D.A.

Avdeev
Translated by Nicolas and Natalie Semyanko

Contents:
Introduction.
Psychoses.
Depressions.
Neurosis a spiritual disease.
Reasons for illness. Facts cry out. Main forms of neuroses. Hypochondria and
depression. The sin of suicide. Influence of mood on physical health. Sinful
"breakdowns." The distinctions of childhood neuroses. Healing neuroses
suggestions and warnings. Can the blind lead the blind? Psychological selfhelp. Medicinal help. Problems of age. Dangerous "infection" (modern
temptations). When the soul "quakes." Involutionary melancholy (psychology of
aging). When a child sleeps poorly. Anxiety syndrome. Memorable event. "The
Great sham."
Psychotherapy.
Pastoral Psychiatry.
The Holy Fathers about passions and virtues.

Introduction.
When the body, as consisting of many parts, becomes ill, it has the need
for various medicines The soul, on the other hand, being incorporeal,
is simple and not complex, and when it becomes ill, only one medicine
can help it that is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (St. Simeon the
New Theologian).

The rampant growth of spiritual illnesses in the 20 th century resulted not only from
stresses and scientific and technical progress with its "information overload," but also,
from the departure of people from God, and their sinful life.
Therefore, the only valuable psychotherapeutic assistance is the one that will bring
people to Christ and, under the direction of a priest or believing doctor, will induce
them to repent and amend their life. In this case, the word of the doctor or the spiritual
guide will be reinforced by the blessed power of God, which is capable of healing the
most serious spiritual illness.

Psychoses.

This is an extensive group of illnesses, having non-psychological sources and tied

into a series of genetic, exchangeable and other disturbances. The following basic
illnesses of this group stand out: schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, epileptic
and elderly psychoses. The illness can be continuous or in attacks, faint or acute,
severe or moderate. Typical symptoms of psychoses are: delirium, hallucinations, the
disruption of the emotional sphere, disturbed behavior. With time, the intellect is
impaired, memory suffers. The persons personality changes.
A psychological illness is a heavy cross. The secret of its origin and its spiritual
meaning cannot as yet be fully determined. My personal thoughts on this are basically
these: in the case of psychotic states, the meaning of the suffering lies in the expiation
of sins (either of the one who is ill, or of his parents, or of his ancestors). In addition,
if this illness appears in childhood and progresses malignantly enough, then the sick
person receives the chance for salvation as an innocent victim. The efforts and
patience expressed by those near the sufferer will be salutary, if they are borne for
Christs sake. If the psychosis appears in later years, then it too is given a person for
his salvation. For the Lord is absolute Good. The Lord permits some to fall into the
infirmity of being possessed, because He knows that the person would use his mind
and will to his detriment; others He protects from dire sins. We read in St. Pauls
Epistles to the Corinthians: "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of
the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5.) The
sufferings of these people should not be relieved solely through pills and injections,
but also with prayers for the health of these ailing servants of God. They are in great
need of prayers in their behalf, because their spiritual strength is impaired, weakened
by the burdens of the illness.

The baptized ailing should be delicately urged to repentance. This should be done
between fits or during improvement. It would be good if there would be more
religious doctors, nurses, attendants. Then there would be an Orthodox environment,
and I am sure that the same medicines would work more effectively. Whenever
possible, priests should be invited to the clinic to serve molebens (prayer services)
with the blessing of water, and to distribute Orthodox literature. Experience with
similar activity already exists. In October 1992, by the mercy of God, the Most Holy
Patriarch of Moscow and All of Russia Alexei II anointed a church in honor of the
icon of the Holy Mother of God "The Healer" at the NII Clinical Psychiatric Hospital
of the Scientific Center for Psychological Health of the Russian Academy of
Medicinal Sciences. Priests that perform the spiritual care of the clinics patients were
practicing doctor-psychiatrists before their pastoral anointment.
Most of psychotic pathology is traditionally considered incurable. This particularly
applies to difficult psychoses, degenerative-dystrophic illnesses of the cerebrum,
innate forms of mental inferiority and so on. But Gods mercy performs miracles
according to peoples faith, and the laws of nature beat a retreat. Let me present
several examples.
About five years ago I saw a woman in church with an infant in her arms, the face of
which is familiar to any doctor. The diagnosis, as is said in such cases, was written on
the girls face. It usually sounds like a verdict. Downs syndrome. This pathological
disease arises as a result of genetic disturbances.
The following week I again turned my attention to this girl, and then saw her at
services regularly. The child (she was 3 or 4 years old) was always taken to Holy
Communion. I lost sight of my "patient" when I had to move to another city because
of my job. And so, one summer, four years later, I happened to see her again. The little
one was returning with her mother from Vespers. Her face was sweet, smiling,
beautiful! There were two snow-white ribbons under her light kerchief. It was
impossible to recognize the "doomed invalid" in her. Only an experienced specialist
could see the traces of the illness. May the Lord protect you, dear child!
I will present a clear example, which was written up in a small booklet called "When
children are ill." Its author is the doctor and priest Father Alexei Grachev. "Two and a
half years ago, a 12 year old girl from an orphanage came to me for confession. She
could not put two words together, twisted like a top, her abnormal glance, continual
grimacing, her whole appearance spoke of her "inferiority." And so, she began to
come to confession and take Communion every Sunday.
Within a year, she felt the need to reveal her thoughts (whoever prays and takes
Communion often, knows what this is). The girl began to lead such an attentive

spiritual life that even those people who consider themselves great believers and
churchgoers do not even begin to suspect. She began to read the Jesus prayer ("Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner"), to fight temptations,
forgive offenses, to bear everything. In the course of several months, she learned to
read and write, all signs of debilitation passed away, the stamp of spirituality appeared
on her face. There was feeling and reason in everything she said or did" Similar
examples are not exceptions, there are multitudes of them

Depressions.

The number of depressives increases every year. About 5% of the worlds population
suffers from depressive disorders. More than half the overall number of
psychologically ill consists of persons with varying expressions of depression
syndrome. Millions of people throughout the world take special medicines
(antidepressants, neuroleptics, relaxants), to gain spiritual comfort and well-being.
One can hear discussions about depression, despondent moods, melancholy,
suppression everywhere: in public transportation, at work, among acquaintances
Today, many consider depression to be an illness of civilization, with its demands on
life and on humans.
Science knows many reasons for the rise of depressive states, but among scientists, it
is not acceptable to speak of sin. But that is precisely the reason for many forms of
abnormal depression and despondency. Both the Holy Scriptures and the holy fathers
speak of this. The millennia of Orthodox experience witness this.
Depression is, in its way, a signal to the soul about its calamitous state. This
particularly applies to those depressions, which are not connected with the worsening
of living conditions. A person suffers from sorrow and hopeless melancholy. As a
doctor, I try to relieve these persons suffering with medication, discussions and
human sympathy. But satisfaction during the sick persons visit only comes when the
discussion turns to the soul, faith and repentance. Then, with the consent of the
patient, we try to evaluate the symptoms of the illness from a spiritual viewpoint.
I will not enter into details. I will only say that the Lord will not leave helpless those
patients who find the road to church, repent of their sins and begin to live as
Christians. Some recover; others, with Gods help, learn to fight their passions and, in
this manner, control their disability.

Neurosis a spiritual disease.

Borderline neuro-psychological disorders, among which neurosis takes up a large

percent, convincingly place first among psychological diseases. According to the
World Health Organization, about 10% of the population of industrialized countries
suffer from neuroses and their number has multiplied by 24 in the in the last 65 years.
In Russia, 20-25 people per 1000 are ill with neuroses. These are only the recorded
illnesses, and most likely can be considered only the tip of the iceberg.
Neuroses, like an epidemic, are spreading everywhere. It is known that 30 to 65% of
the visitors to general practitioners are people with neurotic symptoms. A sad joke is
circulating among specialists studying this pathology: instead of asking if a person
suffers from neurosis, one must ask: "from which particular form of neurosis do you
suffer."
The problems associated with the origin of neuroses have come under active review in
the last ten years. The attitude towards this disease, as a light disturbance of the
mental functions, is noticeably changing. The principle of functionality (simple
reversibility) is not supported by modern clinical practice. According to published
data, recovery from neuroses occurs in less than half the cases. It has been determined
that only 10% of those ill recover in the first three years of the illness. Often, these
sufferings last for years and even decades.
In accordance with the determination accepted in Russia, neurosis is a psychogenic
(arising in the nerves), as a rule, conflictogenic (resulting from a conflict with oneself
or others), neuro-mental disorder, which results from the disruption of particularly
meaningful life relationships of the person. In simpler terms, neurosis develops when
a person cannot find an appropriate answer to a difficult situation, solve an important
psychological situation or bear some tragedy, depending on different conditions.
The symptoms of neurological failures are well known:

Decline in mood,
Irritability,

Sleeplessness,

Feeling of inner discomfort (uneasiness),

Lethargy,

Apathy,

Loss of appetite.

Obsession, aggressiveness, viciousness and so on, can appear.

All these symptoms are accompanied by general feeling of illness, uncomfortable

physical sensations. The display of neuroses can generally be called a steady loss of
spiritual peace. A person with a neurosis criticizes himself clearly, is burdened by his
condition, but cannot do anything with himself.
In addition to this, conditions exist that clinically resemble neuroses, but develop in
their own way. There are determined to be neuro-like and result from different somatic
(physical) illnesses, infectious processes, arteriosclerosis of the brains vessels and
other pathological processes. Besides this, the neuro-like clinical picture can often
contain persons with a bad personality or serious defects in upbringing.
The term "neurosis" has become firmly entrenched in our life and can be unfamiliar
only to an infant. Emphasis is placed on school-age and pension-age neuroses;
neuroses of achievement and loneliness; somatogenic and ecological, as well as many
other varieties of this illness. The so-called noogenic neuroses are connected with the
loss or lack of the meaning of life in a person, conflict of values. Data shows that
about every fifth neurotic occurrence has a noogenic origin; in actuality, it appears
that nearly every neurosis has spiritual roots. But lets put everything in order.
The original concept of "neurosis" was suggested in 1776 by the Scottish doctor
Cullen, and, since then, discussion concerning the essence of this disease, the roots of
its origin and the formulative mechanisms, have not become less vital. This, of course,
does not mean that neuroses did not exist before Cullen; their appearance, like the
appearance of any disease, occurred as a result of mans original sin. The description
of neuroses can be found in the most ancient written sources of humanity. For
example, in the papyruses of Kahun (ca. 1900 BC) and Ebers (ca. 1700 BC) there are
facts about the sickly states of women, which resemble clinical hysterical neurosis.
It is difficult to find another concept in medicine that is written up by different
scientific schools so often and even contradictorily. Neurotic reactions, which can
occur in a person following difficult crises, conflicts, somatic illnesses or life
disorders, are greatly varied. Their symptoms are reflected in a persons personality,
particularly his character therein lies the polarity of views on this problem.
Reasons for illness.
In addition, not only questions about systematic neuroses, but the very existence of
them as nosological (sickly) forms are found on the cutting edge of scientific

discussions. The extreme viewpoint of several psychiatrists looks something like this:
neurosis is normal behavior in an abnormal situation.
In accordance with other opinions, neurosis is a brain dysfunction; the ousting of
the inner conflict into unconsciousness; the uncompromising tenets and dogmatic
pattern of thought; the inability to predict conflict and prepare for it; incorrect
stereotypical behavior; unsatisfied need for self-actualization and so on.
Some researchers assign the sources of neurosis to the unique thoughts of the person,
others to the pathology of emotions, a third group to the disruption of the
process of self-knowledge, a fourth to psychological immaturity and infantileness.
There are even authors who are inclined to think that this is an inherited illness.
And here is one more point of view: M. M. Khananashvili speaks of neurosis as an
illness that is based on an overload of information. In his
book Informational Neuroses he offers the following confirmations of his ideas: "it
has been calculated that, in economically developed countries before 1970, every
person, on average, traveled long distances in the course of one year, met a large
number of people and received more information than had been available to a person
before 1900 throughout his entire lifetime Around 25% of the worlds population is
subjected to the influence of sharply increasing informational overload" This
researcher sees the risk of the development of these illnesses in the prolonged
fulfillment of a large scope of work under the conditions of a time deficit and a high
level of motivation (initiative).
But the academic P.V. Simonov characterizes neurosis as an illness of lack of
information. According to this scholars opinion (whose assertions are just as
supported and logical), anger, for example, is compensation for lack of facts,
necessary for the organization of adequate behavior, fear is the lack of data
necessary for the organization of defense, sorrow arises in the conditions of extreme
deficit of information about the ability to be compensated for the loss, and so on.
Several authors expressed the opinion that neurotics suffer from the inability to love.
It should be emphasized, that each psychological trend was acknowledged by
colleagues only when their representatives were able to present their view on the
problem of neurosis in a well-argued and novel fashion.
So, there are many points of view, but no clarity; science is confused. This occurred,
in our opinion, because neurotic pathology, apart from all else, has a spiritual basis,
which many psychiatrists ignore or even deny. The unrestrained growth of neuroses in

the 20th century is born not only of stresses and scientific/technological progress with
its information overloads, but first and foremost from the intensification of sinfulness.
Throughout its history, humanity has survived wars, different natural disasters, floods,
droughts, and tornadoes. And it is difficult to compare, for example, to what degree
our present time is more anxious and unsettled than the epoch of Ivan the Terribles
reign. Why did the problem of neuroses become so acute only recently? There is, it
seems, only one reason the growing faithlessness, the loss of a spiritual foundation,
and with it the understanding of the meaning and goal of life.
It turns out, that the main origin of neurosis is not so much external stresses and
difficulties, as much as the improper purposefulness of man, his unfortunate internal
state. St. Theophan the Recluse writes about a man who is unable to direct the forces
acting within him:
"Reason is clouded over, dreamy and distracted, because it is not held by
the heart and is not directed by the will; the will is headstrong and
heartless because it does not listen to reason and does not look at the
heart; the heart is uncontrollable, blind and whimsical because it does
not want to follow the directions of reason and is not sobered up by
willpower. Not only did these forces loses their mutual assistance, they
took on a sort of hostile approach to each other, one denies the other, as
if consuming and devouring it"
Sin, as the root of all evil, brings with it neurotic disturbances. Strengthening in the
depth of the human spirit, it arouses passions, disorganizes the will, leads it out of the
control of the emotions and imagination. According to St. Theophan: "the internal
world of the person-sinner is filled with arbitrariness, disorder and destruction." Deep
neurosis is a sign of moral ill-health, internal disorder.
St. Theophan the Recluse points out that "the natural relationship of the composite
parts of a person should be organized by the law of submission of the lesser to the
greater, the weaker to the stronger; the body should be subject to the spirit, while the
spirit by its nature should be directed to God. Man must exist in God with his whole
being and consciousnessAfter falling away from God, that which had to occur, did:
confusion throughout the composition of man: the spirit, separated from God, lost its
strength and became subject to the body."
Professor D. E. Melichov believes, that lack of humility (pride) exists in the
foundation of many mental disorders. Neurosis in this sense is not an exception. It is
generally accepted that this illness develops because of conflict of personality with

self (intra-mental conflict) or with other people (inter-mental conflict). Neurosis is the
clash between the desired and the actual. The stronger the clash, the worse the illness.
Once, during a visit, a woman suffering from one of the forms of neurosis,
emotionally and repeatedly said: "Doctor, I am tired of being ill and want to get well
at any cost. In addition, I do not understand what conflict between the desired and the
actual you are talking about." The doctor answered the patient something like this:
"The Lord knows your sorrow, and if He does not hurry to change the present state of
things, then, it seems, it is not His will to heal you immediately. For instance, when
unpleasant things happened to saints, illness or sorrow, they thanked God for that and
said, "I deserve this for my sins." But what is happening in our instance? "I want to be
well at any cost." Here is the conflict between desire and actuality. One can and must,
of course, undergo treatment, but it is very important to humble ourselves before the
ill conditions that have come upon us, consider ourselves deserving of them and
accept them with gratitude. The Lord will not forget you and will not send trials that
are beyond your strength. The Apostle Paul assures us of this, saying: "God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1Cor. 10:13). Therefore
calm down and do not despair. Neurosis is a spiritual illness. Humble yourself
before God, and you will feel relief!"
We read in the life of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) how much relief humility brings:
"The behavior of the novice Brianchaninov in the monastery was distinguished by
absolute obedience and deep humility. For his first task, he was assigned to the bakery.
The baker was a former serf. It happened that on the first day of work in the bakery,
someone had to go to the stockroom for flour. The baker told him brusquely: "All
right, brother, go for the flour!" and threw him the flour bag so, that he became
covered with flour. The new novice humbly took the bag and went. In the stockroom,
spreading the bag with both hands and holding it with his teeth as instructed by the
baker, so that it would be more comfortable to pour the flour in, he felt a new, strange
feeling in his heart, which he had never felt before: his humble behavior, the flouting
of the feeling of insult, so sweetened his soul, that he remembered this moment the
rest of his life."
Most modern researchers agree that neurosis is an individual illness. A person does
not become ill with neurosis all at once: this illness has its preliminary stage. One can
draw a distinctive portrait of a "potential" neurotic actually, there would be a whole
gallery of types, each of which would have the tendency to pass from potential,
hidden ailing powers to real ones. One of the distinctive peculiarities of such people is
their style of thinking, bearing the character of non-compromise; one can sense that
their assessments are categorical, most occurrences have no shadings and are built on
the contrast of bad/good.

