Stop relying solely on prayer to fix issues of the brain

I gave this response in a post about masturbation and lustful thoughts. Someone mentioned that the best way to overcome lust is to give yourself over to a higher power and community. This was concerning to me. Here's why.

This is a topic directly related to how the brain works. Regardless of what you believe about masturbation and "lustful" thoughts, if you are thinking something repeatedly that you no longer want to think, you are doing yourself a disservice by relying solely on prayer and community to help you stop. Why, because like any other part of your body, the brain works a certain way, and the best way to deal with issues related to it is seeing a trained professional.

Case in point:

Shortly after 911, I was working in my office when the thought "F* God" entered my head. This was during a time when I was deep in my Christian faith and walk (I now identify as an agnostic). Who knows why it happened? In retrospect, I think everything that was happening that week made me feel internally angry that God would let this happen.

"F* God" soon turned into "F* Jesus." All day long, I kept thinking "F* God" soon turned into "F* Jesus." Literally. From sun up to sun down.

Naturally, this freaked me out. I kept trying to stop. And the more I tried, the more it happened. Then I came across the verse about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Well, you guessed it. As soon as I read that, I freaked out more, and thought "F- the Holy Spirit."

Oh sh*t. That did it. I was doomed.

My community of pastors and small group friends all prayed over me repeatedly. I would blast Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and WOW CDs all night long, trying to drain out the thoughts. But the more I attempted, the more they kept coming.

Was I possessed? My pastor assured me that since I was filled with the Holy Spirit, that was not the case. I was just being tortured by "the enemy."

After TWO MONTHS of debilitating thoughts and ineffective prayer, I decided to go to a CHRISTIAN psychiatrist.

First, he explained that "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" didn't mean what I thought it meant, and the mere fact I felt bad about it meant I was definitely not doing that.

Second, and more importantly, he explained to me how the brain works.

"Ron, if I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, what happens?"

"I think about an elephant."

"Exactly. So I want you to do this. The next time you start having these thoughts, ignore them. Don't fight them. Just let them happen."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yep. Really."

Well, as odd and counterintuitive as that seemed, I took his advice. The next time the came, I was like "Hey there little F* Jesus, how you doin' today? You and F* God goin' for a walk? Cool. Don't mind me, I'm just working." (For the record, and to be clear, this is just a funny way of illustrating my mindset about the situation. I didn't actually have that convo in my head. 😂)

Anyhoo, within two days, guess what. The thoughts stopped. What two months of prayer and community could not do, a one-hour psychiatric session "cured."

The moral of the story is: you should look at treating issues related to the brain the same way you'd treat any other physical ailment. Hopefully, you're the kind of person who would go to the doctor if you got hit by a car or came down with some other ailment. Likewise, matters of the brain should be treated by trained professionals. You can also find ones that will help you in a way that respects your faith.

It's totally fine to pray and find help from community. But science is real, and too often those in the church forget that if you believe in God, you can also believe He created the science that can help you.