Mental Health: A Guide for the "In-Between"
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis or feel you are a danger to yourself or others, please call emergency services or 988 immediately.
From Julia’s Journal:
"I remember sitting in a doctor's office, terrified to open up. Even after my Near-Death Experience (NDE), I hid the depth of what I had seen because I feared they would label me as 'brain damaged'—even though I had been having these experiences my whole life. There is a deep fear when talking to science-rooted people that we will be misunderstood.
But I also knew I needed to stay anchored. I hired a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT) who I saw weekly. My goal wasn't to stop the spiritual experiences, but to integrate them. We worked on skills that allowed my spirituality and my mental health to thrive together. It is my hope that one day, skeptics and believers can sit down and talk as friends, without fear of judgment."
The Big Question: Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening?
This is the question that keeps many of us up at night. If you are seeing signs, feeling energies, or having premonitions, how do you know you are safe? Many people search for the difference between sleep paralysis vs spiritual experience or ask, "Is intuition the same as anxiety?"
In the field of Transpersonal Psychology, there is a crucial distinction between a mental health crisis (like psychosis) and what Dr. Stanislav Grof coined a "Spiritual Emergency."
For a long time, there was a rigid line in the sand. If you told a doctor you heard a voice or felt a "presence," you were medicated. If you told a priest, you were blessed. But for those of us looking for rational explanations for the unexplained, the truth—and the healing—is often somewhere in the middle.
Modern psychiatry is finally catching up to what many of us have felt for years. It’s called the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model.
This isn't "woo-woo"; it is the gold standard of holistic health. It recognizes that you cannot treat a human being by only looking at their biology (brain chemicals) or psychology (thoughts). You must also look at the neuroscience of spiritual experiences and their deep need for meaning, purpose, and connection.
A major meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (Captari et al., 2018) reviewed 97 studies and found that Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy was just as effective for psychological symptoms as regular therapy, but significantly more effective for improving a person’s sense of meaning and spiritual well-being.
The Bridge Between Two Worlds
The Distinction
Psychosis is often characterized by contraction and chaos. The voices can be threatening, confusing, or nonsensical. Crucially, a person in psychosis often loses the ability to function—relationships suffer, hygiene slips, and work becomes impossible.
Spiritual Awakening Stages are characterized by expansion. While it can feel intense—often described as a Dark Night of the Soul—the changes are ultimately positive. You feel lighter, more peaceful, and more connected to authenticity.
Dr. Grof argues that a "Spiritual Emergency" is not a disease to be suppressed, but a "Crisis of Transformation"—the psyche trying to reorganize itself at a higher level.
A Note from Quiet All Along:
Note: If you are hearing voices that command you to harm yourself or others, or if you have completely lost touch with physical reality, this is a medical emergency. Please seek professional care immediately.
"In my book (a memoir about skepticism and faith), I explore the difference between a breakdown and a breakthrough. For me, the 'symptoms' were inverted compared to a mental health crisis. Instead of my life falling apart, I became more authentic. I solved anger issues that had plagued me for years. I improved my situation at work. I wrote a book.
My experiences, while intense, were filled with serenity, love, and acceptance. That is the litmus test: Does this experience move you closer to love and function, or into fear and isolation? We come into this world to awaken to the spiritual, but this physical life is a precious gift that must be cherished. We must remain functional enough to enjoy it."
Tools for the Anxious Spirit
Cognitive Grounding: The "Reality Check"
When high-strung spiritual experiences occur, it is easy to lose track of time and space. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy encourages us to manually re-engage the logical brain. This is essentially mindfulness for skeptics.
The Technique: When things feel too intense, run a literal "System Check." Ask yourself: What day is it? What time is it? What is my current physical task? Answering these mundane questions forces your brain to pivot from the "astral" back to the "physical."
When the spiritual world feels too loud, we don't need to "close down"—we need to "ground down." Here are two evidence-based tools that bridge the gap between analytical spirituality and science.
Somatic Healing for Trauma: Scent and Taste
Trauma and spiritual anxiety live in the nervous system. Sometimes, you can't "think" your way calm; you have to "sense" your way there. This is supported by trauma research, including the work of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score). These are vital grounding techniques for anxiety.
Julia's Tip
"I have a few go-to methods for snapping back into my body.
Scent: I keep essential oils for meditation or anointing oil nearby at all times. Dabbing a little on my pressure points or upper lip allows me to inhale the scent. I can literally feel my muscles relax as the smell hits my senses.
Taste: I like to keep fresh fruit around—a cold grape is perfect for this. Popping one in my mouth engages the sense of taste and temperature instantly. It reminds the body: I am here. I am eating. I am safe."
Finding a "Safe" Therapist
If you want to talk to a professional but are afraid of being judged for your beliefs, you need to know what to look for. "Therapy" isn't just one thing. Look for providers who specialize in these modalities to help with spiritual burnout recovery or healing the inner child:
Jungian Analysis: Based on Carl Jung, this modality loves dreams, archetypes, and the "collective unconscious." You will never be called crazy for sharing a vivid dream here.
Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy (SIP): Therapists trained to explicitly welcome your spiritual beliefs into the healing process.
Recommended Resources
ACISTE: The Association for Clinical Interaction with Spiritually Transformative Experiences. They verify professionals who know how to handle everything from Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) to mediumship.
These are the best books for spiritual seekers that helped me bridge the gap between my skepticism and my experiences.
"The Stormy Search for the Self" by Stanislav Grof & Christina Grof
The essential guide to understanding Spiritual Emergency.
"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk
If you feel spiritual 'energy' physically, this book explains the science of how trauma and experience live in the body. Essential for somatic healing.
"Man and His Symbols" by Carl Jung
The best introduction to the idea that your dreams and visions have deep, psychological meaning.