Neurosis often results from internal conflicting processes. The external provocative
factors and events by themselves are simply the "last straw" or "starting mechanism"
for the development of neurotic disorders. A person with a tendency towards this
illness develops a distinctive nervous reaction to events. Some reasons for emotional
suffering (conflicts, stresses) pass with time, become non-actual, but soon others
replace them, and the illness intensifies.
Throughout the illness, acute and prolonged neurosis and neurotic development set the
neurotic reaction apart. The suggested scheme permits the analysis of the shift from
one type into another (reaction neurosis development). Patients diagnosed as
"neurotically developed" are for all intents and purposes unable to work, and often
consider them as invalids.
Neuroses can be considered a prolonged development of passions (as defined by the
holy fathers, i.e. as a sinful disposition of the soul). The lack of love and humility lies
in the depths of the foundations of various neurotic symptoms, and there, where there
is neither of them, conceit ripens, as well as hostility, impatience, irritability, lingering
resentment, envy, fear, and so on.
Some patients, suffering from prolonged neurosis, confessed: "Envy is destroying me.
When I see that my neighbor or acquaintance has something better, I cannot sit still, it
is as if I am burning up inside."
Many neurotics speak of spiritual lack of feeling, of internal cold. The Ven. Seraphim
of Sarov taught: "God is fire, warming and kindling the hearts and insides. Thus, if we
feel coldness in our hearts, which is from the devil (for the devil is cold), then we will
call the Lord, and He, upon coming, will warm our hearts with perfect love, not only
to Him, but to those close to us. And the coldness of the hater of good will be
banished by the warmth."
In particular, we must mention the various types of fears (phobias), which arise from
the infatuation with occult practices. It is thought that these fears tell a person that
their soul is in a dire sinful state. It is too bad that many have become the victims of
occultism in modern times. We will present the following example.
A person N, 38 years old, came for a visit. In her youth, she met a young man and
wanted to marry him, but suddenly he married someone else. N. suffered greatly, cried
a lot and gave in to the suggestions of her friends to "bewitch" a groom. They gave
her detailed "instructions," in which even the prayers for the dead are included. Soon
after completing these magic acts, N. felt a horrible fear and a pressing sense of dread,
but this notwithstanding, she continued to perform these occult rituals. And N. sought
medical help for neurotic phobias from psychiatrists and psychotherapists for almost

20 years; treatment brought little help. After thinking about what she had done, she
realized that she had to repent and turn to God. After the first confession of her life
she felt long-forgotten peace and joy in her soul.
Serious illness is another powerful psychotraumatic and neurogenic factor.
Unfortunately, not everyone can accept illness in a Christian manner. Courageous
acceptance of ailments is rare, more often, such people have neurotic reactions.
Professor V.P. Zaitsev lists five types of similar reactions to myocardial infarctions,
among them:

Cardiophobia the ailing fear "for their heart," fear a second heart attack and
sudden death; they are overly cautious, especially in attempts to expand their
programs of physical activity; growing fear is accompanied by bodily
trembling, weakness, paling skin, heart palpitations;
Depression an oppressed, depressed condition, apathy, hopelessness
dominate the mental state.

Hypochondria its main feature is the clear reassessment of the severity of

ones condition, an extreme fixation on the state of ones personal health;

Hysteria its characteristics are egocentrism, demonstrativeness, desire to

attract attention of those around them, to arouse sympathy;

Anosognosia expressed by rejection of illness, ignoring medical

recommendations and crude breaches of programs.

Every illness has spiritual roots, but it is sometimes impossible to identify them, while
neurosis is singled out from among other illnesses by being a moral barometer, in a
way. Its connection to the spiritual sphere is apparent, and the growth of this ailment
following spiritual anguish and pangs of conscience can be rapid. But sin only paves
the way for the rise of neurosis, the growth of neurotic expressions depends on the
peculiarities of the personality, living conditions and upbringing, neurophysiological
preconditions, as well as various stresses and other circumstances, many of which are
hard to take into account. Not everything can be put into one scheme, life is much
more complex. One person may develop neurosis, while in another the reaction can be
limited to shock, but illness does not arise. The base essence of neuroses is a secret
known only to the Lord.
Complications associated with the search for the reasons for the commencement of
neuroses, are very conditional because most scholars and practitioners attempted and
attempt to resolve this complex problem independent of faith in Christ. In addition,
the spirituality of the patient is replaced by education, erudition, or is not taken into
account at all, is denied, though many consequences of spiritual injury in a person

suffering from neurosis are revealed, in our opinion, correctly. But it is necessary to
understand that, when speaking of the pathological processes of self-knowledge, of
the "neurotic" order of thinking and distinctive features of the emotional sphere, these
qualities were first disturbed on the spiritual level, only later were they reflected in the
persons spiritual life.
Everything stated above relates not only to neuroses, but to the wide group of
disturbances making up the so-called "lesser" psychiatry: the accentuations, or preillness disturbances of character, acquired psychopathies and others.
It must be noted, that the clinical study of neurotic disturbances have changed
fundamentally in the last 10-15 years. It has become more complex, confused (as, by
the way, have the souls of the people seeking help), while the length of the illness has
become more prolonged. Misunderstandings are constantly increasing among people,
even among the closest; unlocking the door of the heart and mind of the patient is
becoming, in our view, harder and harder. And this is not only our observation, but
also the opinion of many colleagues in this field.
Neurosis, particularly some of its forms: stubborn obsessive states, steadfast fears
can arise as the result of demonic activity. Otherwise, how can it be possible, for
example, to assess the insurmountable desire to wash their hands several tens of times
before meals or recount buttons on coats of people passing by, and so on? And those
ailing suffer terribly, agonize over their condition, are burdened by it, but cannot do
anything about it. Notably, the medical term "obsession," referring to insurmountable
events, is translated as possessed. The Bishop Barnabas (Beliayev) writes: "The wise
men of this world, who do not accept the existence of evil spirits, cannot explain the
source and action of obsessive ideas. But the Christian, who runs into the dark powers
continually and carries on a battle with them, sometimes even visibly, cannot doubt
the existence of evil spirits."
A sudden thought comes down on a person like a storm, and does not give him a
minute of peace. But let us say that we are talking about an experienced ascetic. He
arms himself with the powerful Jesus prayer. And the battle begins and continues,
with no end in sight. The ascetic recognizes those which are his own thoughts, and
which are the strange, evil ones that were sown. But the entire effect is still ahead. The
enemys thought often pledges that if the person does not give in to them or permit
them, they will not disappear. He does not give in and continues to pray God for help.
And precisely at the moment, when a person thinks that truly, possibly, the battle is
hopeless, and when he begins to lose faith in the possibility of a peaceful life the
thoughts suddenly disappear. This means, that the grace of God has come to assist,

and the evil spirits have scattered. Heavenly light shines into the persons soul: peace
and quiet reign.
In conclusion, I wish to underline, that a person who suffers from neurosis is not
better or worse than anyone else; his illness is simply a personal event as the
consequence of sin. Human nature has been damaged by sin since the days of our
forefathers; therefore, all of us must repent and improve, hoping for the Lords help
and mercy.
Facts cry out.
There is no doubt that modern life does not help peoples mental health. Societal
social pressures grow every year. On the other hand, a moral crisis is evident. Many
people have found themselves in a state of spiritual vacuum: having no faith in Christ
in their hearts, they slip into the path of sin. And a sinful life can never bring true
happiness.
Of course, there are moments of psychological breakdowns among Orthodox
Christians, because no person on earth is free from sin, but the Orthodox prays to the
Lord for mercy, partakes of the soul-healing mysteries of Confession and
Communion, and the merciful Lord, pitying the penitent, heals their hearts and gives
them spiritual peace.
The following facts reveal the state of our Russian society. The level of overall crimes
from 1987 to 1996 has increased 2.2 times. The number of marriages in 1996 has
decreased by 17%, while divorces have increased by 21%. The number of children
born out of wedlock has increased by 76%. The number of suicides from 1985 to 1995
has increased by 79%.
The spiritual health of our young generation is particularly worrisome. The eroded
spiritual reference points in society, the difficult social conditions are a difficult
burden for the tender childrens souls.
Many families can be called unsuccessful: parents often abuse alcohol, and maternal
alcoholics are no longer rare. Half of the 13-year-old boys and girls drink alcohol. The
age for beginning smokers has dropped to 10 for boys and 12 for girls. Today, no one
is surprised when schoolchildren have sexual relationships. Every 10 th abortion is
performed on a teenager. The use of narcotics is growing among the youth. Venereal
diseases in teenagers, child prostitution are, unfortunately, sad distinctions of our
times.

By facts provided by the MVD RF, in Russia at the start of 1995 there were 50,000
abandoned children, 620,000 teenagers had police records. Teenage serial killers have
appeared. Judicial psychiatry never used to have such cases and, one can conclude,
what a monstrous level of aggression in society they reflect.
A childs ordeals begin in infancy. Here is an excerpt from one young mothers letter:
"Children have been robbed of childhood. "Thanks" to television and mass
information systems small children already know what sex is, and what and with
whom one can perform it. When they grow older, will they be able to assess pure
love? Look at what cartoons show children. The titles speak for themselves: "Insane,"
"Star fighters," and so on. Movies lack morality and are ignorant. Recently the cartoon
movie "Everyone goes to heaven" was shown. The essence of this film: there is no
need to work, one must play arduous games until they win, and cultural leisure is a
girl from a cabaret. And look at the toys offered to children: ninjas, aliens from outer
space, killer-robots and so on. To what end? What can these toys give children?"
Unfortunately, the author receives many similar letters, and in each pain and
sorrow on the part of the parents concerning everything occurring around them.
There was an interesting study performed by the police and national education
departments in the city of Fullerton, in the state of California, USA, in March 1988.
Here are the results:

The main problems in school in 1940: students talk during class, chew gum, are
noisy, run in the halls, do not stand in line, do not dress to code, litter in class.
The main problems in school in 1988: the use of narcotics, the use of alcohol,
pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, assault.

Commentaries are superfluous. It is especially necessary to point out, that these

frightening metamorphoses occurred in less than 50 years, from the time of strong
growth of materialism in the USA. One must think that this is a natural result for any
society based on materialistic ideas. The pro-American way of life is being imposed
on the rest of the world this past decade. The question, to what shall it lead? begs a
troublesome prognosis.
The program of our television broadcasts are filled with monstrous names, behind
which are rape and depravity. Bare bodies are exhibited in all fields of mass
communications. Members of all sects are working in our Russian schools, directly
undermining the spiritual valuables of Orthodoxy. The spirit of amassing wealth and
bowing to the dollar, sex changes, virtual reality and euthanasia, Satanism, child
pornography, instructions for suicide and terrorism these are the frightening
realities of our life.

Children are subjected to the influences of members of the occult, hypnotists and
other dark personalities. The consequences of these actions on their tender souls are
very dangerous. Doctors know how many severe complications people undergo after
they have watched televised sances of modern "magicians." But children are our
future! What will it look like?!
Main forms of neuroses.
In medicine it is typical to single out three main classical forms of neuroses: nervous
breakdown, obsessive-compulsive disorder and hysteria. We shall consider them in the
order that they are generally discussed in special literature.
Neurosthenia. This is considered to be the most frequent form of neurosis. It was
singled out in the 1880s as an individual nosological entity. The American doctors
Beard and Van Dusen, independently of each other, first wrote about this neurosis in
1869. Since then the diagnostics of neurosthenia have spread widely. Professor B.D.
Karvasarsky offers a curious example: during the First World War, a special program
of learning was created in the British army, upon completion of which the doctor
received the title "Expert in Neurosthenia."
The given illness, as seen from its very name, is expressed by nervous weakness right
down to the deep exhaustion of a persons living powers. Sleeping hearths of infection
become more acute, cholestitis, gastritis, ulcers of the stomach or duodenum make
themselves felt. The illness appears to be a catalyst, highlighting the somatic
pathology.
The portrait of a neurosthenic is typical this is a person who is quick-tempered,
irritable, quickly wound up, "at the drop of a hat," in whom the nerves are clearly
giving out (hypersthenic form of neurasthenia) or, just the opposite, lethargic,
whining, feeling tiredness and exhaustion in all of his life powers (hyposthenic form).
But it is interesting to note: the high irritability and irascibility of the neurosthenic is
not directed toward himself, but towards others! Everybody and everything irritates
him, he is often capricious, is easily angered and enraged, but almost never rises to the
spiritual height of knowing his own imperfections, mistakes and sins. In this way,
neurasthenia is more or less an egotistical neurosis, nurtured by the passion, which the
holy fathers called pride or conceit.
Father Alexander Elchaninov wrote: "Nervousness and so on are expressions of sin,
and specifically, pride. The main neurasthenic is the devil. Can one imagine a humble,
kind, patient person as a neurosthenic?" "Irritability comes from not knowing oneself,
from pride, and also from not realizing the depth of our natures damage, and from not

knowing the meek and humble Jesus." (Righteous St. John of Kronstadt). "No one
should justify irritability with some illness" (Elder Ambrose of Optina).
The Archbishop Arseniy (Zhadanovsky) wrote the following concerning the reasons
for irritability and loss of spiritual peace: "Sometimes an irritable state comes upon
you suddenly, discontent with people around you, an oppressed state of the soul,
melancholy, disappointment. The littlest thing and your mood is ruined. Why?
Apparently, your spiritual ground was prepared for this mood previously. Irritability,
discontent are called out by envy, hostility towards them"
Thus, we can infer, that neurasthenia is more or less the consequence of departing
from Christ, falling into neo-heathenism. It is an expression of passions. Neurasthenia
can be considered in its way the opposite of meekness, humility, patience and a
peaceful structure of the spirit.
Priests of the Church paid particular attention to keeping peace of the soul under any
life circumstances. "I do not wish you riches, or fame, or success, or even health, but
only spiritual peace. This is the most important. If you will have peace you will be
happy" (Ven. Alexis of Zosima). A logical deduction follows: the best medicine for
neurasthenia is deep repentance, a Christian way of life, with patient and humble
carrying of ones cross.
Obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Obsessions, that is, existing outside the will and
desires of a person, could be specific thoughts, memories, images, doubts, as well as
acts. Obsessive fears are also assigned to obsessive neuroses. If a person experiences
unaccountable fears of the unknown, it is called a fear syndrome; if he fears
something concrete, like darkness, heights, sharp objects, close spaces, similar
obsessive states are determined to be phobias, specifying their particular fear by their
names. For example, cancerophobia fear of cancer, claustrophobia fear of small
spaces, hypsophobia fear of heights, misophobia fear of being dirty,
pantophobia fear of everything around you.
Sometimes phobias appear only in appropriate circumstances: fear of heights only
when rising to heights, fear of mice only upon seeing one (Peter the Great, for
instance, panicked at the sight of cockroaches); but sometimes they arise at the very
thought of something.
Fear is inherent in fallen mans nature ("Fear is absence of firm hope," said St. John of
Damascus) and deeply biological, because man carries within himself an animal
beginning, which instinctively fears threats from without: darkness, attack and so on.
In many instances, this acts as a defensive mechanism, protecting us from all threats
to our well-being. By fearing, a person becomes more cautious, is able to protect

