Understanding Religious Psychosis: Signs, Symptoms & Treatment

Studies suggest that as many as 40% of people who exhibit psychotic symptoms have religious psychosis. What do these individuals experience, how do their symptoms impact their life, and what treatment options do they have?

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What Is Psychosis?

In informal conversations, terms like psychosis, psychotic, and psychopath are frequently used to describe someone who has been acting abnormally, often in a bizarre and/or dangerous way. Unfortunately, as is also the case with several other terms related to mental health disorders, these words have a tendency to be used in a degrading manner.

The repeated use of these terms in this way spreads misunderstanding and stigmatizes people who are in the midst of a mental health crisis. 

So, before we turn our attention toward understanding religious psychosis, let’s take a moment to establish what the word psychosis actually means. In a clinical context, psychosis refers to the inability to accurately perceive your environment and interact with others.

3 Most Common Manifestations of Psychosis

The three most common manifestations of psychosis are hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking:

1. Hallucinations involve sensing things that do not actually exist. Auditory (hearing) and visual (seeing) are the most common types of hallucinations, but people can also develop hallucinations involving smell, taste, and touch.
2. Delusions are rigidly held beliefs that a person clings to even though they are clearly untrue or can be easily disproven. Examples can include believing that you are being sent secret messages through mass media, or that you’re in a relationship with a famous person that you’ve never actually met.
3. Disordered thinking can be characterized by responding to questions with unrelated and often rambling statements, speaking in a manner that lacks cohesion or logical progression, and using words for their sounds rather than their meanings. 

Which Mental Health Disorders Feature Psychosis as a Symptom?

Psychosis can be a symptom of several mental health disorders, including:

• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Schizotypal personality disorder
• Brief psychotic disorder
• Delusional disorder
• Bipolar disorder

They can also result from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), various neurological conditions, stroke, overwhelming stress, substance use, and trauma.

What Is Religious Psychosis?

Religious psychosis is characterized by hallucinations and delusions of a religious or spiritual nature. People who experience religious psychosis may also exhibit disordered thinking when attempting to discuss their hallucinations and delusions with others.

Symptoms of Religious Psychosis

There is no standardized list of symptoms to establish what does and doesn’t qualify as religious psychosis. In general, though, it may involve symptoms such as:

• Seeing a god, angels, or other religious figures
• Hearing what you believe to be the voice of a god or another spiritual being
• Believing that you are a deity or that you have certain god-like powers
• Thinking that you have been specifically selected by a deity to perform a certain mission

It is important to note that, when considering these symptoms, cultural acceptance and appropriateness must be taken into account. To fall under the description of religious psychosis, these symptoms must fall outside the established norms of a specific religion or community. 

For example, as clarified in a December 2013 article in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, it is not uncommon for followers of the Christian faith to believe that they have heard the voice of Jesus. Christians also often state that they feel chosen or called by God to fill certain roles or take on certain responsibilities.

Neither of these circumstances would be considered evidence of religious psychosis in most modern cultures. However, the authors of the December 2013 article noted, “believing oneself to be inhabited by the warring spirits of multiple interspatial deities, would be considered to be a religious delusion.”

Effects of Religious Psychosis

In addition to potentially being a symptom of a serious underlying condition, untreated religious psychosis can also increase a person’s risk of various other problematic outcomes, including:

• Being stigmatized and ostracized
• Being manipulated, swindled, or otherwise exploited
• Inability to find and keep a job
• Difficulty establishing an independent lifestyle
• Strained or ruined relationships
• Onset or worsening of other mental health concerns
• Substance use and addiction
• Unwillingness to seek help or follow medical advice

What Causes Religious Psychosis?

As with psychosis in general, religious psychosis can result from a mental illness, a medical problem, trauma, or overwhelming stress.

Factors that can increase a person’s risk of developing one of the mental health concerns that are associated with psychosis include:

• Certain genetic variations
• Abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• Family history of mental illness, especially among first-degree relatives (parents or siblings)
• Prior struggles with other mental illnesses
• Prenatal viral infections
• Environmental exposure to human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs)
• Abusing alcohol, tobacco, and other substances

How Is Religious Psychosis Treated?

Appropriate treatment for someone with religious psychosis can vary depending on a host of factors, especially the underlying cause of the problem and the presence of any co-occurring concerns. 

If the psychosis is related to schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or another mental health condition, treatment will often involve psychiatric medication and therapy. The medication part of treatment may involve an antipsychotic such as aripiprazole (Abilify), risperidone (Risperdal), or quetiapine (Seroquel), or a mood stabilizer such as valproic acid.

Therapies and support services that may be beneficial for someone with religious psychosis include:

• Individual psychotherapy
• Group therapy 
• Family counseling 
• Psychoeducation
• Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp)
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• EMDR therapy (if the person has been living with untreated trauma)
• Skills development sessions

Learn More About Treatment for Religious Psychosis in Atlanta

Time Wellness Georgia offers personalized outpatient care for adults and adolescents whose lives have been disrupted by religious psychosis, other mental health challenges, and co-occurring substance use disorders (addictions). Treatment options at our center in Atlanta, GA, include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), an evening IOP for adolescents, and virtual treatment. 

When you choose Time Wellness Georgia, our team will work closely with you to understand how you have been impacted by your mental health struggles, so that we can develop a truly customized plan that best aligns with your unique history, needs, and goals.

To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Contact page or call us today.