I don't believe we have previous lives or afterlives either (in one sense I believe we do though). What I do think is that we have physical impairments or societal tendencies and pressures that cause us to become mentally unstable. I think that if our societies were much more simple we would experience far less mental illness than we are now.

It's neither, it's BS because know one knows if reincarnaton is real.

It's stupid for a number of reasons, but mainly because it tries to convince people to be okay with their situation and not attempt to change it.

I think the universe isn't that cruel. I don't believe carma affects your next life, it would be like beating a dog for pooing in your plant 10 years after he did it.

If this was the case why would we develop illnesses periodically over years, why not be born with all these ailments? Personally I just think its a mix of bad genes from our Parents, Environmental factors and Sod's Law.

No one can determine what is karma. We are coming down here to learn lessons of all sorts. Perhaps we have chosen a certain path down here to learn humility, faith, courage, so mental illness is not necessarily a punishment for some wrong doing in a previous lifetime. It could be. Maybe I live a normal but not very productive life. I die and I want to evolve and be on a higher level with the Divine. I choose to elevate others by coming down here with mental illness so others learn compassion and caring and I learn patience and humility. I hope Hitler really pays though when he comes back.

I could say this in much different words; but I don't believe in this karma thing. Why punish if the person doesn't know why he is punished.

No, that is a load full of crap. ...if anything mental illness, and physical afflictions...are making you stronger if anything else. ...not punishing you. ...helping you to break away from vanity, overcome hardship...become stronger, and to rise above what is "normal"... I believe in Karma, but in this life and this life only. ...no past or previous lives....what is the point of living all these lives never knowing you lived them before?...and I think a person can learn all they need to know about life in 1 life...why live 100?

Please ignore this. My answer was posted twice for some reason, so i have edited it instead.

Quite frankly, i think that is a load of bullshit. and i find such a suggestion extremely offensive to those that have suffered (through no fault of their own).

There are 1,862 things that affect ones health to greater or lesser degrees. If you wish to add that to the list, I'll add it to mine. +5

Maybe. Who knows? I think that physical and mental illness are often afflictions manifested through karma from this life. I just think if you live negatively or make poor decisions, your life will be stressful, and stress amd anxiety lead to mental and physical illness. In relgious books when they talk about one's "previous life", I think it's a mistranslation from "your past".

I think it is part chemical imbalance and part personal history. + 5

i was born with mine maybe cause my parents both did drugs,and drinking. maybe my mom did when she was pregnant

People are just ok or disturbed. It is evident in their answers sometime. Angry, malevolent haters who are on here as a substitution for real human contact. I am here for fun.

I must have screwed up big time, in my previous life, I would hope I am not going to get into trouble for what I did in my last life, if so I am royally screwed in my next life. LOL.

Personally? Wishful thinking. But that's just me.

The purpose of reincarnation, if there is such a thing, is to help individuals evolve. At times the road is smooth -- sometimes too smooth, and hence slippery, and at times it is tortuous. I've heard it said by sages that we actually CHOOSE the path we take before we are born as the best path to evolve along; and we often SELECT a life of hardship (of whatever kind) because we find ourselves (or are found to be) lacking in that particular department which we need to make us "whole". I have also heard it said that some people go into a state of coma before death, because their evolution along that particular road has been complete, and if they were to remain conscious longer, they might "slip back" a few paces. These things are beyond our control, and it is best to leave them to the higher powers who "work" for our betterment. Of course, we could have been summoned as soon as our own work in life was done, instead of having to linger in a state of "non-existence", so to speak. That has probably more to do with the evolution of others around us, and not ourselves. They also have to go through their own share of pain, and our afflictions are therefore essential for their evolution as well. We are all interconnected in some way or another. We meet here in this life, sometimes in person, sometimes as we do right now on the Net, thereby re-establishing our links from our previous lives. All this is based solely on what I have read sporadically, and which I can only accept at face value, not knowing any better. I don't know if I'm coming across to you, I really can't express these thoughts in better language. Pardon me if my answer appears ridiculous. Words uttered without the backing of direct experience or exposure often do.