himself, to save himself from approaching threat. Fear is instituted by nature in the
memory from previous generations, as psychoanalysts say, in the "collective
unconscious" (Carl Young).
But neurotic fears are characteristically not based on any real threat, or it is an illusory
or unlikely threat. For example, one person suffers from cardiophobic neurosis, that is,
he fears that his heart will stop at any moment. On one hand, theoretically that is
possible, because sudden death occurs even among young, apparently healthy people,
but the objective possibility of such a sudden heart stoppage in such a person is
miniscule, while it has a place as an artificial, imagined, fantasized threat to life,
conditional on false thoughts and unfounded fears.
Here is another example: a mother, fervently loving her child, all of a sudden catches
herself thinking that she might suffocate him. This thought horrifies her, it does not
correspond to her moral views, is not dictated by any real external circumstances
just the opposite, it is absurd, without any real reason. But, like a splinter, it becomes
rooted in her consciousness, continues to bring her pain that she is ashamed to
acknowledge to anyone.
Obsessive thoughts often begin with the question "What if?" Later it becomes
automatic, becomes rooted in the consciousness, and, repeated often, create real
difficulties in life. And the more a person battles with them, the stronger they take
hold.
The main reason for the development and the very existence of neurotic fears is the
overblown sensual imagination, which is usually by-passed by the special literature
devoted to this subject. A person, for example, does not simply fear falling from
heights, but "ignites" the imaginary situation, imagining his funeral, seeing himself
lying in the coffin and so on.
Besides this, in similar states, there is weakness of mental defenses (censorship) due
to the natural individualities of the given personality or as the result of a sinful state. It
is common knowledge that alcoholics are more susceptible to suggestions.
Debauchery substantially weakens spiritual strength. The lack of continual internal
effort of self-control, spiritual sobriety and conscious administration of ones thoughts
is manifested (these efforts are described in the literature of the holy fathers).
It must also be admitted that some thoughts are in reality foreign to a given person,
therefore demonic. Unfortunately, a person is often unable to determine the true
source of his thoughts, and the demonic suggestion easily enters into his soul. Only
experienced monks and holy people already purified by prayerful tasks and fasting,
are able to reveal the approach of dark spirits. The souls of usual people, enveloped by

sinful darkness, often do not sense or see this, because it is hard to see what is dark in
the dark.
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) explains: "The spirits of hate conduct war against
humans so cleverly, that thoughts and ideas suggested by them appear to be the
persons own."
Bishop Varnava (Beliaev) writes: "The mistake of modern persons is, they think that
only they suffer "from thoughts," while in actuality they suffer even more from
demons Then, when they try to defeat thought with thought, they see that opposing
thoughts are not simply thoughts, but "obsessive" thoughts, that are impossible to
deal with and before which a person is helpless, which have no logical connection and
are foreign to him, extraneous and hateful But if a person does not recognize the
Church, grace, holy mysteries and the value of virtues, how can he defend himself? Of
course he cant. And then, since the heart is empty of humility and other virtues,
demons come and do whatever they want with the mind and body of the person"
(Matt. 12:43-45).
These words of Bishop Varnava are fully confirmed clinically. Obsessive neuroses are
harder to treat than any other neurotic type. Often they do not submit to any therapy,
exhausting their victims with the most severe sufferings. In stubborn obsessions a
person is steadfastly deprived of his ability to work and simply becomes an invalid.
"Fear causes great harm, writes the Elder Macarius of Optina, the body is
weakened by the decline of the spirit and the absence of tranquility, and illness comes
without illness." Experience shows that true recovery can come only with the grace of
God.
The fear of God (reverence before their Creator) is necessary for every person, but
this great gift is often distorted and replaced by animal cowardice. The fear of God
has several levels, the first of which is fear of violating Gods laws sinning, doing
something vile, unworthy, and offensive, in the eyes of God. The second level applies
to more accomplished pious ascetics and consists of the fear of falling away from
God, losing His grace, holy peace, for this departure would mean spiritual death.
"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom," say the Holy Scriptures (Job 28:28).
"By living without the fear of God, one cannot accomplish anything noble or
amazing," writes the universal teacher of the Church St. John Chrysostom.
On the basis of the literature of the holy fathers, we can conclude that it is precisely
the fear of God that is capable of healing a person of his neuroses: when a person
gains this spiritual gift, then this noble fear drowns out the other small, day-to-day

living fears. Just as a large wave on the ocean absorbs the small ripples, so does the
true fear of God consume neurotic fears phobias.
And finally, the last aspect related to the reason for the rise of fear, which is also not
discussed in scientific literature. We see it pointed out in the Holy Scriptures: "There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment" (1
John 4:18). It turns out, that the presence of fear in the soul and heart of a person
means the absence or lack of love for God.
Let us now briefly discuss obsessive (compulsive) actions. Their character may be
very different. They often take the form of some habitual ritual and are repeated
contrary to logic and necessity. For instance, the obsessive washing of hands; rituals
while dressing and undressing; senseless moving of furniture; counting money
constantly; tapping, rocking; avoidance of specific objects; repetition of specific
words and actions upon contact with some seeming evil. A feeling of relief upon
performing the obsessive action is characteristic. But this relief is temporary and soon
the need to repeat the given ritual arises again.
An important moment for clarifying the nature of obsessive actions is their
aforementioned alien nature and their compulsion to performing senseless acts. This is
what Bishop Varnava (Beliaev) writes about this: "What is the source of this coercion,
if a person with all the strength of his soul rejects and doesnt want it, considers it an
element alien and abnormal? Clearly, from another spiritual essence evil and
unclean. Then one understands the illogic of thought, this tyranny, of which scholars
themselves speak, one understands the relief after completing the act (that is, the
devil departs, glad, that he forced a person to do something against his will), one
understands the agonizing discontent with oneself, because the persons conscience
tortures the person for listening to the devil."
In particularly difficult cases a person cannot control himself and becomes a sort of
"biorobot." Remember, for example, the ritual murder of the three monks in the
Optina Monastery, performed by a criminal who later admitted, that some strange
power forced him to perform this crime and he could not resist it. Other criminals
often mention a similar force that overpowers the will and consciousness. This, by the
way, does not lead to their release from legal responsibility. Drug addicts and
alcoholics also mention a strange forcible irresistible desire. The power that stands
behind all this, I think, is clear.
Hypochondria and depression.
Two more forms of neurosis are also emphasized often hypochondria and
depression. Hypochondria is an excessive withdrawal into an illness, it is the

syndrome of the "imaginary patient." It features constant digging in ones own

feelings, the main focus of thoughts and ideas on the problems of ones "precious"
health, sometimes the full belief in the presence of some dangerous illness, which
doctors cannot reveal, or a greatly exaggerated sickness that is present.
With time, such patients become impossible to live with, "laughing-stock for the
heathen," for doctors. They constantly test their pulse, measure blood pressure, take
never-ending tests, undergo EKGs, fuss with medicines and medical
recommendations.
Usually, such people do not have much faith or none, because hypochondria is the
violation of the second law: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image" (idol Ex. 20:4). "Idol" or "graven image" in this case is the persons health.
Many researchers note, that there is a "desirable escape into illness" in this neurosis,
as well as in hysteria, from lifes difficulties. Hypochondriacs are in great measure
egotists, this often provides serious problems in a persons life and leads not only to
spiritual illnesses, but to physical ones as well. By living only for oneself, a person
dooms himself to suffering while if he sacrifices himself for others, he gains
happiness, because true happiness comes from love of God and others.
And finally, depression. In clinical psychiatry, two principal types of depressive states
are underscored. One of them is related to internal (endogenic) reasons and is less
dependent on psychological factors and situations (endogenic depression), and the
other, in contrast, develops from different tribulations, troubles, which build up in the
individual-psychological exceptionalities of a person, on the scale of his values
(neurotic depression).
The expression of depressive disorders is noticed in various mental illnesses. This is
the most widely disseminated syndrome of spiritual disorders; about 5% of the Earths
population suffer from it, and up to 60% of all mental pathology consists of
depression states. Depression has "grown younger": its victims are no longer only the
elderly or middle-aged, but also youths and even children.
Dejection, unhappiness, and melancholy these are so characteristic of our
contemporaries. Today, many consider that depression is an illness of civilization.
Science knows much about the origin of depressive disorders, but among scientists, it
is unacceptable to speak of sin, while the reason for many forms of abnormal
dejection is precisely the sinfulness of the person.
Depression is in its way the souls signal about its unfortunate, disastrous
condition. But this is not "crying over sins," but the suffering of an unrepentant soul,

to which demons whisper: "All is lost, there is nothing to hope for besides death
there is nothing to expect" Unfortunately, one often hears such complaints from
patients.
Depressive neurosis sometimes begins because of life complications. The persons
mood falls, nothing makes him happy, everything irritates him, he becomes dejected,
everything around him is seen in a dark light. Often similar states come about because
life did not follow "the right scenario," the way one wanted; something desired was
not achieved, some sort of conflict occurred, a breakdown, one offended another
Depression has different masks: sometimes it is expressed physically, such as a
stomachache, headache, regular sleeplessness. This type of disorder is called masked
depression.
The Most Holy Bishop Varnava (Beliaev), in one of his works, includes the statement
of the ven. Sincliticius of Alexandria: "There is sorrow that benefits and sorrow that
harms. Sorrow that benefits consists of grieving over your sins, over the sufferings of
others and about the evil in general taking place around us This is "Godly
sorrow" (2 Cor. 7:10). But our enemy brings us worldly sorrow, which leads to
melancholy. This state has to be driven away primarily by prayers and psalm-singing."
He writes further: "There is one act in the science of salvation, which brings a person
to God by the shortest route. That is sorrow for sins Spiritual experience and the
portent of grace in the heart convince us, that solitary prayer accompanied by hot tears
of repentance is the most powerful method of comfort. True, the first tears are bitter,
acrid, but later one feels relief, joy, a ray of light. The further a person moves along
the path to salvation, the lighter the load on the soul This is a wonderful act of
grace!"
But there is another sorrow, which the Apostle Paul calls the sorrow of the world (2
Cor. 7:10). A fashion-plate cries about not having a new spring hat and that her boots
have gone out of style, that "this one" began to court "that one," and "that one" is
prettier or happier than she. A young person is sad about not having enough pocket
money to spend on pleasures; a couple is unhappy with each other, each only seeing
defects in the other. Workers, doctors, engineers, lawyers all are unhappy with their
insufficient salary, there is never enough; a merchant is in despair over a loss, and so
on, and so forth. Everyone cries and mourns, even those living in wealth and luxury.
They sorrow over things which are mortal. This is a demonic sadness A person
suffers, sighs, tries to live his life without sadness, forgetting about God and the
salvation of his soul.
The person goes to a doctor, who prescribes sedatives and medicines for improving
moods. Clearly, this is not healing a spiritual illness, but numbing the consciousness

of a person But we must mention that we have neurotic depression in mind here. In
those cases when the depressive state continues for more that two or three weeks, has
daily (morning worse, evening better), and seasonal (spring and fall)
fluctuations, the sick person requires medical attention.
The most immediate connections are determined between neurotic depressive
disorders and the virtuous-moral state of a person. As doctors, we, of course, relieve
the sufferings of our patients with medications, discussions, as well as simple human
sympathy, but satisfaction during a patients visit comes only when the discussion
turns to soul, faith, and repentance. With the consent and willingness of the patient,
we try to evaluate the symptoms of his illness from a spiritual viewpoint.
The spiritual roots of this neurosis descend into egoism, pride, passions A Christian
gains great joy from doing good deeds, caring for others, refusing personal benefits.
The sin of suicide.
In the conclusion of the chapter on depressions, it is appropriate to speak of suicide,
since it is precisely despair that is the forerunner of this terrible act.
Suicide is the willing deprivation of ones life. The sad statistic of suicides in Russia
was secret for a long time. In the beginning of 1989, for the first time in the last 60
years, the overwhelming numbers were publicized, and each was preceded by
hopeless despair, the loss of the reason for living. Yearly more than 60,000 Russians
lay hands on themselves this is a whole city of suicides. And this is particularly
tragic, because the suicides among young people 20-24 have grown by 2.9 times. In
other age groups of adults, this number increased by 1.6-1.8 times.
Here is another eloquent fact: the level of suicides in Russia in 1915 equaled 3.4
persons per 100,000, in 1985 it was 24.5, in 1991 it was 31, and in 1993 it was already
38.7. Even higher numbers were noted for 1998.
Twenty percent of all suicides are performed by children and youths up to 19 years of
age. In 1996 alone: 5-14 years old 2756 suicides; 14-19 2358, and these are
only the recorded suicides. Ninety-two percent of the children suicides were
performed by children in unhappy families.
What are the reasons for suicide? The doctors point of view is the following: an
overwhelming number of suicide victims are mentally healthy. Suicide is a personal
crisis. Social factors do not have a decisive part, this is a spiritual problem.

Archbishop John (Shahovsky) writes: "Poor suffering suicides! You did not accept
atonement, the short-term earthly purifying sufferings sweet for the acceptor oh,
sweeter than those imaginary pleasures for which you died in grief. Yes, it was in your
power to do that which the evil power whispered to you, that did not have any power
over you at that moment, but it was also in your power not to do that. It was in your
power to know that God exists, that He is not only the highest Expression of Truth and
Fairness, unattainable for our understanding, but even greater than all these human
ideas. It was in your power to understand, that God cannot give a Cross and not give
strength, that it was in your power to turn to God, to save yourself by calling (not
falsely) His Name"
Suicides before their suicide have no idea that there stands a vile, inexpressibly evil
spirit behind their backs, urging them to kill the body, break the precious "clay vessel"
protecting the soul until Gods set time. And this spirit suggests, and urges, and
demands, and compels, and frightens with all sorts of fears: only in order that a person
would press the trigger or jump over the windowsill, running away from life, from his
unbearable anguish The person doesnt even guess that the "unbearable anguish"
is not from life, but from his depressed spirit, which sees everything in a black light.
The person thinks that he himself is reasoning, and comes to a suicidal decision. But
in fact, it is not he, but one is speaking through his thoughts whom the Lord called
"murderer from the beginning"
A person only agrees unknowingly, unseeingly takes the sin of the devil on himself,
binds himself to sin and to the devil One repentant prayerful word, just one sign of
the salutary Cross and one look on It with faith and the web of evil is torn, the
person is saved by the power of God Only a small spark of living faith and devotion
to God and the person is saved!
Influence of mood on physical health.
Neurosis is not the only consequence of internal conflict, different physical illnesses
can also result. Nervous "lava" beats like a whip on the vessels and bronchi,
penetrates the stomach, squeezes the heart with a steel fist. Scientists single out a
special group of disorders, which are now called psychosomatic, because nervous
factors are one of the main reasons for their occurrence.
Traditionally, the following illnesses are considered part of this group: stomach ulcers
and ulcers of the duodenum, hypertension, ischemia and bronchial asthma. Lately the
following have been added, not without basis: ulcerative colitis, tireotoxicosis,
myoma of the uterus, rheumatoid arthritis and a series of other illnesses. Modern
medicine considers that around 80% of all illnesses are in one way or another
associated with mental disorders.

The Ven. Ambrose of Optina wrote, in letters to laymen, that "illnesses most often
occur as a result of the anxious state of the soul." And the Ven. Ephraim of Syria says:
"The irate person kills and destroys his soul, because his whole life is spent in
confusion and is remote from peace. Peace is alien to him, he is also a long way from
health, because his body aches, and his soul grieves, and his body wilts, and his face is
pale, and his thought betrays, and his reason is exhausted, and dark thoughts flow like
a river"
Confusion and nervousness, as was mentioned earlier, often have sinful roots. Sin,
expanding in the depths of the spirit, conquers both the soul and body of a person. The
origin of psychosomatic pathology can be sketched as the process of expression, or
"materialization" of sin: sin character illness. Obviously, this scheme should be
applied carefully and not to all cases.
But sometimes the Lord can permit an illness to test the faith of a person, or for his
spiritual perfection. It is enough to remember the great sorrows of Job the MuchSuffering, the great patience of the Ven. Pimen the Much-Ailing, the illnesses of the
Ven. Seraphim of Sarov, or Ambrose of Optina and many other sycophants of God.
Sinful breakdowns.
Internal pressure, confusion, anxiety together with other sins can provoke a person to
drink, to use narcotics Psychologists, for example, determined several character
traits characteristic of "alcoholics." According to data provided by V.T. Kondrashenko,
some are easily hurt, are poorly prepared for practical living, weak-willed; others
are overly sure of themselves, vain, have difficulty with lifes misfortunes, stubbornly
thirst for attention. If psychotrauma is added to these character traits, the possibility of
a nervous breakdown is greatly increased.
But let us remind you, that the main reason for overuse of alcohol and narcotics is
conscious sin, and the Lord treats it by way of repentance. Doctors and psychologists,
medicinal preparations and psychocorrectional methods (morally applicable) are
simply support, but no more.
The distinctions of childhood neuroses.
The extensiveness of borderline neuro-mental states among children and teenagers has
reached a previously unknown level about 80% of children in Russia need
medical-psychological assistance. Among youths, recognized as unqualified for army
recruitment on the basis of health, 47% are mentally ill. Increased nervousness,
excitement, emotional instability, tendency to conflicts, sleep deprivation are
typical symptoms, found in 8 out of 10 children.

