Symptoms of Spiritual Crisis


A typical "Dark Night" series events might be...

Things in life seem to be going along quite smoothly.
Then, unexpectedly...

The individual has a serious life crisis such as career failure,
   divorce, a health problem, a serious addiction, financial
   collapse, a near death experience, etc.
or any combination of
   such events

At some point the crisis and anguish becomes so intense
she or he drops to the floor and, in a climactic
act of desperation, cries out
God, help me!

God begins to help immediately, most often in ways
that are contrary to what we expect
(put your seat belt on at this time!)

The crisis usually jump-starts the search for spiritual truth. Each new
insight we discover brings on the death of an old false belief
we've been programmed to accept throughout our lives.
This starts to seriously threaten our ego and...

A severe test of faith begins
that can last for months or years

The most important question you can ask yourself
during a spiritual crisis is, "Can you
believe in God when the night
is the darkest?"
 

 
 

During a Dark Night crisis the individual may have any combination or all of the following symptoms:

 * Feelings of depression, despair, loneliness   
* Loss of energy
* Chronic exhaustion not linked to a physical disorder
* Loss of control over one's personal/professional direction in life
* Unusual sensitivity to light, sound and other environmental factors
* Anger, frustration, lack of patience
* Loss of identity, purpose, and meaning to life
* Withdrawal from life's everyday routines
* Feelings of madness and insanity
* A sense of abandonment by God
* Feelings of inadequacy
* Lessened feelings of attachment to family and friends
* Loss of attention span, self-confidence and self-esteem
* Frequent bouts of spontaneous crying and weeping

These symptoms mimic ordinary clinical depression. However, there is a major difference. Spiritual madness is an inner thing between you and God during which deep, rich spiritual growth is occurring. Anti-depressants may rob you of this miraculous (yet painful) experience.

Many of the above symptoms were taken from The Stormy Search for Self by Christina and Stanislav Grof, M.D. (please see reference section)
 


References

Inspiring Crisis Quotes

Spiritual Crisis Links

Carolyn Myss' Inspiring Story of 
Marnie's Dark Night

Personal Dark Night Experiences of 
Visitors to This Page

~ Soul-to-Soul Spiritual Crisis Connections

 

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