Spiritual Distress
When faith feels distant, doubt feels overwhelming, or God feels silent.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don't answer; in the night season, and am not silent.”— Psalm 22:1–2 (World English Bible)
If you are in a season where faith feels hollow, God feels absent, or the beliefs that once anchored you now feel uncertain — you are in ancient and honest company.
Spiritual distress — sometimes called a 'dark night of the soul' — is recognized in both theological tradition and clinical psychology as a profound and legitimate form of suffering. The APA acknowledges that religious and spiritual struggles are associated with significant psychological distress and deserve compassionate, non-dismissive support. Doubt is not the opposite of faith — many of the most revered figures in Scripture cried out in confusion, anger, and abandonment. Your questions do not disqualify you. They may, in time, deepen you.
Gentle Tools That May Help
These approaches are drawn from widely recognized therapeutic frameworks. They are offered as starting points, not prescriptions. Please seek a licensed counselor or mental health professional for personalized support.
Name the Struggle Without Shame
Many people in spiritual distress feel they cannot speak honestly about their doubts or anger at God — in their faith community or anywhere else. Research in psychology of religion shows that suppressing spiritual struggle increases distress, while expressing it — to a trusted person, a counselor, or even directly to God in raw, honest prayer — tends to reduce it. You are allowed to say exactly what you are experiencing.
Distinguish Between Faith and Feeling
Spiritual directors and therapists who work at the intersection of faith and psychology often note that spiritual distress is frequently a crisis of feeling, not necessarily of belief. The felt absence of God is not the same as God's actual absence. Sitting with that distinction — without forcing resolution — can create space for something new to emerge in its own time.
Engage Lament as a Spiritual Practice
The Psalms contain more lament than any other form of expression — raw, unfiltered cries of pain, confusion, and abandonment directed straight at God. Lament is not a failure of faith; it is one of its most honest expressions. Try writing your own lament — not a prayer of gratitude or petition, but an honest account of what you are experiencing. Many people find this unexpectedly healing.
Seek a Spiritually Sensitive Counselor or Spiritual Director
A licensed counselor who is trained in religious and spiritual issues can provide support that honors both your psychological and spiritual experience. Spiritual directors — trained companions in the life of faith — offer a different kind of presence: someone to sit with you in the uncertainty without rushing you toward resolution. The Spiritual Directors International network (sdicompanions.org) can help you find one.
The silence you are experiencing is not the final word. Many who have walked through this darkness have emerged with a faith that is quieter, deeper, and more honest than the one they had before. We are here to walk alongside you.
If you are in immediate danger or crisis, please call 911 or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) — available 24/7 at no charge. We are not a substitute for emergency or clinical care.