Most authors underline the negative role of improper upbringing in the origin of
neurotic reactions among children. The well-known specialist in childrens neuroses,
Prof. A. I. Zacharov, emphasizes the following aspects:
1. Parental demands, exceeding the abilities and needs of the children.
2. Parental non-acceptance of children, expressed by an irritated-impatient
attitude, frequent condemnations, threats and physical punishments, lack of
necessary tenderness and caressing.
3. Uncoordinated approach to upbringing, which is expressed by contrasting strict
limitations and prohibitions from one parent and indulgent and permissive
attitude from the other.
4. Inconsistent upbringing, its inequality and contradictions.
5. Instability in attitudes toward children: raised tone of voice, general emotional
instability.
6. Anxiety constant worry about the child, the presence of excessive fears and
overprotectiveness.
The expressions of childhood neuroses are varied: emotional instability and oversensitivity, whining, easily changing mood, capriciousness, excitability, difficulty in
falling asleep, uneasy dreams, night fears, thumb sucking, biting skin around nails,
stuttering, eneuresis, nervous tics and so on. Some symptoms are seen more often in
one age group, others in another.
Let us present an example. A grandmother visits the doctor about her 9-year-old
grandchild. Her parents often fought, created scandals, and finally divorced, the father
left the family. Because of this, the child developed bronchial asthma, but no allergy
or change in the bronchial-lung matter was revealed, and she did not have frequent
colds. It turned out that the girl has a neurogenic form of asthma; the neurotic
conflicts were the reason for the asthmatic attacks. This illness is the cry of the
childs soul.
Another distinction of childhood neuroses is the change of behavior. Some children
run away from home, skip classes, others begin to smoke, try alcohol. Most of these
children wind up on the street and are raised by its rules. Who is to blame? The
parents. The children must be loved, they must be reared, they must be prayed for. The
betterment of the childs mental state in large part depends on the parents, their
spirituality, their relationship, on the atmosphere they create at home.

Children must be protected from any deleterious influence, because these days a
whole slew of different types of obscenities are poured on their tender souls. Parental
piety is an effective example for children to imitate. Its opposites are drunkenness,
non-spirituality, amoral behavior alas, also an effective example, but one that is
lethal. The Most Holy Patriarch Alexis II said, that "if there is no consciousness of
sanctity in the soul, the abomination of desolation becomes entrenched in it."
Let us consider those psychopathological states, which can be revealed in infancy and
early childhood and that demand medical attention.
Neuropathy is characterized by increased irritability, capriciousness of the child,
unstable mood, expressed by fearfulness. Such a child sleeps poorly, has a poor
appetite, loses weight easily, his attention is diverted quickly. Subfebrility can be a
symptom (small but persistently raised temperature, around 98.78-99.14), diarrhea,
neurogenic vomiting.
The syndrome of early childhood autism (alienation) is characterized by the lack of
desire to socialize with peers or surrounding adults. The child is emotionally cold,
indifferent to others, says little, sometimes completely refuses to associate, tends to
move stereotypically. In newborns with this pathology, there is no "complex of
animation" in response to emotional advances.
Hyperkinetic syndrome: its characteristics are uncontrolled motor functions, extreme
(unhealthy) activity. The child is unbalanced, hysterical, acts with no consideration for
the circumstances, unable to follow accepted rules of behavior. It is usually difficult
for these children to adapt to school, they are overly restless, absent-minded,
continually put a strain on others and provoke other children to wrong behavior.
Sensing their defect, it seems like they do everything to others "on purpose" and a
vicious circle begins.
Hyperkinetic syndrome in its development has two tendencies. In one case, with
Gods help, through the competent tactics of parents, psychologists, teachers and
doctors, it weakens and disappears by 12-14. In the other it transforms into
psychopathy, and the individual becomes even less able to adjust, more isolated. The
second tendency is extremely unpleasant.
Among neurotic disorders beginning in childhood or youth are tics involuntary,
fast, non-rhythmic movements of a limited group of muscles (blinking, twitching);
non-organic eneuresis (involuntary urination day or night inappropriate to age);
stuttering.

School neurosis can develop during the earliest school years. The reasons for this are
the psychological unpreparedness of the child for school, unacceptance by his peers,
humiliation, assault, excessive strictness and inexperience of the teacher. The child
suffering from this neurosis looks depressed, refuses to go to school, imitates (often
unknowingly) different illnesses. Parents should be attentive, be able to recognize his
spiritual difficulties and help him. A medical consultation or the advice of an
experienced psychologist would not be amiss.
But it is important to remember that child psychology does not enter into ideas such as
faith in God and Orthodox spirituality, Christian virtue, churchgoing, does not
mention sins and passions, that is, the science of the soul is developed, while at the
same time denying the existence of the human soul and ignoring the Creator. While
such secularization is possible, say, in geometry or car building, it is totally
impermissible in a science studying the laws of a persons spiritual life.
Psychology, while correctly expounding on many particulars and details,
unfortunately does not see the whole picture. Raising children in the spirit of true
virtue, not fictitious spiritual and emotional health, is impossible without faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and without the help of God. Only by Gods grace does the persons
soul become purified, enlightened and filled with understanding. Without grace it is
not only incapable of perfection, but it cannot comprehend the entire tragedy of its
disastrous state.
By Gods mercy, books and articles by religious psychologists are now appearing,
including priests which were educated in psychology before entering the priesthood.
Thus, the spiritual vacuum of psychology is being filled, which for well-known
reasons has been dominant the last eight decades.
Healing neuroses suggestions and warnings.
In this chapter, we will try to go into more depth about the ways to heal nervousness,
discuss the spiritual approach to this problem, speak of psychotherapy, familiarize the
reader with several methods of psychological self-help, offer recommendations of a
healthy nature.
Spiritual clinic.
The only true path to recovery from neuroses lies through the Orthodox faith,
repentance and improving ones life to live by Gods laws. The most important thing
for a person to understand is the sinful sources of his illness, to thoroughly realize his
weakness, to hate the sin of pride, conceit, anger, melancholy, falsehood, adultery,
greed and gain; to want to change himself, with honest repentance turn to the Lord.

It is absolutely necessary for the ailing to attend services, take part in the Mysteries of
the Church Repentance (confession) and Communion. The following words are in
the prayer, which the priest reads before confession: "Take heed, therefore, lest having
come to the physician, you depart unhealed." One must partake of the mysteries often
and with a grieving heart, deep faith and hope in Gods mercy.
It is essential that one read the Holy Scriptures, especially the Gospel, and fulfill the
laws of Christ which are contained in it. "There is not a single illness out of all the
illnesses that burden human nature, neither spiritual nor physical, which could not
receive doctoring from the Scriptures" (St. John Chrysostom).
The literature of the holy fathers and lives of the saints offer invaluable help, where
they provide models for imitation, revealing the true destiny of man, the greatness of
moral beauty, patience and steadfastness when faced with difficulties.
Spiritual life is impossible without fast and prayer. "Howbeit this kind goeth not out
but by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21). With the blessing of a spiritual father, it is
good to memorize separate psalms and prayers. The role of prayer in attaining and
keeping inner peace is very great. Elder Sampson (Seavers) asserted, that the peace of
the soul in one who prays constantly is protected from external disturbances.
The soul is strengthened by pilgrimages to holy places, Orthodox monasteries. is
Commemorations in the Godly Liturgy and molebens offer great help; regular
consumption of Epiphany-blessed Holy Water with prosphora, piece of artos;
sprinkling the residence, the sick person himself, and his personal property with holy
water.
It is essential to keep track of the processes which are occurring in the soul. One must
keep track of ones thoughts, because every bad act is usually preceded by a bad
thought. One must definitively cut off anything negative, sinful, vile, not enter into
any sinful discussions. The Orthodox Church teaches how to battle sin in its very
beginning, on the level of thought.
"The process of the transformation of sin from thought into action has been
determined precisely by the Holy Fathers. The entire course of action is as follows: at
first there is the introduction (i.e. a sinful thought arises from nowhere),
later attention ("conversation" with the sinful thought and this is already the
beginning of accepting the sin), later (sinful) pleasure, afterwards the desire (to
actuate the sin), then decisiveness, and, finally, the act (see Philophei of
Sinai, Philokalia, v. 3, Ch. 34 and so on). The longer a person permits temptation to
entrench itself in the soul, the closer he is to downfall.

Introduction is the simple presentation of an object, either from the act of feeling, or
memory and imagination, presented to our consciousness. There is no sin here, since
the birth of these images is not in our power. Sometimes, though, it can become a
fault, if the tempting image is regarded with the mind and the person enters into what
might be called a conversation with it.
Sometimes the object attracts attention to itself by its novelty, astonishment, but
afterwards, when its impurity is realized, it must be banished, otherwise it becomes
attention. He who has banished a sinful thought, has extinguished the internal war.
Pleasure from sinful objects is already a sin. It is only a step from pleasure to
desire. Decisiveness comes from desire. The desiring person has stated his
permission to act, but has not yet thought up or done anything to attaining his goal;
the decided has already considered everything and decided; the only thing left is to
act.
Therefore one must avoid all possible "ideas," fantasies, fruitless imagination,
particularly of a sensual nature.
One must learn not to judge others. If someone is being denounced or judged in your
presence, you should lead the conversation elsewhere, and if that is not possible
leave.
One must always blame oneself for everything that happens in life, then the soul will
achieve equilibrium, spiritual peace and quiet. "If everyone would blame themselves,
the result would be peace," wrote Archbishop Arseniy (Zhadanovsky), selfreproach lets us bear offenses quietly, not feel them."
It is healthy to break the habit of verbosity and arguing over trifles. One must
certainly deny everything false, ostentatious, theatrical, pretense, exaggeration,
hypocrisy everything that is everything sinful, even little things.
Can the blind lead the blind?
Neuroses are traditionally treated by psychotherapy.
The Orthodox Church has always very decisively spoken out against all occult
activities and magic. The "Book of Rules," based on the decisions of the Seven
Ecumenical Councils and the directions of the holy fathers, and being the collection of
church laws, distinctly and clearly determines this activity to be ruinous and satanic.
Naturally, then, no spiritual father would dare to suggest going to a medicine man,
fortuneteller or medium. But he can bless turning to a professional psychotherapist for
help. But in this case, the person can still often be in serious danger.

Psychotherapy is a medical specialization, not connected so much with healing in

the usual sense of the word, as much as acting on the personality of the ill person, on
his soul. It creates good goals for itself, tries to comfort the sorrowing person, helps
him gain spiritual balance. But in practice the following complex situation occurs: this
area of medicine is spiritually powerless when trying to heal the persons soul and is
in close contact with it, because it has no moral reference points. One cannot relieve
the spiritual burden of another person without having ones own spiritual values. "Can
the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?" (Lk. 6:39).
A doctor can have a medical degree, the title of professor or academic, but this still
does not alter the situation, if he is a materialistically minded person, or holds nonChristian viewpoints. His attempts will not give the soul the necessary reference
points, moreover, they can lead it into depths of sin, and the sorrows of the ailing will
only increase. How often have people, who had first sought out pseudopsychotherapists, psychoanalysts, hypnotists and so on, turned to us for help.
Spiritual uncertainty, the helplessness of psychology and psychotherapy based on
moral "pluralism," permitted the introduction of a huge amount of occult
psychotechnology western, eastern and "homemade," which is morally
unacceptable.
One of the principles of modern psychological practice is, the "goal justifies the
means." Often doctors offer "advice," which brings the soul obvious detriment. We
often see situations, where the doctors offered patients out-of-wedlock unions
allegedly with the goal of normalizing family conflicts which is simply
recommending adultery. A person is counseled to lie or manipulate other people, if
this benefits him (many similar recommendations can be found in the books by Dale
Carnegie).
The tragedy of the modern science of the soul consists in indulging human passions,
trying in any way possible to raise self-esteem or to emphasize meditation, mental
self-regulation through altered states. The preparation of future psychotherapists is
created on an amoral base. Thus, the computer examination is filled with all sorts of
indecencies., Let us present an example, so as not to be considered unsubstantiated. To
the question "What would you suggest a person that is ill with psychosthenia, read in
order to enliven his flaccid neocortex?" the correct answer is: "The works of Guy
de Maupassant." Commentaries are superfluous
The doctor does not choose the patients. Most often, we have people who are
unbelievers or those who do not know the true God people of other faiths, neoheathens. But there are also many who are in search of Truth. Precisely because of

this, the psychotherapist has the responsibility of both doctor and human. His task is
to help the patient limited by illnesses and conflicts, confusions and losses.
For the doctor devoted to psychotherapy, it is important to have true spiritual values,
which would determine his work with patients. Without a personal, and, we add
Orthodox spiritual platform, he will not be able to distinguish the situational
(psychosocial) and biological reasons for the illnesses from the existential, worldview ones. If the patient is one whose soul desires to find the Lord, the Orthodox
psychotherapist must help him in this.
The doctor, of course, cannot be a substitute for a priest, he only precedes him,
sometimes acting as a "barrier," keeping the patient from falling into greater
temptations and sins drunkenness, adultery, suicide.
Unfortunately, today the number of Christian psychiatrists and psychotherapists is a
minority. This, as we see it, is one of the reasons for the poor effectiveness of help
with neuroses. Psychotherapy today has thousands of psychocorrectional techniques.
The very quantity shows that psychotherapists do not know how to heal a person. True
recovery from spiritual disorders begins with a repentant attitude toward God. But in
this area, most psychotherapists are complete ignoramuses.
In summary, we can say that the only psychotherapeutic help that will be helpful and
healthy, is that which leads to Christ, and is led by an Orthodox doctor or
psychologist, leading a Christian way of life. In that case, the word of the specialist
will be supported by the blessed power of God and will comfort the sick, point out the
path to Him, Who is the Truth, the Way and the Life!
Psychological self-help.
The ill persons correct evaluation of his own failings and mistakes is very important
on the path to psychological self-help. We often try to justify ourselves and seek
reasons in other people or external circumstances. The wisdom of the holy fathers
teaches us never to justify ourselves, because humans by nature are selfish, and will
always find a way to distort an alibi in their favor for the true state of affairs (for
instance, maybe I did get angry and was rude, but I am also a live being, while he
should have and so on, gradually becoming more and more convinced in the guilt
of the other and justifying oneself).
Instead of self-justification, it is better to blame oneself, to try to determine the
reasons for the fall, which is usually hidden in selfishness, conceit, and especially
pride. "Where there is a downfall, there pride is established first of all; for pride is the
precursor of downfall" (Ven. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain).

One of the active psychological methods is rationalization. First of all, one must calm
down, pray; then take a clean sheet of paper, a pen, and attentively, soberly analyze
the evolved conflicting situation, write out the main reasons for strife and possible
ways of resolving the conflict, weigh the "pros" and "cons," look at the needs and
fears of all the participants of the resulting misunderstanding, find true arguments in
favor of composure, self-control, humility.
In conjunction with this, one can observe several formerly unnoticed situations,
essential psychological nuances. The resulting stage of rationalization must be a
specific decision, because the longer there is an undetermined, double relationship to
the conflict, the harder it is to resolve, and therefore, to restore spiritual balance. The
enemy of our salvation is always trying to take away our spiritual peace, to confuse, to
bring to melancholy. We will not give in to his suggestions.
Foresight. Notwithstanding the variety of lifes circumstances, many of them are
repeated often and are in some sense a "clich." By experience it is known, that we are
capable of "tripping," losing spiritual peace or giving into temptation in the same
circumstances time and again. Therefore, we must prepare ahead of time for
difficulties We cannot foresee everything, of course, but we can prepare for many
and try to deter them. Preparation must consist not only of thought, but also of prayer,
talks with a spiritual guide, his counsel and blessing.
St. Theophan suggests: "In the morning, after prayer, sit and figure out what you must
do during the day, where you will be, with what and whom you will meet, and, when
applicable, determine ahead of time what to think, where, what to say, how to keep
your spirit and body and so on. This means, that the true Christian must "control
himself," keep control over the actions of his soul, and not permit them to crawl
wherever they want. He must be the ruler of his internal condition."
Substitution is a simple and effective method. Who doesnt know how pleasant it is
to listen to church singing, to read spiritually-enlightening literature, to walk along a
forest path, to listen to birds singing, to admire the flowers in the meadow One
person enjoys working on his cabin, another meeting friends and an evening spent
in sincere and soul-warming society and so on. There are many similar
recommendations; every person can add to this list with attention to oneself. The
ability to rest with benefit for the soul is wisdom, which is worth attaining.
Medicinal help.
A few words concerning the use of medications for neuroses (tranquilizers,
antidepressants). In the case of neurotic states, when the symptoms of the illness are
directly related to psychological factors and living conditions, medications serve an

assisting role, weakening the internal pressure and dulling the acuteness of
complaints. They are usually prescribed for a short period of time. The main condition
of recovery will be the search for the optimum resolution of the conflict, and in the
spiritual plane humility and repentance.
In cases of neuroses and neurotic-like states, phytotheraphy is a great help, that is, the
use of medicinal herbs for healing. But we will note that it does not remove the reason
for the neurosis and only relieves the symptoms.
Traditionally, the following herbs have been used: valerian roots, peppermint (leaves),
hops (cones), motherwort (grass), rough marsh bedstraw (grass), hawthorn (flowers),
German chamomile, caraway seeds. Here is an approximate list of the sedatives,
which can be used independently they do not require a prescription (in Russia):
valerian extract (or tincture), Valerianachel, Percen, glycine, motherwort extract (or
tincture), Novo-passit, Deprim, Valocerdin, preparations of tranquilizers No. 2, 3,
Corvalol, Corvaldin, Adonis-brom, Validol, Valocardin, drops of Zelenin. How to use
them and their doses are included either in inserts or on the packaging.
Raisins, dried apricots and honey act beneficially on the nervous system
Let us speak of healing with honey in more detail. Its effectiveness is well-known: it
gives good result in neurasthenia, nervous overexertion, after long and
psychologically difficult tasks.
The Bulgarian scientist Stoimir Mladenov offers the following scheme for healing
with honey: 100-120 g. of floral bee honey a day for 2.5-3 weeks. One should take 30
g. of honey morning and night, and after lunch 40 g. In the evening, honey should
be dissolved in a glass of cool water and drunk half an hour before sleep. In 10-12
days from the beginning of this treatment, sick people, or those with pre-illness
disorders, as a rule sleep well, gain vigor, their working ability increases.
The benefit of toughening the organism is also worth mentioning. Physical toil within
ones strength, work in the garden, light running, walks, swimming. A tired body
troubles the soul with irritability, unseemly thoughts.
Now we will consider sleeplessness, since this complaint is found among the majority
of patients suffering from neurotic disorders. Sleep is a sensitive moral barometer. It
changes (worsens, improves) depending on our spiritual and emotional states. One
sleeps poorly after hurtful conversations, from sins that torment the soul. The Lord
grants good, deep sleep.

