Putting the Soul
back in Psychology!
Along with it being the absence of Virtue...
[image by Andrew Nawroski, Pixabay]
A Vice is anything we primarily use to try to feel better or stop feeling bad—anything that is not God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit.
That's called idolatry.
Why, if we are Christian, do we not go immediately to Jesus Christ to help us feel better and stop feeling bad?
Because we do not understand what it actually means when we emotionally feel bad (such as feeling stressed, overwhelmed, worried, fearful, anxious, upset, annoyed, frustrated, depressed, etc.), along with many other things we misunderstand about sin.
We believe the lie that if we feel stressed, (for example), it is caused by external factors—our work, family responsibilities, children, financial problems, and so on. Or we blame it on physical factors—lack of sleep, menstruation, hormone cycles, migraines, and so on. We think our intellect and free will are not the cause; in other words, we believe we are not the problem.
Because of these lies, we come to believe we have no power to stop emotionally feeling bad unless we control others, our circumstances, or our physical suffering stops. We believe we have no other solution. So we use sexual or material things (e.g. alcohol, drugs, movies, TV, video games, music, social media, food, nicotine, shopping, vacations, weightlifting, etc.) in order to "distress", which if you haven't noticed only temporarily work by distraction from the unpleasant emotions for a very short period of time and heal nothing.
How do we cause ourselves to feel bad?
We cause our own feelings of “stress” and other harmful emotions by choosing to be attracted to, to like or dislike, to want/desire or expect, to believe or think things that are wrong or false (a lie). These lies produce bad emotional suffering, along with dozens of other psychological problems and physical psychosomatic symptoms.
So how do we actually change how we feel?
If you are Catholic, go immediately to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).
(I’ll explain why later—just go to a priest whom you feel comfortable with. Objectively it won’t hurt you, and it’s free!)
Then go straight to Jesus the Eucharist in Adoration and tell Him how you are feeling—and begin practicing the following anywhere, every time you feel anything unpleasant:
- Jesus, I’m sorry for causing myself to feel/be ___ (e.g., stressed).
- Jesus, please heal me of ___.
- Jesus, please show me Your Truth about ___. (Write down anything you receive.)
- Jesus, please give me Your Graces and Virtues to replace ___.
- Jesus, please show me how I am causing ___ in myself.
- Jesus, please show me what I need to do differently to prevent feeling ___, and help me do it.
- Thank You, Jesus, for Your Healing and Truth.
- Jesus, I’m sorry that I think I am right about everything; please heal me, give me Humility, and show me Your Truth about everything. Thank You.
- Jesus, please help me feel Your Presence in the Eucharist.
- Jesus, please help me feel Your Love for me.
If we do not feel #9 and #10, then any vice we choose will feel more comforting to us than going to and being with Jesus—God the Eucharist. This is why we turn to our idolatrous “vice-god,” our “bad coping,” instead of turning to Jesus Christ, God Himself.
