Religious fervor

This is my first post in here and I really don't want to start a flame fest, but I had an experience yesterday that got me to thinking.

I met a woman...a new neighbor... who has a "ministry" along with her husband and kids. I think they are paid to go to places and preach or something. She was a nice lady, average looking, no pink hair or anything...BUT she had the most manic affect I have ever seen in my life. And bipolar disorder runs in my family and I've seen pathological mania before. This lady covered all the talking points in about three minutes flat. I heard about the gay people she has "cured" and about what the Bible says about the end times, yada, yada, yada. And this was within seconds of shaking hands. I am not a reticent person in conversation and I said virtually nothing..I couldn't! I literally could not get a word in edgewise. She was a ball of energy, constantly moving. I felt like a slug next to her. I thought to myself, wow..that kind of energy and that level of fundamentalism...DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

I don't encounter many (any, really) fundamentalists in my life and I'm wondering. At this level, is it a mental disorder? I was really disturbed by this encounter.

Your thoughts?

couldn't you walk away? I definitely would have started backing up right around the "end times" part.

conversation! I ended it by putting out my hand, shaking hers again and telling her I had to use the bathroom!

Same deal, not a conversation by a continous rant based on fear (damnation) and emotional blackmail (died for sins). I told her the only reason she was still talking to me was that I was too fat to run away.

is a mental disorder. These people are "on a mission from God" and nothing will penetrate that belief.

The fundamentalist fervor added to the manic personality.
The fundy drive to impart their way of life is problematic enough.
Many a manic-depressive person operates in life without creating a particular danger to others.
The combination, though, is both weird and scary.

Welcome to DU, BTW, from another relative newbie.

was my feeling as well. I thought about it all night, tossing and turning. That level of energy could do a lot of damage. I have things in my life I feel strongly about, but I don't have enough steam to bulldoze my way into other folks' lives.

the Jesus cure instead of getting medical help so the illness continues unchecked until they do harm either to themselves or others.

self-medication? I've seen a lot of self-medication in my life. I can see the parallell.

Even the more level headed evangelicals make my head explode. They live in an alternate reality from me and trying to breach the chasm is impossible. No matter what you say, you won't be able to reign them back to earth. They hear a voice in their heads and they are certain it is God speaking.

...or maybe she's all cranked up on meth. I hear that's becoming the preacher's drug of choice.

Good luck in your future encounters with her. Remain strong in your sanity! :thumbsup:

but then I thought...nah...a preacher. But if you were convinced the drug helped you preach?

What are some signs of a person on meth? Other than mania, that is. Dilated eyes? She was wearing sunglasses so I didn't notice that. And it was a very cloudy afternoon, almost dusk. Hmmm.

Is that in all future conversations with her, end everything you say with, "In accordance with the prophecy."

I'll be ordering pizza tonight... in accordance with the prophecy.

TlalocW

I suspect you will find more with that level of fervor in the travelling evengalist camps. Such is their zeal that they often burn out their welcome in any single location.

While not necissarily a neurological disorder such mania can be socially inappropriate and the result of obsession. But due to the closed social circle such people find themself in they become more and more removed from the rest of society and their behaviour becomes the norm within their isolated social group.

and she is a traveling evangelist, hadn't been home in months, she said.

Now all hell will break out.
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