We repeat well-known truths to those patients whose hearts are open to faith: it is
absolutely necessary to pray both morning and evening (experience shows that if for
any reason you sacrificed prayers before sleep you will sacrifice deep sleep as
well), read the Gospel, make the sign of the cross before sleep on your room and bed,
drink holy water and bless the house with it, if it is not blessed. And most importantly,
go to Confession and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Many people, who
begin to follow this plan with faith and hope in the Lord, feel a great improvement in
their well-being and gain spiritual peace.
Psychological suggestions can be the following. First of all, permit yourself to not
sleep, do not overload yourself with thoughts of sleep and its rapid onset. Often a
person suffers more from worrying about not sleeping than from sleeplessness. Late
evening is a time for quiet activities and relaxed conversations. Take a walk before
sleep, refuse a large meal, air out the room. Take a warm shower or soak your feet in
warm water.
Here is another suggestion: soak two teaspoons of hops in a glass of boiling water, let
it stand 4 hours, strain, drink the glass before night. Before sleep, rub lavender oil on
the temples or drop 3-5 drops of lavender oil on a sugar cube and suck it before sleep.
It helps to attach a linen bag with dried valerian roots at the head of the bed. It has
been observed that dark bedding helps calm the nervous system.
Pharmacies have sedatives, which can be used for calming and improving sleep. A
medical consultation would help. Sleeping pills should be taken only under the
direction of a doctor; decoctions and tranquilizing extracts can be used independently.
Remember that spiritual and physical health is a gift of God, and one must treat it
carefully.
Problems of age.
"Doctor, tell me what I should do. I am 50 years old. Until 50, I was a calm and eventempered person. At the present time, because of aging, I do not recognize myself: I
am irritable, whiny, I have trouble sleeping, I have no strength. I find it hard to stand
during the church service. I am first hot, then cold. I perspire, my head spins. I have
begun to pray less, I am not able to cope with household tasks. What should I do?
Respectfully, E.K."
Dear E.K.! As you have correctly diagnosed, the well-known symptoms of menopause
are at the root of your problem. Many changes are occurring in your organism in
connection with hormonal reconstruction. The complaints which you listed are,
unfortunately, typical.

First of all, I want to calm you down. This time will pass, and your feelings will
normalize. All you need is time and patience. You are neither the first nor the last. Do
not demand the former level of activity of yourself. The spiritual conflict is born
precisely because the woman automatically tries to remain at original levels, be just as
active as before, cope with everything, but at this time this is either very difficult or
simply impossible.
Therefore calm down, reconcile yourself to the fact that you are just a bit ill. Talk to
your household. If you have grown children, then this is the perfect time for them to
roll up their sleeves and help in the house.
In church, one should choose a less occupied area, where there is more air. Everything
can be organized; it is not worth panicking or getting discouraged.
Tinctures of soothing herbs will greatly help. It is good to eat honey; eat dried
apricots, raisins, take multivitamins. Walks outdoors are very healthy.
I will also add that now there are medicinal mixtures of various properties and actions,
eliminating the ill effects of menopause.
It is interesting to note the following in the spiritual level. At this time, a womans
naturally negative sides of her character (read: sins) can become more acute. Say, if a
woman earlier felt a tendency toward melancholy or irritability, these characteristics
clearly become more felt, and she can no longer control herself. Take this into
account. May the Lord grant you health and spiritual peace.
Dangerous infection (modern temptations).
A 50 year old woman visits her doctor with her 23 year old daughter V. The
circumstances which led to them to visit a doctor are such: the girl, until recently a
student of one of the capitals colleges, had been infatuated with the creativity (if such
can be said) of a famous western rock group. She created a whole collection of audio
and video recordings, clippings from newspapers and journals, photographs of these
musicians. This lasted a year to a year and a half.
Rock music has a strong influence, both on the mental as well as the physical
condition of the person. The well-known researcher of rock and roll John-Paul
Regembal writes: "The strength of rock is in the irregular pulsations, rhythms,
evoking a bio-mental reaction of the organism, capable of influencing the functions of
different organs of the body (in part, the beat can speed up the heartbeat and increase
the amount of adrenalin, as well as sexual excitement).

If, for instance, the short rhythm equals 1 beats per second and is accompanied by a
heavy pressure of super-low frequencies (15-30 hertz), it can strongly arouse a person.
If the rhythm equals 2 beats per second, at the same frequency, the listener falls into a
dancing "trance," which is similar to a narcotic one. Modern rock-groups utilize the
spectrum of 80 thousand hertz to 20, or even less. The intensity of sound reaches 120
decibels, even though human hearing is tuned to an average intensity of 55 decibels.
This is a definite storming of the entire individual. There have been cases when an
overabundance of high or low frequencies strongly traumatized the brain.
Contusions of sound are common at rock concerts, as well as sound burns, hearing
and memory loss. It is impossible to expose yourself to rock for extended periods of
time and not be psycho-emotionally traumatized. In addition, there is a loss of control
over the ability to concentrate; control over mental activity and will is significantly
weakened; unrestrained outbursts lead to destruction, vandalism and revolt, especially
in large gatherings, where the mental field of the crowd, the enhanced aforementioned
influences of rock, for all intents and purposes deprive a person of individuality, turn
him into part of a machine directed by satanic leaders.
As we can see, rock music has a destructive influence on the character of a person. It
is not by accident that many rock soloists are drug addicts and even openly Satanists"
(from an article by N. Bogoliubov).
Free internet access became available in the institute, where V. was a student. What
happened! The girl began to skip lectures, her grades fell sharply. All her thoughts
were occupied with rock idols. She jumped from site to site, searching new details of
personal lives, tastes, habits of her favorites.
With time the ability to "surf" the Internet clearly became insufficient, and V. began to
search for any other type of connection. In the meantime, the girls sphere of interest
widened, she began to be interested in much which, as she put it, "is shameful to
mention." The Internet attracted her like a magnet, V. could not live without it even a
day. She thought time was wasted, if she could not submerge herself in the "sea of
fascinating information."
V.s behavior changed noticeably. She began to be irritable, talked back to her mother.
From lack of sleep (because Internet access is cheaper at night) her head began to
ache, her vision worsened. In the Internet-caf, which she began to visit regularly, she
made dubious acquaintances. Once she was offered heroin, and "grass," which, the
girl admitted, she had tried, and more than once. "I thought, she said, that it
would help me with my tiredness, to overcome sleepiness." Within a year V. was
expelled from the institute for poor grades, but this did not sober her up. Her mother

rang the alarm, understanding that the computer, or rather the passion, would
completely destroy her only daughter.
The mother calls herself a religious person. V. says: "I believe in God, but I almost
never go to church." Still, she agreed to visit only an Orthodox psychotherapist.
Thank God, the girl recognized that in the last two years she did not live a real, but a
"virtual," world, and was a captive of her passions. This passion, apparently, can be
can Internetmania. Looking at the image of the Holy Mother of God in my office, V.
asked hopefully:
Will the Lord help me?
Of course, He will help, I answered, nothing is impossible for
God. You must ask Him for this with all your heart, begin to go to
church, truly repent of your sins and have firm resolve not to return to
them.
The girl listened attentively, and in her tearful eyes, as it seemed to me, a ray of hope
appeared. I prescribed sedatives, made several recommendations, and we separated,
agreeing to meet in a week. This was the first clinical visit related to the Internet in
my practice. Unfortunately, it seems that one can expect other similar types of visits.
When the soul quakes.
At one time I met with a curious clinical case. I had to lead a consultation in which
mother and son suffered from obsessive fears for their health and alternately induced
one another.
The phenomenon of obsession is determined to be the appearance in the
consciousness of a thought, image or some event, not connected at the given moment
with the content of the consciousness, and seen by the ailing as emotionally
unpleasant. Obsessive fear predominates in the thoughts of the neurotic, generates
emotional tension, assists to disadapt a person to his surroundings.
During the conversation, it turned out that the mother of my patient received lengthy
treatment from psychiatrists for obsessive fears, while the son grew as a very
impressionable, emotional boy. His first obsessive fear appeared after a cancerous
swelling. The patient continually checked his body, studied medical literature
concerning oncology, was depressed, inhibited. The young man added that the fear
arose suddenly, after his mother told him about her old illness.

Then new fears arose in the mother about her health. She decided that she had
leukemia, because she felt listless, apathetic. After an oncologists checkup they were
both found to be healthy and she soon recovered from her imaginary illness, but then
became ill of phobias twice more. Once this was connected with the grandmothers
heart attack and they decided that they suffered from heart ailments. Another time
they feared dying in an automobile accident. And this fear arose first in one, and only
later in the other.
There are similar cases, when after one member of the family was ill with obsessive
fears other household members became ill. S.N. Davidenko wrote about a patient,
suffering from a tic and the fear of blushing or sweating. His mothers sister suffered
from an obsession concerning overperspiration, one of her daughters the fear of
blushing, the sister of the patient himself the fear of heart attack. What
possibilities
A family, which came to me for consultation, was non-believing. When a person does
not have faith, there is no fear of God, and instead of them, others may "blossom"
sickly, absurd, obsessive fears. The soul is Christian by nature, therefore, if it exists in
a non-spiritual atmosphere, it sorrows and "quakes" for any reason.
Involutionary melancholy (psychology of aging).
"Mother was diagnosed with "involutionary melancholy." Please tell me about this
illness."
Involutionary melancholy is an illness which can surface at an elderly age. Even
the name reveals that the basis of the abovementioned pathology is a sick depressed
mood. The main symptoms of involutionary melancholy are apprehension and sorrow,
which can be expressed in different degrees of severity.
Usually this illness develops gradually. The initial period usually lasts 2-3 months,
when the precursors begin to be felt: worsening sleep, growing fatigue, weakness, loss
of memory.
Provocative factors that can be characteristic for this age are changes in social status,
material condition, loss of a husband or wife, forced change of habitat, conflicts with
children. Many elderly people are concerned about the political, economic instability
of our era, characterized by local wars, drops in national currency with the loss of
savings, and many other circumstances.
An old French proverb states: "Everyone ages as he lived." There is a deep meaning in
these words. The body ages with each year, but the soul The soul is immaterial, and

if it is with God, then with age it brings good fruit. St. Theophan the Recluse,
speaking of the different ages of a virtuous Christian life, thus described old age:
"This is a time, when the internal battle calms down and the person begins to taste
peace and sweetness of the gathered spiritual blessings. The farmer, eating the fruits
of his labor after harvest, or dough, leavened and soured, fully risen, these are
images of old age. The most wise Sirach portrays the actions of wisdom, how it first
tests its beloved, then turns to him, gladdens him and reveals its secrets to him (Sir.
4:18 and on). This last is the character of spiritual maturity. We assign such a person
strength, gravity, steadfastness, experience."
Priest and doctor Father Valentin Zhohov writes of the elderly Christian: "Before us is
not an old man, but an elder, evoking the feeling of respect. Such Christians, with
faces like icons, can only be found among the Orthodox. Handsomeness does not
come by itself, but is the result of efforts and patient suffering."
One of my old friends related that he searched for Truth a long time, thought about
eternity, but only became a confirmed Orthodox Christian after he met the glance of
an elderly woman, returning from a church service. "How much simplicity, humility,
nobility there was in her appearance, walk And there was so much kindness in her
eyes!" he recalled.
Probably many Orthodox are familiar with the worrisome-reverent feeling which one
feels when talking with an experienced elder, spiritual father. After such meetings
there is sweetness, peace and quiet in the heart. But most of the present elderly
population are children of the 1930s and 40s. Year after year, decade after decade,
atheistic "order" has been seeded in their souls. The Party, Komsomol applied their
"values" to them. Rethinking life with time, particularly in these latter years, some of
them have come to church, repented, found God, while others remain captives of the
"ideals" of youth, waste time and waning strength on meetings, curse the civil
authorities, are offended and disappointed.
Melancholy becomes as natural to them as breathing. Why, one can understand this on
a human basis: life passed, but justice remains elusive. Responsibilities and awards
are in the past, and money has lost value after reforms. The soul is worried; the
feelings of approaching illnesses, fear and the bitterness of real or imagined solitude
do away with its peace. There are cases when such old people kill themselves.
It is interesting to note the following: the kernel of personality is revealed with age.
For example, a kind person does not lose his kindness, the sensitive may become
weepy/good-natured, while the selfish become miserly, and so on.

Your mother should be observed regularly by a doctor-psychiatrist. If she is a religious

person, then it would be good to meet with her spiritual father or the priest to whom
she goes to confession. Explain your mothers illness to the priest, so that he could
construct the necessary strategy for caring for her soul, ask him for his prayers
When a child sleeps poorly.
"Our child is 4 years old. He doesnt sleep well at night, twists and turns, grinds his
teeth in his sleep, wakes up and goes from his bed to ours. What should we do?"
There can be many reasons why a child doesnt sleep well. One must consider the
following conditions: is the child healthy, is he outdoors enough, does he become
overexcited during playtime, does he fear darkness, is his bed comfortable and so on.
If he goes to daycare, then you must find out what his relationships are like with his
peers, with his teacher. All these circumstances are very important.
Sometimes, the child gets a good nap during the day and then sleeps worse at night.
On average the child of 3-4 should sleep 10-11 hours. Many children at this age do
without a nap. If the child has slept during the day, the interval between the nap and
bedtime at night should be no less than 3-3 hours.
Speaking of recommendations, first of all I will point out the necessity of keeping to a
daily schedule. One should put the child to sleep at a regular time. You should spend
some time next to him, make the sign of the cross over him and bless him for the
coming sleep. Speak softly, kindly, calmly. He may not want to part with you, he may
have a subconscious fear of losing his parents, finding himself alone. Hug him, kiss
him, make him a comfortable "nest," let him take a beloved toy to bed. If during the
day something has not been fully said, if you have punished the child, then you must
explain why he was punished and forgive everything. In a word, the situation should
be resolved by evening.
And remember: the Lord grants a healthy, deep sleep. Orthodox parents teach their
children prayers, the sign of the cross, and the child will not fall asleep until he makes
the sign of the cross on himself. He knows that he is protected, that he is not alone: the
Lord is with him, the Most Holy Mother of God, his Angel-Protector, multitudes of
saints are praying for him, for mother, father and for all Orthodox Christians. The
child attends church services, partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. His parents are
married in the church; their house is blessed in the name of the Most Holy Trinity;
there is a crucifix, icons, a votive, in his room. The child has Gods and parental
blessing, on his chest is a cross with which he never parts. This is the internal and
external world of a child in an Orthodox home.

