In this part of the series, "Navigating Mental Health: From New Age to Catholicism", Noelle describes how her mental health was influenced by New Age and occult practices.
Read the foundational article: Navigating Mental Health: From New Age to Catholicism
Adolescence and Identity Crisis
According to the WHO, one in seven (14%) of adolescents aged 10–19 are estimated to experience mental health conditions, yet these often go unrecognized and untreated.
Most common are emotional disorders, and within that category, the most prevalent ones are anxiety disorders.
I am sure I was one in seven, suffering quietly from depression and anxiety.
On top of that, I felt a sense of not belonging and being different than anybody else, not fitting into society. And I avoided to fit in.
I did not know who I was, or who I wanted to be, the only aspect of my identity I was sure about was being the complete opposite of the expected, always out of the norm.
After the years passed and my worldview influenced by the New Age movement was slowly formed, I felt like I belonged there. I found that many others within that community were suffering from similar mental symptoms. However, they labeled them differently.
Now I got called an "empath", an "old soul".
The terms "empath" or "old soul" referred to most of the people within that community. All claimed to be extremely aware of the emotions of others, that they could "sense" their emotions.
I was no longer suffering under my own emotions but instead under the emotions of others as well, which I seemed to pick up and with it the suffering of the whole world.
I was no longer different- but special, elevating myself above humanity.
I was no longer different- but special, elevating myself above humanity.
This was the first big shift in my worldview, the first step in bypassing any negative emotions and real mental health struggles.
Navigating Mental Health in the New Age: Suppressing Yet Idolizing Emotions
To understand this part of my journey I want to start by defining emotions within many New Age Communities in opposition to a Catholic worldview.
Aspect | New Age Worldview | Catholic Worldview |
Nature of Emotions | Emotions are seen as vibrations or energy that affect reality | Emotions are natural parts of human life, tied to the mind, intellect, and will |
Emotional Imbalance | Signals areas requiring healing through occult practices | Emotions like anger or fear can signal moral or spiritual threats but need guidance through reason |
Purpose of Emotions | Emotions help in manifesting and evolving toward higher consciousness | Emotions, when properly ordered by reason and virtue, help one grow closer to God and others |
Emotions and Knowledge | Emotions are seen as intuitive messages from the soul, guiding toward hidden truths | Emotions are natural and should be aligned with intellect and God’s law through prayer and the sacraments. |
Love | Love is seen as the highest vibration, essential for unity with the Source or the universe | Love is a self-sacrificial act of will, seeking the good of others, rooted in God’s command to love |
Negative Emotions | Negative emotions are seen as disruptions in energy flow, which can be corrected through occult practices | Negative emotions like anger or envy can lead to sin if not controlled through prayer and virtue |
In summary, the New Age idolizes emotions, it is sensation-based. Whereas as Catholics we are called to order emotions according to reason.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Jeremiah 17:9, NIV
Outside of my belief system, I did not believe in anything the world had to offer regarding any mental health practices or even seeing a clinician. I held the belief that I was above them, that their frequency was too low, and that they would not be able to keep up with me as a "soul on the path of enlightenment".
The "self-therapy" I chose, which many within the New Age movement suggested and marketed, was mainly a combination of manifestation (Law of Attraction) and seeking occult knowledge through various occult practices, to find out what trauma exactly I needed to heal.
The way I would deal with negative emotions was clearly bypassing and training myself to dissociate from them. When I had negative emotions, I would simply choose to be in a higher vibration instead, flee into a meditative state to numb me. I kept myself trapped in this endless healing loop of the occult by actively suppressing my emotions, which makes mental health issues way worse.
If any negative emotion would come more often or get worse, I would seek occult knowledge to find out what my soul wanted me to know.
Like many others I was surrounded by, I held the belief, that my soul needed healing from trauma that I could not even remember because
I was either too young to have any memory of it- even still being in my mother's womb
it must have been trauma from my past lives or
even within my generational lineage.
Whatever trauma I thought I needed to heal, I was convinced was the cause of my mental health issues in the present. I was neglecting any other factors that can contribute to mental health struggles, nor taking any accountability for my decisions and life circumstances.
Shift of Worldview- From Love and Light to Suicidal Tendencies
After many attempts to fully heal, I thought there must be something else. Since I already did all the work, there must be another reason for my suffering, that seemed to stay no matter how hard I tried.
At that point, frequent nightmares, anxiety, hypervigilance, and severe distress when being surrounded by other people, were my normal.
New answers were found within another community and conspiracy theories were added to the equation. In their understanding, the world was controlled by a secret world elite, formed by evil humans on earth, who were also either influenced by dark entities or dark entities themselves, pretending to be humans.
We were convinced they worked together to suppress the world's frequency- the high frequency I wanted to achieve so urgently.
Now my mental health issues had a new cause. I was not only trying to heal from trauma, now I was trying to fight against dark entities on top. They were also the answer to why I could not maintain that emotional "high state".
This of course led me into more occult practices to learn how to protect myself or to remove any entities that would attach to me.
Through the pregnancy with my second child, I slowly dropped most of the beliefs I had, and with it, the hope and (false) light were gone as well.
The hope I once had to be fully healed and climb up the karmic wheel to finally be free was gone. Looking back It was almost like the demons I was engaged with through many occult practices, were now showing their true colors- pure darkness.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
The shiny deception was gone, and most of the conspiracy worldview was still present.
I got paranoid and very depressed. The fight against this darkness the world seemed to deal with had no light. Nobody was there to come and get me, to save our planet. It felt like an eternal entrapment.
I was so far gone, living so far from reality, that I figured the only way I could escape the earth, was to commit suicide, but did not want to leave my family behind.
For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost
Luke 19:10
Stay tuned for part two of the Series "Navigating Mental Health: From New Age to Catholocism".
ABOUT NOELLE KAISER
Noelle Kaiser, Blog Manager of Spirit Sanctified, is dedicated to helping Christians navigate mental health challenges, particularly those emerging from New Age deception and spiritual bondage. Having been delivered from occult practices through a powerful encounter with God during the unassisted home birth of her second son, Noelle experienced the grace and sovereignty of Christ. This life-changing moment sparked her passion for educating women on biblical perspectives of fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth, areas in which she was once misled.
As a wife, mother of three, native German, and prayer warrior, Noelle is also passionate about studying and writing about the saints and church history, sharing hope and encouragement with those seeking deliverance and healing in Christ.
ABOUT SPIRIT SANCTIFIED
Spirit Sanctified educates Christians on spiritual warfare through multi-media productions and products. We comprise advocates and creators who work together to help Christians stand against occult worldviews by purifying their beliefs and practices.
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