Mental Health of Mormons Studies and thoughts


dwgmom
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This is an excerpt from an article posted on LDS.org about this. I thought this was interesting:

ROBERT MILLET: And I think to some extent Mormonism has been caricatured and I would say, yeah

that if that´s Mormonism to you, then by that standard, no, we´re not any better than

the rest of the world. But that´s not Mormonism.

DANIEL JUDD: Cultural Mormonism will destroy you. That´s probably a pretty strong statement to

make, but that´s where all the perfectionism comes, that´s where all the depression,

not all, but much of the depression comes as we´re living out these standards that God

has not set.

ROBERT MILLET: Yeah.

DANIEL JUDD: But it´s our neighbor that set them, it´s our culture that set them. That´s where a lot of

the problems come, not all of them, some just come no matter how spiritually healthy

you are you just, it just comes.

ROBERT MILLET: Let me ask you this, Dan, the other thing I hear occasionally is that Latter-day Saints

are particularly prone to be involved with a lot prescription drugs particularly antidepressants

and anti-anxiety type drugs and that “Utah leads the nation in Zoloft” or,

and whatever, Paxil.

DANIEL JUDD: That´s right, that´s right.

ROBERT MILLET: Is that true?

DANIEL JUDD: Yeah, well from this, from the surveys that we have, yeah, the answer to that question

is yes. Utah. Not necessarily Mormons but Utah, which of course, you know, much of

Utah is LDS of course. But Utah also leads the nation in consumption of other drugs

like antibiotics and anyway and the list goes on and on. You know, we are a

medication taking people. Well, why would that be? Well, Utah also is among the

leaders in the nation in education.

ROBERT MILLET: That´s an interesting thing. Say more about that Dan, that is, the Latter-day Saints are

among the highest religious groups in terms of doctoral degrees and in terms of

college graduates.

DANIEL JUDD: That´s correct.

ROBERT MILLET: If I understand it. That being true, what would that have to do with my tendency to

not feel hesitant about taking medication?

DANIEL JUDD: You know instead of, many people self-medicate, I mean, alcohol is consumed, all

over the world and here, too, sure, but Latter-day Saints not generally if you´re a

faithful, active Latter-day Saint you´re not going to go out and have some, have a

beer, have a wine with your meal. You´re not going to do that. You´re going to look

for legitimate and authorized methods of dealing with the challenges that you face.

ROBERT MILLET: So an educated person is less prone to be fearful of a drug that might assist you,

especially if there is some form of chemical imbalance or something.

DANIEL JUDD: That´s right. You know, you go to your doctor and you´ll say, “Doctor, I´m having

these challenges what, how can you help me?”

Do you think that more educated people choose pharmaceutical drugs? Just curious.

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We know education corresponds with success.

We also know the more successful the more alcohol you consume.

The more successful you are, the more you drink, research finds - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent

There is some merit to the idea that the large LDS population is more likely go to the Dr for anti depressants, rather then drinking the blues away.

However if it is the education causing Utah to take these drugs it is not a good thing either. Depression and Anxiety, as i know it as a medical condition, are based on chemical imbalances in the body and disease tends to follow genetic lines not cultural ones, so just as the non LDS Dr and Lawyer in Iowa try to drink the stress away,(self medicate without actually having the disease)there would be plenty on LDS Utes who get the meds without the need.

Members with the actual disease are more likely to seek the drug rather then self medicate with alcohol.Good if you have the disease.

But also members with a little bit of the blues, or stress are more likely seek the drug, then "self medicate" with alcohol. Bad if you don't.

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I am confused to what they are saying here:

ROBERT MILLET: And I think to some extent Mormonism has been caricatured and I would say, yeah

that if that´s Mormonism to you, then by that standard, no, we´re not any better than

the rest of the world. But that´s not Mormonism.

DANIEL JUDD: Cultural Mormonism will destroy you. That´s probably a pretty strong statement to

make, but that´s where all the perfectionism comes, that´s where all the depression,

not all, but much of the depression comes as we´re living out these standards that God

has not set.

ROBERT MILLET: Yeah.

DANIEL JUDD: But it´s our neighbor that set them, it´s our culture that set them. That´s where a lot of

the problems come, not all of them, some just come no matter how spiritually healthy

you are you just, it just comes.

Any help for the confused and dazed due to the prescriptions I'm on? I'm not kidding either. :eek: Chronic pain 14 years now. :(

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Can't tell you exactly what the caricature is they are talking about but it is probably that Mormons are perfect people by some metric, or somehow more 'perfect' than others.

As far as the other stuff they are talking about is that the cultural expectation to be perfect (aka super Mormon) is the reason Mormons suffer from the depression levels they do (I've seen claims its higher than would be expected but I don't know the skinny on the truth of that). So basically the reason you feel horrible for not being this ideal Mormon who can't do everything 'good' cranked up to 11 and have perfect children isn't because the Gospel expects it of you, but because the culture of the church, your neighbors, expect it of you.

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So basically the reason you feel horrible for not being this ideal Mormon who can't do everything 'good' cranked up to 11 and have perfect children isn't because the Gospel expects it of you, but because the culture of the church, your neighbors, expect it of you.

So why isn't the Brethren telling us this? Not that I don't believe it happening because it is, just wondering.

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Can't tell you exactly what the caricature is they are talking about but it is probably that Mormons are perfect people by some metric, or somehow more 'perfect' than others.