You ask what should you do if the child comes to the parents bed. First of all, you
should be calm. You can offer that he go to the bathroom, and then decide: should he
stay until morning or will you take him back to his bed. And in future always be
consistent, stick to the original decision.
Concerning the grinding of teeth, this occurs from involuntary contraction of muscles
in the jaw and points to sleep that is not deep enough, to the excitability of the child.
One can use herbs that serve as sedatives for calming the nervous system. I can
recommend glycine, 1-2 tablets a day under the tongue, a spoonful of honey just
before sleep, a warm shower before bedtime.
There are audiocassettes with the lives of the saints on sale in churches, reworded for
small children. If there is a tape player at home, then it is good to play a soul-healthy
recording for the child for 20-30 minutes. If then sleep has not improved, then come
for a visit to me or to another specialist.
Anxiety syndrome.
"The doctor said that I have vegetal-vascular dystonia. What kind of an illness is this,
how does it come about and how should it be treated?"
Very often people come to the doctor, suffering from what is a widespread illness at
present, which is called "neuro-circulatory dystonia" (NCD) or vegetal-vascular
dystonia.
At the base of this pathological state is the overexertion of the central nervous system,
which results in the disruption of the regulation of the vascular system, worsening of
the blood-supplying organs and tissues, trophic disorders, worsening of the ability of
capillaries to carry blood. In professional literature this pathology is also known as the
"anxiety syndrome."
Other risk factors are often added to the original nervous overexhaustion. Among
them are the chronic periodontic infections (tonsillitis, haimoritis, carious teeth), head
traumas, consequences of acute or chronic intoxication (first of all alcoholic, and now
narcotic). Symptoms of this illness are connected primarily with the disruption of the
functioning of one or another vegetative processes. Among them are headaches,
dizziness, weakness, exhaustion, excess perspiration, sensitivity to cold, sensitivity to
weather changes, inconsistency of arterial pressure, worsening of sleep and others.
More serious complications of this illness are hypertonic illness, arteriosclerosis with
ischemic heart disease, dystrophy with signs of early aging.

NCD often develops in people who are "fixated" on their health. The term
"hypochondria" is well-known to doctors, which means a stubborn fixation on ones
well-being, sometimes reevaluating the severity of ones condition. Thus, there are
many hypochondriacs among those suffering from this illness, though, of course, not
everyone can be put into one category.
Undoubtedly, one should treat oneself reasonably, protect ones health, because it is a
gift of God. Only the extremes are harmful.
It is difficult to treat NCD. The main emphasis is made on the change in a persons
way of life. I would say that the main medication for this affliction must become the
acquisition of spiritual peace. And as we well know, there is no peace of the soul
without Gods grace. A peaceful spirit and clear conscience together with a reasonable
fast, physical labor, toughening of the organism are elements of recovery.
Of course, one should turn to a specialist for help as well, but I repeat: medications for
this illness play only an supporting role.
Memorable event.
I took down this story from the words of a patient. "I was born in Moscow, christened
in infancy, but not raised in the church. I grew a healthy, active boy, in school I
grasped everything at once, was always a good student. Went to college as an
economics major. In the institute, tasting freedom, I sinned to destruction, which
seemed perfectly normal.
At the end of the fourth year I suddenly became overly talkative, lively, could not sit
in one place even for a few minutes. Slept 2-3 hours a day, lost a lot of weight. After a
month this condition somehow quieted down by itself, maybe because I began to take
sedatives. But by the fall of that year everything began again, but exactly "opposite:" I
became depressed, did not want to live.
By the persistent requests of my parents I turned to a psychiatrist, and soon I was
diagnosed with "manic-depressive psychosis." Many medicines were prescribed,
which I had to drink almost incessantly. I was terribly disturbed with the label
"insane," I feared that this spiritual illness will become known to my friends and
acquaintances.
About this time I first crossed the threshold of a church. My illness led me to God.
The priest who gave me my first confession became very close to me immediately. I
began to attend church services, take Communion. I liked everything in the church:

the singing, the appearance, and the faces of those praying I felt like I came to my
Fathers house after being away a long time.
But then I got "caught in a whirl," I began to feel "tolerable," and then I began to
attend church less regularly, took confession less often, and then completely left the
Church. Completed the institute. I had two recurring attacks of the illness. Swallowed
tablets, which the psychiatrist prescribed
And then one evening the telephone rang. I lifted the phone and could not believe my
ears the priest called. But where could he get my telephone number? He did not
know my surname, nor my address, only my given name! Soon surprise was replaced
by a feeling of such warmth and peace of the soul, that I cannot describe it. I felt tears
coming, and in my head thoughts were spinning with kaleidoscopic speed: "Lord!
How could I leave you? Why did I stop going to church?!
I became ashamed. But these were my feelings only. The priest asked if I was ill and
did I require any assistance from him. He said something else very simple and warm,
gave me his blessing and said farewell. Imagine, he did not rebuke me for anything,
on the contrary, he was so kind and friendly.
I did not sleep almost all night, I thought much. Looking at the icons, I prayed and
cried, asked the Lords forgiveness. Towards morning I had the thought that I must
return to the church and deeply repent. I read somewhere that such a confession is
called "general" of your whole life. The Lord permitted me to repent this way. I
will not describe my spiritual state at that moment, but I will only say that I felt like
some ice floe fell from my soul. And the illness departed. In the course of several
years I was for all intents and purposes healthy. The doctors were surprised and
wondered: "How could this be?"
Later on I visited psychiatrists, but I never again felt the acuteness of the symptoms of
the illness. Repentance is a great blessing, granted us by the Lord. Thank God for
everything!"
In the years of medical work I, like many of my Orthodox colleagues, have seen
marvelous and miraculous examples of Gods help to people. The Lord, His Most
Holy Mother, his saints, grant healing help abundantly according to the faith of those
suffering. Strictly speaking, each event of recovery is a great mercy of God. The
overcoming of sinful passions is a miracle and cannot be called anything else, such as,
for example, when the adulterer begins to lead a virtuous life, and the drunk or drug
addict gain deep faith, become enchurched. I have often witnessed how a mothers
repentance gained the health and even the miraculous salvation of a childs life. In my
years of medical practice I have seen many recoveries from incurable, from a medical

standpoint, diseases, acute illnesses. The given example is only one of many like it.
Marvelous are your deeds, O Lord!
The Great sham.
The term "hysteria" is derived from the Greek word "uterus." During the times this
spiritual illness was first described, it was thought that only women suffered from
hysteria (later on it was found that men also suffered from it).
Hysteria was first mentioned in the ancient past. Hippocrates and Avizenna wrote
about it. Later, hysteria was studied by famous scholar-psychiatrists such as Jacques
Charcot, Pierre Janet, and many others. Psychoanalysts especially devoted a lot of
attention to hysteria. Still, the approach to studying hysteria was one-sided for a long
time. There were practically no spiritual-moral commentaries on this subject.
So, hysteria. The spiritual evaluation of this psychopathological state could be
portrayed as showing off. Hysterical individuals are easily noted for their emotional
imbalance, which is expressed by stormy and bright changes of mood. The speech of
these people is full of images, play-acting seeps in, pride. The hysteric thirsts for
attention to himself and suffers greatly in its absence. The hysteric characteristically
wants to seem greater than he is in real life.
According to the well-know Russian professor P.B. Gannushkin, the behavior of
hysterical people is filled with unnaturalness and falseness. "Every action, every
gesture, every movement is calculated for the observer and for effect. They
necessarily have to be original and they do not reject any method of attracting
attention."
"The hysteric, extremely subtly and acutely perceiving one thing, remains insensitive
to another, wrote P.B Gannushkin. Kind, gentle in one situation, they later
reveal indifference, egoism in another."
Professor G. E. Sukhareva noted, that hysterical individuals have behavioral
difficulties from childhood. They are very capricious, disobedient, love to play to
leading role and express aggression, if they are not able to. Their mood is noticeably
very imbalanced.
Once these children go to school, they have trouble dealing with the group, because
they cannot match their interests with the interests of others and always strive to be
first, they cannot bear to have someone else praised in their presence.

If they have a good intellect they can do well in school, but their knowledge is
superficial, their interests not constant.
Heightened irritability, a tendency toward lying makes these young people harder to
bring up. Still, when one can find an activity which coincides with their interests, their
condition is markedly improved.
Heightened volatility, constant desire to put oneself forward, to be better than he is,
the discrepancy between desire and actuality all of these are the source of
conflicting tribulations. Hysterical children often react inadequately to any life failure,
and characteristic signs of hysteria are part of the picture.
I will give an example. A child asks for candy (toy and so on), but the mother refuses
his request. Then the child throws himself on the floor, screams, twists and continues
to demand sweets. The frightened mother frequently gives the screaming child a
handful of candy, just to quiet him down. Here, truly, "let the child have anything he
wants, as long as he doesnt cry." And the pleased child eats the candies and
completely forgets about his "inconsolable grief." What did all this mean? This is a
typical hysterical reaction, still childlike, rather crude, straightforward. And how did
the mother act? She fulfilled the desire of the child, guaranteeing similar types of
reactions. And there can be no doubt that the dear child will repeat this reaction more
than once, because it brought the desired, necessary result.
We, parents, sometimes unconsciously encourage demonstrative traits in our children
by praising them too much, permitting them to interfere in adult conversations, to
interrupt the talker and so on. The child notices this and soon does everything for
show: reading poetry, dancing, singing, playing. Adults, as a rule, are touched by this,
smile, praise, kiss the child and do not at all think about the fact that the childs
behavior is clearly demonstrative. This is aggravated even more because in modern
families there are one, at most two, children who, naturally, become the "center of the
universe" for their parents. In the past, in the patriarchal Russian family, which had, as
a rule, many children, no one at the meal would dare to dip his spoon into the soup
kettle before his father. Now the situation is different. Sometimes the entire family
fusses with spoons, forks, frying pans before their darling, wanting to feed and
indulge him deliciously and abundantly. And then we are surprised by the egoism, the
inordinate pride of the "fledgling." Worldly examples, similar to the abovementioned,
abound. They are innumerable. Strictly speaking, the entire tenor of the life of the
modern person, beginning in pre-school and up to pension, teaches a person hysteria.
Of course, everyone absorbs these "lessons" differently. It all depends on the
upbringing and worldly outlook of the person.

As mentioned before, the main feature of hysterical personalities is the constant

striving for attracting the attention of others. Pointed affectation, unnaturalness,
dishonesty shows in their actions. They would do anything, would stoop to any trick
to gain universal attention, sometimes resorting to obvious falsehood and taking
advantage of the feelings of others.
Clear expressions of the attributes of hysterical individuals are mental immaturity,
infantilism, which are expressed in unbalanced interests and attractions, easily
changed moods. They are quickly disappointed in friends and change them easily,
even though at first their friendship seemed eternal. For hysterics it is only a step from
love to hate.
Classical literature contains clear examples of hysterical individuals. Gogols
Klestakov can be considered a classic hysteric.
We often see the variation of so-called pseudologist among hysterical people. Along
with demonstrativeness, there exists in their behavior a stormy game of imagination, a
tendency to fantasize. And the subject himself is usually the hero in those fantasies.
In some psychiatric classifications, the group called "narcissistic (conceited)
individuals" is mentioned. The main symptom of a narcissistic individual, as Professor
U.A Alexandrovsky points out, is the belief, arising in ones youth, in ones particular
significance, in his talents, his unusually appealing appearance, which should arouse
universal delight. "The need for delight, the desire to see oneself surrounded by
admirers and worshipers, undoubtedly draws this type nearer to hysteria, just like the
inability of these subjects to be compassionate, to show concern for others."
These individuals tend to fantasize, and the themes of their fantasies involve their
successes, achievement of unlimited power, might, wealth. They love to talk a lot bout
their famous friends actors, politicians, the powerful of this world, of their ties with
secret societies or very important organizations. And their stories are either based on
superficial, "nodding" acquaintance, or (more often) appear as the product of an
overactive imagination. In relating their information, the narcissistic individuals not
only expect special delight in those surrounding them, but demand respectful attitudes
for no reason, submission, as to a person standing above those around them," writes
the same author.
Hysterics are sometimes sly, elusive. There are many swindlers among them. They
often possess great intuition.
Many founders of sects, such as, for example, Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science),
undoubtedly had a hysterical character. The same can be said of many other

"charismatic" individuals. For example, it is known that the founder of theosophy (1)
Yelena Blavatskaya in her youth was noted for amazing falsehoods and stormy
fantasies, about which her close relatives wrote.
The "conditional enjoyments or desires" mechanism of the sickly symptoms is
specific to hysteria. It is like a criteria for separating hysteria from various other nonhysterical manifestations. Different sickly manifestations can be pleasant and desired
by the hysteric, promising some sort of gain or freeing one from some kind of
responsibilities.
The hysteric needs an audience. For example, if Robinson Crusoe had hysterical
tendencies, they would never have developed, because there was no one to see them.
They are easily suggestible. But their suggestibility is very particular. The hysteric, as
a rule, picks up on ideas if they are in his favor.
Clinical manifestations of hysteria are tremendously varied. There can be hysterical
fits, paralysis. One sees hysterical hyperkinetics, expressed in shaking body or
separate parts. I have observed hysterical deaf-mutes, blindness. In the past, one saw
the so-called "hysterical arc." At present, many psychiatrists point out that hysterical
reactions are now found in more subtle forms.
Jacques Charcot called hysteria "the great imitator," even though one cannot say that
hysteria and imitation are identical concepts. The hysteric actually suffers; but his
suffering is caused by conditional desire. The imitator simply makes believe he is ill.
The range of hysterical behaviors are very wide and many-faceted. They can be young
people with earrings, for example, in their nose, and green-red-blue hair. Or a
politician, for whom conceit is dearer than anything else.
Hysterical behavior can be found, unfortunately, in Orthodox circles. I have seen such
"matushkas" (as they call themselves) who with their delights in a moment
transformed a young priest into a "miracle-worker" or "seer." The hysterical person
immediately makes a "diagnosis," divides churches and hierarchs into those who
"have grace" and "do not have grace." The criteria in such cases is, of course, ones
"instinct." Sometimes one gets the feeling, that such a person actually thirsts for some
kind of "hot" facts, sensational information or simply gossip. And then he finds
himself in his element. In addition, the hysteric does not consider the very facts as
important as their personal interpretation of them.
The hysteric can stand out not only with their extravagant appearance, theatrical
mimicry or unique speech. They could be imperceptible in appearance, but their

speech will be filled with quotes, appearing scientifically educated. If worst comes to
worst, he could simply break into a mysterious silence. But this is all posing. One can
sense the falsity and unnaturalness in his behavior.
The feelings of a hysterical person, while appearing warm and gentle, are always
mixed with a sense of coldness. The person himself is the most important thing to that
person.
Clinical psychiatry distinguishes between hysterical neurosis and hysterical
psychopathy. These states are separated by the depth, expression and origin of the
hysterical expressions. Hysterical neurosis is generally characterized by
personalization of conflict, that is, the manifestation of hysteria in the form of
different physical ailments and sensations. Very often, for example, a hysterical "knot"
appears in the throat. Remember examples in classical literature, when young ladies
fainted from worry.
Psychopathy is an individualized anomaly, which is characterized by the
disharmony of an individuals mental structure. The criteria for psychopathy are: 1)
the expression of mental disorders, leading a person to social disadaptation; 2) total
alteration of the entire mental image of the person; 3) the relative stability of mental
particulars (P.B. Gannushkin).
Psychopaths are divided into constitutional, which can arise as the result of different
illnesses, head traumas, infections etc., and acquired. The second group of
psychopaths are the result of upbringing, environmental and situational conditions.
Unfortunately, our reality is often the "supplier" of psychopaths.
Psychopathy occupies the middle ground between psychoses and neuroses. In some
ways it does not "make it" as a psychosis (as a rule, ranting, hallucinations and other
expressions are missing from the clinical picture), but it essentially differs from
neurotic disorders. Also, neuroses are usually connected with some sort of
emotionally significant experiences, distressing a person with events and life
conditions. But the psychopath, well, is always a psychopath. Of course, in isolated
moments his behavior may be worse, while in other periods of life one can observe
relative compensations, but the general anomalous psychopathic background remains.
If a person suffering from neurosis, speaking conditionally, hurts himself, then the
psychopath through his behavior hurts others around him as well. Without question,
the level of expression of psychopathic traits in persons which have them, vary
individually. There is also a difference in the way various types of psychopathic
disorders are treated. For instance, as an example, the following types of psychopaths

are differentiated: excited, hysterical, reactive-volatile, constraining, and others. In

earlier classifications, we could see, for example, the following variations: queers,
fantastics, liars, emotionally dull, irritable, neurotic, depressives.
The treatment of psychopaths is a long, difficult and often ineffective process. The
same can be said of the spiritual rehabilitations of psychopathic personalities! But
what is impossible for man is possible for God.
A serious illness can be a powerful psychotraumatic factor. Unfortunately, not many
are capable of bearing illnesses like Christians. Adequate, courageous reactions to
illnesses are met rarely, much oftener in such situations there is a neurotic reaction.
Thus, Professor V.P. Zaitsev delineates five types of similar reactions to heart attacks,
among which a hysterical reaction is described. Egocentricism, demonstrativeness,
desire to attract attention for sympathy, are characteristic.
Again I repeat, two conditions must be present for hysteria to reveal itself fully:
benefit, and an audience; nothing hurts hysterics more than the lack of attention to
their person. In that case, life becomes duller and loses its attraction.
The Bishop Varnava (Beliaev) uses the following expression "living a lie."
Hysterics, in their extreme displays, live a lie.
Many hysterical personages are habitus of different manifestations, demonstrations.
To them it is not even important who or what they are defending, which rights they
fight for. They are attracted by the ability to be in the public eye. With the onset of
democracy in the last decade, on the waves of the crisis of moral values resulting from
the lack of spirituality that had ruled the society 70+ years, a large army is attacking
the souls of people containing different types of magis, sorcerers, mediums,
magicians, bringing so many ills to the people who come to them. Though I will not
enter into the details of describing this occult destruction, I will say only that in their
individual tenor the great majority of these "healers" are hysterics, desiring glory
and recognition. Of course, there are conscious servants of evil among them, having
different levels of ordinations. But many of them are simply swindlers, who have no
knowledge of any occultism, but simply take spiritual advantage of their compatriots,
pumping no small amount of money out of their pockets. Without a doubt, this
circumstance does not remove the responsibility from the person coming for such
"help," even to a swindler. It is a grave sin.
The desire to be seen, to be the center of attention is often connected with vice.
Hysterics, especially in their youth, are always in love, are in an "ocean" of erotic
fantasies. Hysterical women cannot resist flirting, coquetry even for a short time.

