Some Religious and Spiritual Experiences Associated with Depression Resemble Hypomania/Mania

Some religious and spiritual experiences (RSEs) that occur alongside depression resemble hypomania or mania. Analysis of 249 first-person reports shows that certain RSEs following depression involve long-lasting positive emotions, cognitive clarity, and a perception that the environment is filled with extra positive qualities like love, beauty, and light, lasting days to weeks. These states are not always preceded by hallucinations. Some such experiences reportedly eliminate depression or prevent its return, while others are linked to mental health and social problems. Features like unconditional love and acceptance may contribute to better outcomes, suggesting that religious and spiritual traditions function partly like psychotherapeutic traditions to promote well-being.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper explores whether some religious and spiritual experiences (RSEs) associated with depression resemble hypomania/mania. Content analysis and phenomenological analysis were used to characterize first-person RSE reports associated with depression (N = 249). Findings reveal that some RSEs that follow depression are characterized by long-duration states (lasting days to weeks) of positive emotion, cognitive clarity, and a sense that the external environment is imbued with extra positive emotional and perceptual qualities (e.g., love, beauty, light, vividness). These long-duration positive states are not always preceded by discrete visionary or hallucinatory phenomena, suggesting that hypomanic/manic-like experiences, in addition to psychotic-like experiences, bear relevance to the study of RSEs. Some RSEs that resemble hypomania reportedly annihilate depression or prevent its recurrence. Other reports of recurrent RSEs associated with depression refer to mental health and social problems. Relational features of certain RSEs, such as experiences of unconditional love, acceptance, and support, may relate to better outcomes associated with RSEs relative to typical psychopathological experiences. This interpretation is consistent with the idea that RS traditions function in part, like psychotherapeutic traditions, to promote mental well-being and to protect against psychosocial dysfunction.