyclic dissatisfaction and overthinking: continual bouts of anger, guilt, shame, worry, fear, spiraling into anxiety and depression
• Lack of self-worth: feelings of inadequacy, difficulty trusting oneself, relying on others’ opinions, hyperawareness of other people’s feelings and needs
• Confusion: difficulty with decision-making and critical thinking, feelings of being watched, feelings of being ‘in trouble’, identity and/or sexual confusion
• Dissociation: feeling disconnected from sensory experience, re-enacting events through daydreaming
• Suicidal ideation: thinking about or planning suicide
• Existential crisis: lack of meaning and purpose
• Sleep disturbance: nightmares, insomnia
• Eating and substance disorders: overeating to suppress emotions, anorexia, bulimia, alcoholism, drug use
• Somatisation: the manifestation of psychological distress through physical symptoms, sickness and disease, self-harm
• Social/cultural challenges: the rupture of family and social network, employment issues, financial stress, loneliness/sense of not be- longing, difficulty assimilating into society, difficulties forming relationships
• Sexual difficulties: sexual dysfunction/fears, inability to associate with pleasure, suppression of sexual identity

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Видео TOP 12 Symptoms of Religious Trauma & What is Religious Trauma? канала Stevie Noah - Religious Trauma Specialist