Often, hysterical people, particularly psychopaths, are fully possessed by vice and
lead a corresponding way of life.
The Orthodox psychologist V. Rev. Boris Nichiporov justly writes: "The ideals, which
the social consciousness is cultivating today, are the following. The first daily ideal
a girl as a photo-model. Beauty and a figure are demanded, white teeth, external
attraction and so on. In general, the starting point of everything is not the heart or
mind, but the hip. Everything must come from the hip and no higher than the hip
thoughts, and desires, and feelings."
Lunacy. Doctor V.K. Neviarovich truly points out that "beginning with the end of the
19th century, atheistically oriented scholars tried to prove that neither possession nor
lunacy existed, but all of these were simply manifestations of hysteria. V.M.
Bekhterev (1857-1927), a major Russian scholar, studying psychiatry, neurology and
psychology, unfortunately shared this opinion. But his experiments stemmed from
strictly materialistic positions, which could not avoid influencing his scientific
research. Thus, in one of his works he even attempted (o horrors!) to assert that all the
Gospel miracles of the Savior the healings and the resurrections from the dead
could be explained by the hysterical sufferings of those people who believed in Christ.
Unfortunately, even now official medicine, to the joy of the entire demonic world,
does not discriminate between emotional illnesses and spiritual, and tries to heal many
possessed people with insulin, or hypnosis, or chemical compounds, and lately even
occult methods (meditation, the method of Stanislav Groth and so on)."
The same author writes, "that hysteria and possession are not one and the same, but
there is no better preparation for possession than hysteria, because the devil is the
"father of lies," and all hysterics lie; the devil, according to the words of the holy
fathers, is an "artist" and "monkey," and the characteristics of hysteria are imitation,
acting and a sickly artistic imagination. The fall of the devil occurred because of
vanity and pride and the similarity is obvious"
Father Alexander Elchaninov wrote the following about this emotional illness:
"Hysteria is the decay of the personality, and it frees a tremendous, ruinous (in its
destructive power) amount of energy, like in a splitting atom."
Pride and vanity, lying and posing these are the spiritual essence of hysteria.
So what is, in fact, hysteria: sin or illness? I think that hysteria is a sinful
composition of the soul, which often results in sickly sufferings.

What do I mean to achieve by writing this? In order to "look the enemy in the eye," as
we say, and to battle with him, rooting out the weeds of hysteria in our own souls.
And, also, to better see this sinful illness in the reality surrounding us.
How should one react to hysterical behavior? First of all, it is not worth following the
hysterics lead. Keep your dignity and composure, and if necessary, reasonable
strictness. I will remind you once again, that hysteria stops when there is no witness.
Therefore, the mother which I mentioned earlier should have ignored the
"convulsions" of the raving child and should have calmly continued doing her own
work.
[1] Pantheistic religious-philosophical system, having a following, in part, in modern neoheathen
movement New Age, uniting many sects.

Psychotherapy.

Psychotheraphy occupies a unique position in medicine. Two individuals meet in the

mutual process of doctor and patient working together. A soul is healed by a soul.
Those ailing with a psychotherapeutic profile are a completely special contingent.
Their sufferings are often related to moral conflicts, family difficulties, trouble after
difficult illnesses, spiritual searchings. As a rule, the person looking into the eyes of
the doctor feels a deficit of love, understanding of others, support from his close
friends. He turned to the specialist when the sufferings filled his whole soul, his whole
organism, and there is no more strength to bear it. Sometimes his sufferings turn into
severe somatic symptoms, different pains, numbness, other disorders.
Most often I have to treat and consult people either unbelieving, or with weak,
unformed faith. For this reason, the psychotherapist has a great responsibility, both as
a doctor and as a person. His task is to help the patient constricted by illnesses and
conflicts, confusion and losses. For the doctor dedicated to psychotherapy, it is
important to have personal spiritual values, which will determine his work with
patients. Without a personal (I add: Orthodox) spiritual platform he will not be able to
distinguish situational (psychosocial) and biological reasons for illnesses from
existential, world outlook ones.
The domination of materialism and, correspondingly, the lack of spiritual demands of
doctors in this very complex and very specialized, in the medicinal sense of the word,
profession has not gone unnoticed. Most unfortunately, Orthodox spirituality is not a
criteria for a psychotherapists activity in our society. But how right it would be to be

guided by Christian values in such a complex task as soul-caring. In reality, each

psychotherapist works in the measure of his view of life, of his principles. On the
other hand, there is another difficult problem even if there is faith in Christ in the
doctors soul, it does not always find a response in the heart of the patient.
The doctor does not choose his patients. In his visits, he may see a rabid atheist or a
representative of another philosophical-religious bent. In the latter cases, the medical
credo "do no harm" should be applied fully. My experience shows that the focus of
healing non-believers and non-Orthodox should be on common sense, spiritual
support, medications. That is, it should be more psychophysiologically oriented. But
we should also reverently treat the soul of such a person, because it also is the image
of the Creator. If a person comes for a visit, the soul of whom wants to find God, but
tosses about in ignorance, then the Orthodox psychotherapist must help him spiritually
as well. He does not replace a priest. He only precedes him. The doctor is sometimes a
"barrier," protecting the patient from even greater temptations (alcohol, vice, suicide).
Often patients ask me about the meaning of personal life, after seeing icons and the
Gospel in my office. Then to those, whose heart is open to faith, I tell about
Christianity, about the Christian understanding of lifes meaning, the meaning of
suffering. I am sure that psychotherapy, which follows the principle "be patient,
everything will pass" is not permissible in most cases. I will relate just a few
examples.
About a year and a half ago, a wealthy 52-year-old entrepreneur came to me in the
state of obvious anxiety. He told me that he does not want to live any longer, because
he no longer sees any reason to live. In the last eight years he was married three times
to women half his age, earned much money, and this is the sorry result
Another example. A middle-aged woman lost her only son. Grief, tears, hopelessness
and despair did not leave her from the moment of the automobile catastrophe, which
occurred two years before Another example. A young person who has suffered two
heart attacks by the time he was 38 There is a theme that is practically forbidden in
layman medicine and psychology. That is the theme of death. Doctors prefer to remain
silent about death. Science is helpless here. Severely ill patients are consistently
comforted: "Everything will be fine," "Everything will be normal." And the person
dies in this lie. He dies unprepared, without repentance, without a spiritual will and
testament.
I have often seen the death of unbelieving persons. I remember one person well.
Horror and panic were on his face, he was full of the greatest anxiety. There are no
words that can describe the chilling fear of the soul in which he found himself. Even
the thought of death arouses despair in the atheist. For the Orthodox person, the

memory of their hour of death is an important factor in improving their life. From
childhood on, the Christian asks the Lord for a death without sin, peaceful, blameless,
and a good answer at the dread judgment seat of Christ. When one reads about the
death of the righteous and saints, the soul become filled with deep emotion and joy,
not with grief
Curative psychotherapeutic influence should, in my opinion, have a hierarchy of
goals: from the immediate (to calm, instill hope, remove symptoms of illness) to the
most important the internal growth and development, the conversion to enduring
values. In the opposite case, psychopractice can become a dangerous manipulator of
peoples souls or bring only a "cosmetic" effect.
I am deeply convinced that psychotherapy, when possible, should become a "bridge"
to faith in God. I truly rejoice when I see my former patients in church. If later on they
come to see me, it is only as guests, because in their souls they found the Almighty
Healer our Lord Jesus Christ.
I will share another example with you. For three years, I worked in the rehabilitation
unit of the cardiology clinic. I had to mentally rehabilitate those recovering from a
heart attack. The patients, who were mainly men of working age, could find no peace.
Their mood was depressed, there were often tears in their eyes. Others were
bewildered, were at a loss and did not believe this was happening to them. Of course,
at 45-50 years old, one has lots of plans, projects. And all of a sudden, a severe illness
strikes heart attack. The words alone causes people to shudder, goose bumps come
out.
As a doctor psychotherapist and psychiatrist, I was supposed to diagnose mental
anomalies and treat them, using medications and psychological influences, according
to instructions. Different researchers have determined, that even 6-12 months after the
heart attack, 90% of the patients are still depressed. The reason for the stubbornness of
depression, as observations showed, were united with the loss of the reason for living,
the destruction of hopes.
In becoming familiar in detail with literature about the mental rehabilitation of heart
attack victims, I noticed one tendency, which could be called a departure from reality,
smoothing over the sharp corners or distraction. Of course, it is important to calm
down, but then what? I asked myself these questions very often.
In the Center of Mental Health of the Russian AMN in May 1993 there was a
conference called "Mental disorders and cardiovascular pathology." I was a
participant. The theme of mental rehabilitation of heart attack victims was discussed

in the context of the question "quality of life." There were many presentations and
lectures on psychological rehabilitation.
The main philosophical thought of those speaking followed the following outline: live
worthily ail worthily die worthily. In addition, worthily was understood more as
consisting of societal way of life, but certainly not moral. There was not a single word
about spirituality, God, faith. The scholars, it seemed to me, tried to hide behind their
scientific terminology, to avoid answering to the main question: "What should be set
against illness?" This is precisely the question in which secular medicine and
psychology find themselves at a dead end. The way out is not simple, it can be found
in turning to Christ, in humility.
Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov) wrote: "Undoubtedly there exists a connection
between unbelief and so called education (in atheistic countries, editors comment).
But the matter is not in education, in our opinion, but in something else. In what,
precisely? In non-humility! Or, more simply, pride! At least, my opinion is such.
Education sets people apart from the masses, gives them an advantage, opinion of self
grows and with this comes pride. "Faith is humility," says St. Barsanuphius the
Great. But this is not the most important; an educated person begins to believe in
himself: in his mind, in his knowledge, not in God, not in Gods grace." There is
nothing more I need to add.
My mother, Galina Petrovna Avdeeva, has been the chairman of the clinic where I saw
patients for 14 years. She, as a religious person, tries to create a warm Christian
climate in the hospital in all ways possible. Under her direction, we worked out a
program to help the ill in the ambulatory wing. One of the main ideas of the program
was that a heart attack (or some other severe pathology) is an event, from which it
is necessary to extract something valuable for the future, turn the sufferings into
something meaningful and overcome the illness on the mental and spiritual levels.
With Gods help, we attempted a holistic approach to a person in the unity of all the
spheres of his existence: biological, social-psychological and spiritual. The slogan of
our program has become "Doctor and patient in search of meaning."
My spiritual director, Father Boris Zakirov, who is quite familiar with the questions of
psychology and philosophy, often came to our clinic. He met with the doctors,
familiarized himself with our plans, made many recommendations and blessed the
program "for the glory of God and for helping others." To willing patients, we began
to read the teachings of the holy fathers, particularly those, which touched on the
humble acceptance of illnesses for Christs sake. In my office, we listened to
fragments of Orthodox singing, met with priests. After I returned from the Holy Land,
we were given the blessing to rub ourselves with the votive oil from the Lords Tomb,
from the Tomb of the Most Holy Mother of God. To our great joy, the cardiology

clinic was 100 meters from the Church of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the
Temple. Some of the ill, when possible, attended services, prepared themselves for
confession and Holy Communion. And before being released home, they became truly
Orthodox. Glory to God, pouring mercy and generosity on us!
With particular attention, we, together with the ill and recovering, read the teachings
of S. Theophan the Recluse. How clearly, how precisely Bishop Theophan, the
beloved of God, speaks of illnesses, of their meaning for our life. I will gladly quote
the Saint: "Everything is from God: illnesses, and health, and everything, which is
from God, is given us for our salvation. Thus, should you accept your illness and
thank God for caring about your salvation. How that which God gives serves in
salvation, we do not need to seek, because we may never find out. Sometimes, God
sends one thing as punishment, as a penance; sometimes as a wake-up call, to bring a
person to ones senses; sometimes, to save one from a danger that would have
threatened the person if he were well; sometimes, so that the person would show
patience and thus earn a greater reward; sometimes, to purify the person of all
passions, and for other reasons You, when you remember your sins, say: "Glory to
Thee, O Lord, that You have given me penance for improvement!" When you
remember, that you have not always in the past remembered God, say: "Glory to Thee,
O Lord, that You are giving me a reason to remember You more often!" (Publication
1, letter 42, page 41).

Pastoral Psychiatry.

Among all the medical specializations one exists, which can be fully linked to
priesthood. Its name psychiatry. Probably it will not be an exaggeration to say, that
many priests during the years of their service met up with situations, at the
confessional or during other soul-caring, when their spiritual children revealed some
emotional or thinking disorder in their behavior. One can find cases of pastoral care
for the mentally ill that are in remission. And finally, there is a wide group of
borderline (between health and illness) of mental/neurological breaches, the
extensiveness of which is sufficiently great.
States of the soul exist, as pointed out by Archimandrite Cyprian (Orthodox Pastoral
Service, Paris, 1957) which are difficult to determine by the categories of moral
theology and which do not enter into the understanding of good and evil. These states
belong not to the ascetic order, but to the psychopathological, and develop from the
body, from nature.

