Is spirituality suited for me ?

[Majed]

I have ocd and bipolar type 1, as well as a predisposition to developing schizophrenia. I was wondering if deep spiritual work is suited for me since i have these conditions, obviously psychedelics are a big no, because they present too high of a risk for mania and psychosis. 

But even meditation retreats as well as existential contemplations carry significant risks. 

I have suffered so much, to a degree beyond reason or comprehension because of these conditions, before and during early treatment. 

Now that i'm looking back i think that deep meditations and contemplations could have triggered the manifestation of these conditions in me although i certainly had genetic and biochemical predispositions. 

I think i might drop spirituality and just live a simple life. 

[Jirh]

..

Edited August 6 by Jirh

[ChrisZoZo]

@Majed It is hard to suggest what spirituality to you it just seem you are fear based about anything spirituality. If you feel like you wouldn’t be fear based about channelling material. Maybe you can look into that. 

Meditation itself is just focusing on the breath. If you apply negative connotations to it, it can create negative outcomes. 

For some reason I feel like suggesting to you to pray towards being that you feel like would be  very loving, caring and healing. For example of Jesus Christ who you can summon by calling him his actual name Jeshua. 

Mabye look up a names of angels and choose what you seem is best. From this, you can then ask the angel to turn your meditation into a positive outcome and it will be so if you feel into the positivity. 

[Yimpa]

Work on your survival if your conditions are severely distracting you. Ignoring them or saying “it’s just in your mind”, is stupid.

Yes, it’s in your mind, but that’s your cue to explore what and how it works. Not to dismiss it as something other than your own mind!

Edited August 7 by Yimpa

[Leo Gura]

We can't really tell you. You have to figure that out for yourself through trial and error.

Try stuff and see if it helps or hurts.

Edited August 7 by Leo Gura

[Jordan of the Shire]

On 8/6/2026 at 3:50 PM, Majed said:

I have ocd and bipolar type 1, as well as a predisposition to developing schizophrenia. I was wondering if deep spiritual work is suited for me since i have these conditions, obviously psychedelics are a big no, because they present too high of a risk for mania and psychosis. 

But even meditation retreats as well as existential contemplations carry significant risks. 

I have suffered so much, to a degree beyond reason or comprehension because of these conditions, before and during early treatment. 

Now that i'm looking back i think that deep meditations and contemplations could have triggered the manifestation of these conditions in me although i certainly had genetic and biochemical predispositions. 

I think i might drop spirituality and just live a simple life. 

Spirituality is the experience of being at peace with yourself to greater and greater degrees. So if you try it simply, it can be good.

Simple is safe. The issue with mindfulness is that it awakens mindfulness of all the crap, as well as the good. It can be a progressive cycle because the attention empowers what it is focused on. When the right qualities of mind haven't been trained into attention by an experienced teacher or guide, it can lead one to problems. Because the mind is not the attention. They are different things, and at first, it is not easy to see this. Even when you can it is like blips at first. So having a teacher for this kind of thing is really helpful. (A real teacher, not your community hippy haha, nothing against them but we want safe)

In my experience, Damo Mitchell would be a good person to ask this question to, you can find him on instagram. He is very knowledgeable on this. He's trained since he was 4, and has a lifetime of experience, and has taught both chinese medicine, meditation, and more.

Another channel that might be good is the youtube channel Meditation Steps. I found them to be cool and wise about what they do

Llike Leo said, and this rings true for me too, we need to figure it out for ourselves through knowing thyself - and you're already doing that so good for you. I've found that the way I practice is different than anyone else because I know my character, my weaknesses and strengths. By knowing yours you can use wisdom to choose the right path.

Going from yin, extreme yin, to yang, to extreme yang, and then back to yin, is the almost endless path to find balance. It's okay that you stepped into meditation and perhaps had a negative outcome.
 

 To find that medium. Sometimes we need to step away for awhile and focus on the normal stuff, like you've said, live a simple life. Healthy body, balanced diet, purpose in life, then when we are more stable, come back, lightly, and do some more work. It is difficult to do spirituality if things are a mess in life, and in mind. Sounds like a contradiction, like spirituality is supposed to help with those things. It does, but at the same time, it is very hampered by a chaotic life.

 Grounded spirituality is where it's at. Health, wealth, quality relationships, kindness in speech and action, strong body, light mind. It's when we start to think about all the esoteric metaphysics that we can get kind of airy fairy and start to get lost in rabbit holes. It's a fine line

Edited 10 hours ago by Jordan of the Shire

[Joseph Maynor]

Someone is going to tell you whether spirituality is suited to you?  You need so see this.  

[Ziran]

On 8/6/2026 at 3:50 PM, Majed said:

I was wondering if deep spiritual work is suited for me since i have these conditions

My vote?  Everyone is suited for spiritual work, because, everyone is a union of material and spiritual.  And.  Spiritual work happens naturally as individuals develop.  That's why old folks tend to be smart and laid back.  Even reading a good book is spiritual work, when the reader becomes immersed in the author's work.

On 8/6/2026 at 3:50 PM, Majed said:

I have ocd and bipolar type 1, as well as a predisposition to developing schizophrenia.

How does the schizophrenia present?  For the others, You may be in a better position than most, because you're necessarily going to need to stay grounded.  Most folks don't focus well on both their physical needs and their spiritual aspirations.  With these conditions you are forced to become excellent at self-care.

You already know this, but:  sleep, exercise, and nutrition are super important for you.

On 8/6/2026 at 3:50 PM, Majed said:

Now that i'm looking back i think that deep meditations and contemplations could have triggered the manifestation of these conditions in me although i certainly had genetic and biochemical predispositions. 

Heard.

On 8/6/2026 at 3:50 PM, Majed said:

I think i might drop spirituality and just live a simple life. 

I have not seen anyone completely walk away without coming back to it.  "You can't put toothpaste back into the tube."

[Ziran]

On 8/6/2026 at 4:50 PM, ChrisZoZo said:

Mabye look up a names of angels and choose what you seem is best.

Respectfully, this is a fool's errand.

On 8/6/2026 at 4:50 PM, ChrisZoZo said:

I feel like suggesting to you to pray towards being that you feel like would be  very loving, caring and healing. For example of Jesus Christ who you can summon by calling him his actual name Jeshua. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2754306/

"A more external locus of control is related to fewer periods of recovery, to both depressed mood and psychosis, and to various aspects of personality."