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Symptoms

 

Effects on Mormons' psyches/minds of LDS religious indoctrination and Mormon psychological conditioning 
  1. Feeling depressed (and believing that you shouldn’t be depressed because you’re a member of the one, ‘true’ church of Jesus Christ).
  2. Having nagging doubts about Mormonism and the LDS Church, but feeling/believing that you cannot pay attention to or explore your doubts.
  3. Feeling like a stranger to yourself/wondering who the real you is.
  4. Doing all the things that you have been told are necessary to be worthy of ‘Exaltation’, yet feeling that you aren’t growing as a person.
  5. Feeling that you’re just not good enough, no matter how hard you try or how much you sacrifice.
  6. Frequently comparing yourself with other Mormons who seem to be more ‘blessed’.
  7. Feeling overwhelmed with the demands of family, work, church, etc.
  8. Feeling/believing that you must ‘endure to the end’ no matter what in order to prove your ‘worthiness’ to ‘God’.
  9. Feeling/believing that ‘God’ is always watching and judging you, and feeling stressed as a result.
  10. Fluctuating between strict (‘perfect’) obedience and ‘sinful’ behaviour.
  11. Being very critical of yourself/frequently mentally beating yourself up/self-loathing.
  12. Feeling that ‘God’ has not forgiven you for all of your ‘sins’, despite having spent a lot of time praying, fasting, reading the scriptures, etc.
  13. Feeling residual guilt for things you’ve done in the past.
  14. Believing that ‘Heavenly Father’ gives you ‘trials and tribulations’ to ‘test’ your ‘worthiness’.
  15. Feeling that there is not enough time for yourself.
  16. Believing that you must always be busy/feeling guilty if you start to relax.
  17. Feeling immature and naïve.
  18. Feeling confused when you encounter facts that conflict with teachings of the LDS Church and Mormon beliefs.
  19. Living for appearances and to obtain and maintain the approval of other people at all costs.
  20. Not communicating what you truly think or feel because you believe that people will disapprove of you and reject you if you did.
  21. Fear of confrontation and conflict.
  22. Believing that you cannot say “No” to church leaders and other members when they ask you to do something (e.g., 'offer' you a calling).
  23. Being psychologically and emotionally ‘enmeshed’ with Mormon family members.
  24. Having poor personal boundaries.
  25. Most or all of your conversations are related to the LDS Church in one way or another/having little or nothing to say about aspects of life and human affairs not related to Mormonism.
  26. Having an “I-am-nothing-without-God”/”I-am-a-wretched-sinner” mindset.
  27. Having an “I-can-do-nothing-without-God mindset” (poor sense of personal power).
  28. Denial of problems/’all-is-well’ mindset, regardless of reality
  29. Feeling that you must obtain and maintain the approval of your Mormon parents, church leaders, God (as defined by Mormonism), and the LDS community.
  30. Frequently being reminded that your obedience is imperfect/inadequate, and feeling badly as a result
  31. Frequently being reminded that you are not doing enough or sacrificing enough for the church, and feeling badly as a result
  32. Perfectionism
  33. Repressed unrighteous feelings (e.g., anger, frustration, resentment)
  34. Chronic feelings of being sinful/unclean/unworthy
  35. Suppressed intuition
  36. Emotional numbness/low awareness of your emotions
  37. Emotional volatility/exacerbated manic-depressive (bi-polar) behaviour.
  38. Chronic pessimism/joylessness.
  39. Feeling that you are missing out on life.
  40. Always crying when you bear your testimony/feeling a chronic sadness.
  41. Feeling powerless/perceiving yourself as a victim/not taking full responsibility for your life.
  42. Looking to God to rescue you from the consequences of your decisions and behaviour.
  43. ‘Magical’ thinking/believing that ‘God’ or Jesus will make everything better, save humanity and the Earth, etc.
  44. Experiencing difficulty thinking critically and rationally.
  45. Polarized/’black-and-white’ thinking.
  46. Experiencing a constant barrage of thoughts/restless mind.
  47. Repressed intelligence/intellectual abilities.
  48. Deliberately under-achieving to please others/not make them feel insecure.
  49. For male Mormons: Feeling emasculated.  
  50. Using religion as an escape from dealing with life's problems/challenges.
  51. Using priesthood blessings as a quick spiritual fix, but avoiding addressing the root problem(s).
  52. Always judging people based on their appearance, behaviour, lack of faithfulness in the church, etc.
  53. Feeling separate from and better than non-Mormons.  
  54. Lacking tolerance of opposing views or other religious beliefs.
  55. Not wanting to go on a mission and feeling pressured to go.
  56. Post-mission depression.
  57. Feeling guilty for not going on a mission or coming home early.
  58. Feeling humiliated as a result of church disciplinary action.
  59. Feeling pressured to get married and have children.
  60. Feeling that you are not fully accepted in the LDS Church because you are divorced, a single parent with children, older than your late 20's and still single, were previously disfellowshipped or excommunicated, etc.
  61. Believing in the superstitions of Mormonism (e.g., ‘Satan’ controls the waters).
  62. Feeling possessed or tormented by ‘demons’.
  63. Refusal to consider facts that are not congruent with your beliefs.
  64. Distrust of your mind, mental processes, and judgments.
  65. Lack of creativity, spontaneity, fun, and play in your life.
  66. Feeling shameful about your sexuality, sexual urges and desires, and sexual thoughts.
  67. Feeling shameful about sex (involving adults, not minors) and nudity.
  68. Feeling/believing that you are ‘spiritually impure’ and ‘morally unclean’ because of your sexual behavior (past or present).
  69. Feeling that sensuality/sensuousness is carnal and ‘evil’.
  70. Addiction to pornography.

 

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