Religious Beliefs and Indeterminate Boundaries of Psychiatry

Abstract Defining normalcy in psychiatry is difficult. It depends on numerous factors such as social and cultural and may even vary for the same individual at different points in time. The dilemma arises when the behavior of person changes, but could not be classified as a disorder. Here, we describe the case of a young male, who became excessively inclined to religion. He presented with social withdrawal and frequent absenteeism from college. No clear affective or psychotic symptoms could be elicited. In consequent visits, he mentioned a recent interest in watching videos of religious leaders to understand “Allah” better. He started reading Quraan and following practices, unlike earlier. No psychiatric diagnosis could be made, thus appeared the issue of management. An eclectic model of therapy was used, with some success. To conclude, psychiatry is an enigmatic branch with obscure boundaries and gray areas. The involvement of religion is one such instance, which makes diagnosis and management challenging for the therapist. There is a need for adequate training pertaining to cultural knowledge and religious or spiritual context to psychiatry trainees, helping to attain confidence in better handling such issues.