Chapter 38 marcia's story

Years ago, I had a patient with a long-term mental illness: Marcia.She was in her twenties and suffering from depression.Marcia has no complaints about her living environment, but she is unhappy all day long.She has never been short of money in her pocket and has received a good college education, but judging by her appearance, she looks like a poor and sick middle-aged woman, or even a street slut.I clearly remember that in the first year of treatment, she wore clothes that did not fit well, and the clothes were of a drab color, either blue or gray, or black or brown; she also carried a canvas bag, which was dull and dirty Xixi.An only child, her parents both taught at a university and insisted that religion was the opiate of the poor.When Marcia was ten years old, she went to church with her friends and was ridiculed and ridiculed by them.

Marcia came into therapy with a strong belief in the views held by her parents.She claims to be an atheist, and firmly believes that as long as human beings get rid of the shackles of gods, they will live a happy life.Interestingly, religious symbols often appear in Marcia's dreams.For example, she once dreamed that a bird flew into the room with a mysterious scroll written in primitive characters in its mouth.Obviously, in her subconscious, there is an element of longing for religion. At first, I did not question his outlook on life and the world.We also never discussed religion during the two years of therapy, the conversations were mostly about her relationship with her parents.Her parents were rational and financially accommodating, but emotionally distant.They put most of their energy into their careers, but they don't spend time with their daughters.Marcia has become a psychological orphan, a typical "unfortunate rich child".She didn't want to admit this fact.Whenever I reminded her that she had been neglected by her parents and that she dressed like an orphan, she would get annoyed and angry, saying she was just following trends and I had no right to criticize her outfits.

Marcia's treatment was long and slow, but outwardly she changed rapidly and markedly.This is mainly due to the intimacy we have developed, which is different from the relationship she has with her parents. In my second year of therapy, Marcia showed up one morning in my treatment room with a brand new purse.Her leather bag is only 2/3 the size of the original canvas bag, colorful and eye-catching.Moreover, from that day on, almost every other month, she will add a colorful dress, some are orange, some are light yellow, some are light blue, some are dark green, just like flowers blooming one after another .On her penultimate visit to my doctor, she was obviously very pleased with her improvement.She said: "You know what? Today, my mood has changed a lot. My attire and temperament have also completely changed. Although the living environment has not changed much, I still live in the same place and do the same things as before. Much the same, but the way I feel about the world has completely changed. I feel homely and safe, and I'm a lot happier than I used to be. Remember I told you that I consider myself an atheist, and I'm not so sure now. Probably I'm not an atheist at all. When I'm in a good mood, I can't help saying to myself sometimes: 'There is a God in this world, because without God, the world wouldn't be so lovely.' I don't know how to express myself It feels like I’m on some big blueprint. I don’t know much about the whole blueprint, but I know it’s there, it’s beautiful, and I’m a part of it.”

Cathy used to regard gods as everything, but after treatment, she no longer believed in the existence of gods.Marcia originally denied the gods and was an atheist, but later she believed in the existence of God.Their treatment procedures are almost the same, and the doctor is the same person, but the final results are obviously different.How to explain this situation?For Cathy, it is obviously necessary for the psychiatrist to actively question her religious views in order to weaken the adverse influence of God in her life.Marcia, on the other hand, gradually gained the upper hand in her religious views even if the psychologists did not question her.We may ask: In order to make the treatment successful, must the psychologist actively challenge the patient's atheism, agnosticism, or even consciously guide the patient to believe in religion?