Leaving Christian Science – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back! In this episode, Max discusses their experience growing up in CS, working at Adventure Unlimited, battling mental health issues as a teen and coming out as queer in the CS community

Licensed clinical social worker and ex-Christian Scientist Cara returns for part two of The Mental Health episode. In this episode, Cara does a live grounding demonstration you can do at home, and answers more of your mental health questions. See below for resources. Here are some topics covered: 2:00 - what is the anxiety/CS connection? 6:00 - a 20 minute-ish grounding demonstration (feel free to join in) 31:00 - how is distracting yourself from negative thoughts or feelings different from suppressing them in CS? 42:00 - what is the difference between toxic positivity and good positivity? 52:00 - forgiveness - is it necessary? And how to just let things go 1:02:00 - what is narcissism? Can CS make you a narcissist? 1:13:00 - what is the connection between anhedonia (inability to experience joy) and CS, and how can you get back your "lust for life"? 1:21:00 - if you were raised by people with mental health issues, how do you know that what you're experiencing is your mental health issues or theirs? 1:34:00 - trigger words from CS, and how to take away their power 1:38:00 - how do you process the sickness and/or deaths of loved ones who might have been helped had they not been CS? 1:49:00 - how to explain CS to your therapist 1:58:00 - what is it about CS that makes it difficult or impossible to process something that's wrong? 2:01:00 - 12 Step programs, can they help? 2:08:00 - having you own back - a final self soothing tool Here is Cara's list of resources: An article on the genetic vs. environmental effects on mental health: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wps.21034 Here's a link to a "feelings wheel" to help you identify those pesky emotions: https://feelingswheel.com/
Mental health book list for ex CS by topic: Pete Walker The Tao Of Fully Feeling: Harvesting Forgiveness Out of Blame
Understanding shame and moving toward self-compassion
Brené Brown, PhD, MSW I Thought it Was Just Me (But it Isn’t): Making the Journey from
“What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough”
Brené Brown PhD, MSW The Gifts of Imperfection: Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life
Kristin Neff, PhD Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Kristin Neff, PhD & Christopher Germer, PhD The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A
Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive
Addressing CPTSD
Arielle Schwartz, PhD The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining
Emotional Control & Becoming Whole
Pete Walker, MA, LMFT Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
Emotional Intelligence/Maturity
Brené Brown, PhD, MSW Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the
Language of Human Experience
Lindsay Gibson, PsyD Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from
Distant, Rejecting, or Self-involved Parents
Workbooks/Self-Help
Arielle Schwartz (see above)
Patricia Resick, PhD et al Getting Unstuck from PTSD: Using Cognitive Processing Therapy to
Guide Your Recovery
Nedra Tawwab Set Boundaries, Find Peace and The Set Boundaries Workbook
Sonya Renée Taylor The Body is Not an Apology and Your Body is Not an Apology Workbook
Francine Shapiro, PhD Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help
Techniques from EMDR Therapy
Karyl McBride, PhD Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic
Mothers
KC Davis, LPC How to Keep House While Drowning
Amir Levine, MD and Rachel Heller, MA Attached. The New Science of Adult Attachment and
How it Can Help You Find—And Keep—Love
Gary Bishop Unf*ck Yourself
Megan Boardman, LCSW The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD
Matthew McKay, PhD et al The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook
Leaving Religion
Marlene Winnell, PhD Leaving the Fold
Daniel Dennett, PhD Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Memoirs
Stephanie Foo What my Bones Know
Jennette McCurdy I’m Glad my Mom Died
About Therapy and Therapists
Jeffrey Kottler, PhD On Being a Therapist
Lori Gottlieb, LMFT Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Communication Skills
Marshall Rosenberg Nonviolent Communication
Sharon and Gordon Bower Asserting Yourself: A Practical Guide for Positive Change

Emi discusses growing up in a dysfunctional Christian Science home, finding a very non-CS career path, and recovering from narcissistic abuse Here are some book recommendations mentioned in this episode: No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz https://www.audible.com/pd/B09GKYDGZQ?source_code=ASSOR150021921000V Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd/B002V5BMPE?source_code=ASSOR150021921000V Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy by Susan McConnell https://www.audible.com/pd/1623176832?source_code=ASSOR150021921000V Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson PsyD https://www.audible.com/pd/B01F2M2GDO?source_code=ASSOR150021921000V Emi would also like to extend a welcome to anyone who wants to reach out either to her Facebook profile, Emi Lindlee, or her email, Em.hulen@gmail.com

Todd talks about his Christian Science youth, navigating a narcissistic relationship, and finding help through learning about psychology and attending support groups

From time to time I'll talk with non ex-Christian Scientists as a way of seeing the similarities between these groups and the common pathways out. Today I talk with ex-Evangelical Sarah, who talks about purity culture, fear of hellfire, and balancing relationships with family still in

This week, Emily talks about her Christian Science marriage, her mother's Christian Science death, and how pursuing the arts saved her

Jodi talks about the process of class instruction and becoming a Christian Science practitioner, grieving her dad, and finally leaving Christian Science and belief entirely. The video freezes briefly at about 60:00 for thirty seconds; the audio is unaffected.

Licensed social worker and ex-Christian Scientist Cara talks about the institutionalized gaslighting in CS and how this kind of belief system interrupts healthy attachments with our caregivers, forcing on us an unnatural individualism and inability to resolve conflict

Chandler discusses how being a curious kid was the gateway to leaving belief in Christian Science, a life changing accident that set him on a different path, and how our training as "good little workers" in Christian Science has unintended consequences

Julie talks about navigating the medical system, using logic to explain the fallacy of faith healings, and the importance of mental health care after leaving Christian Science