As an atheist with depression I think is fair to ask from theist to don’t shove their religion down my throat when I’m feeling down.
To be honest, I would like for to just let me live believing what I think is more plausible, but that’s too much to ask, apparently (not all the time, to be fair); but in this piece of writing I’m going to focus on the Christians that try to bring me back to religion when I’m feeling depressed.
I classify this Christians into two groups:
first there is the people that don’t really care about you. They just want to convert you because they feel is their “duty”, and your lack of faith makes them look in the mirror and doubt, even if they don’t want to admit it.
this type of people tends to say things like: “Jesus is the answer to your depression”, and “stop taking pills and start praying”. They don’t really want to cure your illness, these believers just want more Christians in the world (they remind me to Mother Teresa).
Hitting on pain points like: “you’ll end up in hell”, and “you can’t be cured as an atheist” is their favorite methods to try to convert people. Clearly, they don’t understand that believing out of fear is not true believing.
What I have to say to them is that they would never manage to convert me with their threats. This people do cause me anger but I know how to deal with them and argue with them. An even when they are not helping me, I know that it wasn’t their goal to begin with.
Now there is the second group of people, that can include your friends and family. This are the people that happen to be religious and do care about you. Dealing with them can be a lot harder because you don’t want to hurt them, and you know they don’t want to hurt you back.
This are the people that try to convert you by saying things like: “we love you, but god loves you more…” and so on. In some way, they also hit on pain points, but a different kind, a kind that makes you feelings of love and sadness awaken.
Somehow hearing that they love me makes me happy but hearing again about god makes me roll my eyes. I already have emotional ups and downs that I can’t control, why would they do that to me?
My depression gets worsen by remembering times when we were all a family and had wonderful times together without having to debate or getting a sermon. Recalling why I can’t live near my family makes me cry.
The way I was raised allows me to understand where they are coming from with their arguments and statements, but they can’t understand me, and I find it frustrating.
I know that according to religion, if you really love somebody you would have to try to convert them. The problem is that according to my atheistic point of view, that is just disgusting.
Don’t hammer god away on me, you may think you are doing something good, but you are just looking bad, and if I really care about you, you may not convert me, but push me closer to suicide.