As far as the other stuff they are talking about is that the cultural expectation to be perfect (aka super Mormon) is the reason Mormons suffer from the depression levels they do (I've seen claims its higher than would be expected but I don't know the skinny on the truth of that). So basically the reason you feel horrible for not being this ideal Mormon who can't do everything 'good' cranked up to 11 and have perfect children isn't because the Gospel expects it of you, but because the culture of the church, your neighbors, expect it of you.

I really like this post, but it begs the question...

Why does the "culture of the church, your neighbors" expect it of you? What is it about the LDS Church that the members expect such "cranked up to 11" perfection out of other members? How did they arrive at such high expectations of each other?

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I really like this post, but it begs the question...

Why does the "culture of the church, your neighbors" expect it of you? What is it about the LDS Church that the members expect such "cranked up to 11" perfection out of other members? How did they arrive at such high expectations of each other?

Pride.

Got to be better then my neighbor. My children must better then my neighbors. BUT!

This pride is more than looking better then my neighbor it has to do with ones own selfish ways and carnal desires. Satan knows this well and has deceived many into believing the "church" has gone astray when in fact that member has gone astray. This is why so many stay close to the "cultural expectations".

We need to look inward. - Although the Law of Moses has long since been fulfilled and the Gospel has been restored in modern times, the people of God must always differentiate between the outward forms of the divine program and the inward powers of the Holy Spirit. They must see the difference between the means and the end. The end to be achieved is for man to establish a living spiritual union with Christ—to attain the blessings of the Holy Spirit until he is sanctified in truth and, in the resurrection, glorified in Christ.

Edited by martybess
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We might note that the difference between the 'most depressed state' (UTAH) and the 'least depressed state' (SOUTH DAKOTA) is not very large statistically speaking. Of course, I cannot find the NIMH statistics on the matter :mad:, but it is something like 3-4 percentage points of difference. Additionally, Utah's suicide rate, while well above the national average, is roughly the same as other states in the Rocky Mountain region (esp. Nevada, Colorado and Montana).

On the matter of high rates of antidepressant use among Utahans (esp. women), this can be spun two ways. There is the obvious one, that there is something 'in the water' in Utah that makes people more depressed (in other words, that UT really does have a higher rate of depression than other states). Alternatively, one could suggest that the higher rate of medication is a product of being better able to identify and seek treatment for one's problems than elsewhere.

The point, I guess, is that I am seriously disinclined to believe that any of this has much at all to do with the LDS Church as such. It is no surprise that some critics are using it as more evidence (of what, I am unsure) against the church and religion in general.

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So why isn't the Brethren telling us this? Not that I don't believe it happening because it is, just wondering.

You'd have to ask them. That said it is clarified that perfection != being worthy.

LDS.org - New Era Article - What Does It Mean to Be Perfect?

LDS.org - New Era Article - When Should I Get My Patriarchal Blessing?

LDS.org - Ensign Article - On Being Worthy

LDS.org - Ensign Article - I Have a Question

As mentioned trying to be the Uber Mormon to keep up with the Joneses is an issue of pride.

Why does the "culture of the church, your neighbors" expect it of you?

Because people by nature are judgmental, of themselves and of others. We strive to work against that nature and allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us but we aren't perfect. All sorts of cultures have these kind of expectations. Get a group of nerds together and they'll be aghast at getting a B instead of an A.

Why does the "culture of the church, your neighbors" expect it of you? What is it about the LDS Church that the members expect such "cranked up to 11" perfection out of other members? How did they arrive at such high expectations of each other?

It certainly isn't LDS specific, plenty of baptists or what ever denomination have similar issues. Though I think an incorrect understanding of the atonement is part of just how it manifests. Consider 1 Nephi 3:7 and combine that with 3 Nephi 12:24, those scriptures combined with us not being able to be perfect in this life (though we can eventually become so in the next). So I think there is a tendency to think, "I'm commanded to be perfect, all commandments can be obeyed, why am I failing?!?!" What people forget is Ether 12:27.

Why do people misunderstand the atonement in thinking perfection is a requirement for mercy and forgiveness? Probably a consequence of the stress on keeping the commandments (which are important) and an overcorrection in response to the saved by grace only crowd.

We have a race to run but staggering across the finish line out of breath counts (assuming that is what we are capable of), we need not be 'first' with record speed and not a drop of sweat on the brow. I think some read 2 Nephi 25:23 and parse "saved by grace after all we can do" to be we must do everything we can conceive we can do to be saved by grace. I think a more accurate reading is that after we've done all we can do (and perfection is not something we can do right now) we are saved by grace. The point is not you must make sure you are perfect and never miss a Home Teaching visit the point is that we do all we can (actually and honestly) do and grace does the rest (not to be confused we we don't do anything and grace does it all).

In some ways we are the debtor who has been forgiven that great debt but won't forgive the smaller debt when it comes to ourselves.

On final contributor, people fail to understand that the examples and standards set forth in conference are based on an ideal. Take for instance families consisting of a Mother and Father. If your husband leaves you and your kids you certainly didn't fail but people still measure themselves up to the pictures on the front of the Ensign anyway.

We are our harshest judge I think (at least quite often for someone trying to live a righteous life) and we have a tendency to extend those expectations we have of ourselves to others. So the judgement is starting from within and manifesting outside instead of the other way around I think, though you do get a reinforcement factor when someones external judging resonates with your internal judging.

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