In the past, students of the Theological Academy studied pastoral psychiatry. At the
present time this subject is not studied for organizational reasons related to its
teaching. But this question is being animatedly discussed and, one hopes, will be
decided for the better.
Pastoral psychiatry strives to delve into those spheres of spiritual life, which are not
qualified as sin, but are "akin" to it, or "nudge" the sick person to sin. For example,
anxiety (if this is a symptom) is not a sin, but can lead to severe consequences of the
sufferer. As a result of mental illness, the soul of the person becomes, in a way,
covered with a "veil of fog," which must dispersed. Such a soul, as correctly noted by
one priest, loses its way to the Lord. The will of person is weakened. Pastoral
recommendations are premature, because they cannot be accepted by the sick person
equally. Healing such illness purely through ascetic means are not justified. The help
of a psychiatrist would be appropriate. It is good if there is an Orthodox doctor in the
parish. In that case, the priest can use his help. Knowledge of psychiatry would also
help the priest. Psychiatry in these situations does not stand in opposition to
priesthood, but strives to enrich it with certain knowledge. The role of the priest is to
influence the one being nourished towards patience and humility, to pray for him. The
role of the doctor, hoping for Gods help, is to treat the spiritual disorders with
methods of modern medicine.
A psychiatrist-psychotherapist, acting on the will of the person, his reason and
emotions, helps overcome the illness or its consequences. He tries to remove the
pathological symptoms and syndromes from the central nervous system which, like
depression, alarm, asthenia, and others, arose not because of enemy temptation, but
because of biology and inheritance. After recovering (when possible) the person
returns to his usual state. He can soberly look at the life around him and at himself, go
to Gods church, pray, work for the benefit of the family and society. In the measure of
recovery of the sick, the "weight of the input" of psychiatric help will weaken, but the
spiritual, on the other hand, will grow.
Certainly, the aforementioned is just a sketch portraying the intricate region of
knowledge of pastoral psychiatry. As an illustration, I will present an example from a
book by a famous Russian psychiatrist and a deeply religious person, D.E.
Melichov, Psychiatry and the problem of spiritual life. The author, in one of the
chapters, describes Dostoevskys illness and the experience of his spiritual path.
"The illness of F.M. Dostoevsky is very telling for a priest, as an example of inborn
inherited epilepsy: the genius writer suffered from epilepsy from age 15. It was a
relatively bearable form of mixed epilepsy with rare seizures and equivalents, thanks
to which he kept his creative abilities to the end of his life, though he did suffer

significant memory loss. This illness was more severe in his student years, then again
during the trial, the death sentence, the years of exile and military service.
Making nave attempts to explain or infer the world views and creativity of writers or
social activists using an illness is a crude error. F. M. Dostoevsky was a genius author
"not thanks to, but in defiance of" the illness. Being an autobiographical author, he in
his creativity showed, in part, both the great variety and the contradictory expressions
and sufferings of unstable types of human individuals. At the same time, like a
believing person, the faith of whom "ran the gauntlet of doubts," he in his array of
heroes also reflected attempts to make sense of his illness, and the experience of his
battle with illness Prince Mishkin and Rogozhin in "The Idiot"; the clarity, humility
and faith of the Elder Zosima and the revolt of Ivan Karamazov; the clarity and purity
of Alesha Karamazov and the deep moral deformity ("infernality") of Fedor
Karamazov and Smerdiakov; the uncontrollable power of desires and fits of passion in
Dimitry, giving way to deep repentance, the thirst of redemption through the path of
suffering, and so on. He perceived himself as a captive of his fate and illness, and
battled with it. Duplicity, duality was the fate of not only his heroes, many of whom
perished in the battle with their double. He recognized duplicity in himself and to his
death summed up his experience of battling with it. But Dostoevsky to the very end
kept his creative powers, his critical view of his illness, his character and his deep
compassion for people. Duplicity was the tragedy of the ill genius and his heroes. But
he kept, as Strachov wrote about him, a "deep spiritual center, determining all the
contents of his mind and works," from which energy was emitted, enlivening and
transforming all his activity
From this example, one can succinctly summarize the relation of the religious ill
person himself to the expressions of the illness, and delineate the main paths of
behavior of the priest/soul caretaker with epileptics. One can underline two main
responsibilities of the priest in relation to the sick: 1) urge the ill person to medical
physicals and, when necessary to systematic treatment, and 2) help the ill person in
his fight with his illness, critically recognizing and overcoming his anomalies of
character and behavior.
The doctor-psychiatrist can treat the ill person in the periods of acute psychoses, help
reduce the number of attacks and seizures and, when possible, prevent their
reoccurrence. The role of the spiritual father is particularly important for the ill in the
periods between attacks, when they realize the tormenting contradictions of the polar
states of rise and fall, of sudden insight and great wrath, enlightenment and darkened
states, the polar states of the blessed desire for goodwill to the world and people and
the dark animosity, suspicion and moralizing teachings The behavior of the priest is
determined by the mutual task of pastors to help a person attain deep repentance, to
reinstate the correct spiritual sensation of life in the persons soul, the correct view of

their sin and their eternal human calling, which is subjected to such dramatic ordeals
in sick persons, when the duplicity is expressed maximally."

The Holy Fathers about passions and virtues.

He who has found the path to longsuffering and non-hatred, has found the path of life.
It is better to cut irritability short with a smile, than to fume unceasingly.
Irritability and rankling are the same as snake poison, because they distort the face,
and weaken the muscles, and cause the person to have insufficient strength to
perform; but meekness and love banish all this.
Be attentive to yourself, that you are not possessed by quick temper, irritability,
rankling, from which you will lead a fearful and unsettled life. But attain
magnanimity, meekness, kindness and everything that is proper for a Christian, in
order to lead a peaceful and serene life.
If you have ought against any, or any against you, make peace. If you do not do this,
anything that you bring to God will not be accepted (Mark 11:25, Matt. 5:23-24). If
you fulfill this commandment of the Lord, then you can pray to Him boldly, saying
"Lord, forgive me my debts, as I forgive my brothers, fulfilling Your commandment!
And the Lover of Mankind will answer: "If you have released him, I will release you:
if you have forgiven, I forgive your debts."
Do not think, that you alone carry more sorrows than anyone else. As no one living on
earth can avoid its air, thus a person, living in this world, cannot avoid being tempted
by sorrows and illnesses. He who is occupied with the earthly, will feel earthly
sorrow; he who strives for the spiritual, will suffer about the spiritual. But the latter
will be blessed, because their fruit is plentiful in the Lord.
God does not permit the soul hoping in Him and patient, to be tried in such measure
that it comes to despair, that is to fall into such temptations and sorrows, that it cannot
bear them (1 Cor. 10:13). And the evil one cannot tempt the soul and burden it with
sorrow as he will, but only as much as permitted by God. Let the soul only bear it
courageously, holding on to hope in faith and awaiting Gods help and hope; and it is
impossible for it to be abandoned.
Ven. Ephraim of Syria

Hatred comes for harboring ills, harboring ills from pride, pride from vanity,
vanity from lack of faith, lack of faith from hard-heartedness, hard-heartedness
from laxity, laxity from laziness, laziness from despondency, despondency
from impatience, impatience from conceit.
Prayer depends on love, love on joy, joy on meekness, meekness on humility,
humility on service, service on hope, hope on faith, faith on obedience,
obedience on simplicity.
Ven. Macarius the Great
We must consider sadness healthy for us only in the case when it results from
repentance for sins, or a fervent desire for perfection, or contemplation of future
blessings. The blessed Paul says the following concerning this: "For Godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world
worketh death" (2 Cor. 7:10).
There is also another type of sorrow that is indecent, that fills the sinning soul not
with the intention of correcting ones life and purifiyng itself from passions, but with
ruinous despair. This is what did not permit Cain to repent after murdering his brother,
and did not let Judas seek ways of assuagement after his treason, but led him, through
instilled despair, to hang himself.
Ven. John Cassian
The one who observes moderation does not sorrow that he did not get food, the
virtuous, that he did not perform shameful indecencies, the tranquil, that he did not get
revenge, the wisely meek, that he is deprived of worldly honors, the unselfish, that he
suffered a loss. They have completely doused in themselves such desires and
therefore do not feel sorrow; because the passionless are not hurt by sorrow, as one in
armor is not pierced by arrows.
Sorrow comes from that which is revolting (disasters, sorrows, disappointments);
from sorrow also comes a gloomy frame of mind (as is said: he is out of sorts, in a bad
mood); and from both comes senseless abuse (griping at everyone).
If you want to suppress sorrow with a gloomy frame of mind, then embrace goodnaturedness and array yourself in joy without anger.
St. Nil of Sinai

Anger is the memory of hidden hatred, in other words, harboring ills. Anger is the
desire to do evil to the offending one. Quick-temperedness (biliousness) is the sudden
inflammation of the heart. Disappointment is an unpleasant (annoying) feeling that
settles in the soul. Rage is the defeat of good mood and the disgrace of the soul.
Anger, like the quick motion of a millstone, can grind down and destroy spiritual
wheat and fruit in one moment more that anything else can do in a whole day.
Therefore, one must carefully pay attention to oneself. It, like a flame fanned by
strong winds, burns and destroys the spiritual field faster than a slow fire.
As darkness disappears with the appearance of light, so does all sadness and anger
disappear from the fragrance of humility.
Ven. John of the Ladder
When someone is either good to us, or we bear evil from someone, we must look to
the hills and thank God for everything that is happening to us, always reproaching
ourselves and saying, as the fathers said, that if something good happens to us, then
this is Gods Providence, but if bad, then it is because of our sins, because truly
everything which we have to bear, we bear because of our sins. The saints, if they
suffer, suffer for Gods name, or in order that their virtues be revealed for the sake of
many others, or that their crowns and rewards from God be increased.
Ven. Abba Dorotheus
The Lord supplements the lack of good deeds with either illnesses or sorrows.
St. Demetrius of Rostov.

When, for example, the sick person plans to bear his illness in good spirits, and does
so, the enemy, knowing that in this manner he will become entrenched in the virtue of
patience, sets about disrupting his good will. At first, he makes the person think of all
the good deeds that he could be doing if he was in another circumstance, and tries to
convince him that, were he healthy, how well he would work for God and what
benefits he would bring to himself and others: he would go to church, lead
discussions, would read and write to help others and so on.
Noticing that such thoughts are beginning to be admitted, the enemy repeats them
more often, multiplies them and paints them brighter, leads them towards feelings,
calls out desires and efforts to such deeds, portraying how well these or other feelings
would go, and encouraging pity, that he is tied hands and feet by illness.

Little by little, repeating such thoughts and movements in the soul often, the desire
changes to discontent and vexation. The former good will in this manner is disturbed,
and the illness is no longer accepted as medicine from God and a field for the virtue of
patience, but like something not belonging to the act of salvation, and the desire to
free oneself from it becomes uncontrollable, still seeing freedom from illness as
freedom to do good deeds and to please the God of all beings.
When the person has come down to this, the enemy steals this good reason for the
desire to be well from his mind and heart, and, leaving only the desire for health for
healths sake, forces the ill person to look upon the illness with vexation, not as a
barrier to good, but as something which is hostile by itself. From this stems
impatience, which cannot be healed by good thoughts, deprives of strength, turns into
complaints and deprives the ill person of the former peace from good-spirited
patience. And the enemy rejoices, that he has managed to disrupt it.
In the same exact manner, the enemy disrupts the poor man, patiently bearing his fate,
painting for him what great deeds he would perform were he rich.
It is easy to get rid of these temptations, if he who has an experienced director,
counselor and person to talk to, follows his directions with humble submissiveness.
But he who is deprived for some reason of such a blessing, let him be attentive to
himself and strictly learn to distinguish the good from the bad from the fundamentals
of Christianity, on which all our lives should be based. If events, disturbing (as it
appears to us) our abilities to widen our scope of good deeds, are sent by God, then
accept them with submission and do not listen to any suggestions, swaying you from
such submission. In sending such an event, God does not expect anything from you,
except that you keep yourself and act as the illness demands and permits.
Ill or poor, be patient. God does not demand anything from you besides patience. By
bearing it well, you will be doing a good deed unceasingly. No matter when God will
look at you, He will see that you are doing good, or exist in good, if you bear the
condition well, while a healthy person does good intermittently. Why, by desiring a
change in your state, do you wish to change the better for the worse?
Ven. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
God does not permit temptations to exceed our powers. The master lightly strikes the
crystal or glass vessel, so as not to break it, but he hits the silver or bronze hard; thus
the weak are given light, and the strong are given the heaviest temptations.
Anger turns into hatred and rankling, when it is kept long and fed in the heart. For this
reason we are ordered to cut it out fast, so that it does not grow into hatred and malice,

and so that greater evil will not be added to evil. "Let not the sun go down upon your
wrath: neither give place to the devil," says the apostle (Eph. 4:26-27).
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
One must try at all cost to keep spiritual peace and not be disturbed by insults, but
bear them with equanimity, as if they do not relate to you. Such an exercise will give
our heart peace and make it a dwelling for the Holy Spirit.
If you only knew, what joy awaits the righteous soul in the heavens, you would decide
to bear all sorrows, persecutions and slander with thanksgiving.
If this very cell were full of worms and if they would be eating our body all of our
temporary life, you should agree to this with complete desire, in order to not deprive
yourself of that heavenly joy, which God has prepared for those who love Him.
Ven. Seraphim of Sarov
When the mind submits to God, then the heart submits to the mind. This is what
humility consists of. What is humility? Humility is the meek devotion to God,
united with faith, blessed by Godly grace.
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
Punishment by itself does not heal a person of his sinfulness; a person can suffer
greatly, but if these sufferings that are sent him as a test will arouse anger and
bitterness in him, if he will not humble himself and bear them patiently, with
submission, thanking God for the granted single true means capable of leading to the
blessed residences, but will arouse in himself anger, irritability, hatred toward
everyone around him, saying words of despair, and maybe even curses, toward the
reasons which caused these sufferings, then he will only be increasing his sunfulness,
adding to the old, not yet repented through these sufferings sins, one of the very worst
sins opposition to His holy will.
Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow
Immeasurable grief over sins, reaching the point of despair, is denounced in the
teachings of the holy fathers. This grief should be dissolved with hope on the mercy of
God: one should grieve and hope at the same time. Grieve, because we anger God
with our sins, distance ourselves from God. Hope, because we have an All-powerful
Doctor for our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ, spilling His blood for us.

In order not to give way to irritability and anger, one must not rush.
Ven. Ambrose of Optina
Where is the true ideal, encompassing all human nature in its fullness and in its neverending development, close to all and accessible to all, easily experienced, giving the
weak less, the strong great, worthily gracious, attracting everyone and satisfying all?
There is only one such ideal that is the Christian God: be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect
Try to show a person the greatest demand of nature, which could not be satisfied in
Him; imagine the highest perfection, in which He would not be found. He is the very
reality, love, good, purity, truth, unselfishness, self-denial, industriousness, patience,
courage but who can number all of His perfections? Does He not fit into the spirit
of our time because there are no passions in Him, with which we can justify ourselves,
and He does not indulge us in them, "because He had done no violence, neither was
any deceit in his mouth" (Is. 53:9).
Christian parents bring their children to Him, stand them before Him in that holy
school, which is called the Church. Here upbringing is pursued according to all the
laws of human development.
First through the senses by impressions. As a person recognizes and begins to love
the beauty of nature in its general features before any learning, by becoming familiar
with it through simple contemplation and childhood experiences, so in the Church the
first notions of God, the earliest and more important in the persons life, come through
the contemplation of images, actions, symbols pointing to the spiritual world.
The mother, the object of all the love and tenderness of the child, stands with a
reverent expression and prays before the Saviours icon; the child looks at her, then
the image and does not require long explanations of what it means. This is the first,
silent lesson of the Knowledge of God.
The child in church: the beauty of the church, the lighting, the bright vestments of the
priesthood, the singing and silence of those standing and praying while facing the
sanctuary, the holy activities, the lack of everyday objects, the forbidding of irreverent
movements, the demand for attention to something higher, special these are lessons
of reverence before God, which cannot be replaced by any fancy speech of a religious
teacher.
In these lessons, one cannot notice the moment at which the children begin to
understand what is being read or sung in the church; we only know that we loved our

Saviour long before the lessons in the Law of God, because we often heard readings
about Him, prayed to Him often, kissed His Gospel, cried about Him when the Gospel
of His Passions were read, and rejoiced with all our hearts, celebrating His Bright
Resurrection.
This abundance of blessed influences and the very grace of God is what parents
deprive their children of by not taking them to church to receive Holy Communion
and not taking them to church from infancy, for the empty reason that the child
doesnt understand anything as if only an analyzing wisdom is the guide of all
influences acting on the development of a person! Here, especially, is where religious
feeling is instilled, the main engine of spiritual life. The loss of this time and this
method of developing the heart is a loss that is irreparable. Later, the child will
assimilate even abstract notions, and will begin to repeat lessons, but the heart, which
is already occupied by other influences and tendencies, will be dull and deaf to
spiritual impressions.
Archbishop Ambrose (Kliucharev)

A person, subject to irritability and breathing anger, very clearly feels the presence of
an evil, enemy power in his chest; in the soul it produces the very opposite of that
which the Saviour says of His Presence: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden in
light" (Matt. 11:30). In that presence, one feels horrible bad and heavy both
spiritually and physically.
Righteous St. John of Kronstadt
Do not complain, child, do not, if the Lord had forgotten you or was not merciful to
you, you would not be alive; you just dont see His mercies, because you want your
own and pray for your own, but the Lord knows what is better and healthier for you.
Always pray, of course, for deliverance from grief and from your sins, but at the end
of your prayers always add, saying to the Lord: "Still, Lord, let Thy will be done."
Elder Alexis of Zosima
The amount of suffering that the soul can accommodate is also how much it can
accommodate the grace of God.
Elder Alexander of Gethsemane
In healing the sick, the Lord usually adds: "Your sins are forgiven you." We can infer
from this, that the majority of illnesses are sent as punishment for sins. For this

reason, when we are struck by illness, we should not grieve, but rejoice, because they
redeem our sins.
If the person realizes that everything in his life is done by the will of God, and never
forgets that, then he bears all the disappointments and vicissitudes of life easily,
understanding that everything is sent by the Lord for his benefit or for the redemption
of sins, and is therefore always calm and happy.
Archbishop Alexander (Tolstopiatov)

Bear insults, reproaches, unfairness, bear each others burdens, desiring by this to
supplement the insufficiency of spiritual work, one must consider oneself deserving of
all insults and troubles ("we receive what is due us").
You know that at the end of time people will earn salvation through sorrows. Are we
excluded from this law? Not for nothing did the holy fathers suggest remembering
death more often (many times daily), about the Judgment, about the necessity of
answering to God for every word, deed, thought, for trickery, for attachment to the
world, for vanity, for all which is secret, known only to the Lord and our conscience.
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)