Key points

Spiritual awakenings can mimic symptoms of mental illness.

Differentiating between pathology and transformation requires nuance.

Integration is critical to healing and growth.

Mental health models must embrace transpersonal possibilities.

In today’s mental health landscape, there is a growing recognition that some psychological crises may actually be rooted in spiritual awakening—not mental illness. Yet the line between awakening and pathology is not always clear, and the stakes are high. Without proper understanding and support, a genuine spiritual emergence can spiral into distress or dysfunction, leading to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. This raises a critical question: How do we differentiate between spiritual awakening and psychopathology—and what happens when we don

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