I really do not subscribe to that theory although I've heard it before .... I believe that we are given CHANCES to improve ourselves as we go onward and upward thru the various planes of life .. I do not believe that we are punished in one lifetime for something we have done in another ... +5

That is an interesting assertion. It sure makes it seem less unjust when people suffer. I don't believe it, but it is an intersting thing to think about.

Karma and previous lives are as genuine as the invisible purple giraffe in your living room. Mental illness and physical afflictions are quite real. Harsh, and more so; voodoo fluff.

What new age religion does that come from? Well I don't buy that, especially since like, I don't see how punishment is punishment if you're not aware of your past mistakes to know WHY you're being cursed with punishment...especially mental illness. :/

I believe we are each living the life we are meant to live. We each have different lessons to learn. I also believe there can be huge changes in those realities as we learn. I do not believe these are punishments for past mistakes. In fact I don't even believe in mistakes. We are all doing exactly what we're supposed to do. In order to learn.

If that is true then I must have been pretty damned perfect,lol.....ok, that was my "feeling good" moment...time to face the truth :(

Crap Crap Crap. This theory only re enforces personal guilt. It's a horrible way to live believing it.

May peace be upon you! I'll answer the question but first you tell me whether you believe what your question is or it is just a question, for short tell me what you believe then I'll answer you which will coincide with your own faith.

That's bullshit. Many afflictions are the result of pollution in the environment during the pregnancy or before. And some happen for no known reason. If I get "punished" for something in a previous life, it would only be justice if I knew what EXACTLY it was I was being punished for. As opposed to some asshole with the smiting who's just being an asshole.

Bullshit, predesposes one to 2 things that do not exist 1) an after life and 2) reincarnation neither of which real ... of course it's a great control measure for human slavery of one form or another mind control is just as much a form of slavery as physical chains when coupled with belief and incompetent governing bodies makes for a great combination for impoverishment .. ~Nemo~

The bluff of [poorwasanchit] karma, or ‘trans-incarnation-deed-balance’ [as an explanation of bad things happening to pious genteel souls (infant deaths) and good thing happening to sinners (despotic tyrants living ion debauched luxury)…] Hindus are made to believe that their soul ‘atman’ or ‘jeeva’ life-seed-principle moves through 84,00,000 species, moving upwards or downwards in the hierarchy of animal kingdom based on the accumulation of good or deeds from the (immediately) previous birth (genera). Although the number is closer to fact and much higher than the animal-pairs in Noah’s Arc, we know that the concept of virtue and sin is unique to humans. Let’s test this. Let’s arrange a simple hypothetical hierarchy of 8, say virus – bacteria – flea – snake – pig – dog – lion and man. We know the proposed hierarchy is not accurate and pigs share man’s genes most closely and have an orgasm that lasts for 30 minutes. Anyway, the Hindu idea or proposed hypothesis is that when the net sum of all life activity of a virus is ‘virtuous’ or plus, it gets promoted, reborn as bacteria, and so on, all the way through 84,00,000 births (and deaths) to the birth as a man. On the other hand, when the net sum of all life activity of a lion or dog is ‘sin’ or ‘minus’, they get demoted to dog and pig respectively. Now, Hindus were also the first to recognise the 4 basic ‘natural’ attributes of animals, pretty accurately. (They did not consider living trees, plants and vegetables as having souls!) There were hunger (for food), libido (for mating & procreation), sleep (rest) and fear (of danger). So it would be wrong to attach human attributes of virtue and sin to animals: ‘anthropomorphism’, or call a lion ‘sinner’ for hunting deer, or a cat ‘virtuous’ for lazily ignoring mice. Eating and mating is their essential natural activity. (Animals never commit ‘gluttony’ or ‘rape’, so they are, at any rate, more virtuous, ‘higher’ than man; and therefore, ‘being born as a man-child’ couldn’t be properly seen as ‘the highest berth’ of life’s ascendance towards salvation or ‘moksha’; --about which, later.) So no other genus than man could actually ‘commit’ virtue/sin to promote/demote along the 84,00,000 genera. Just think, even if the swine-flu virus kills an angelic human baby of 9 months age, the billions of viruses in the tiny corpse haven’t ‘committed a sin’ and couldn’t instantly be demoted to, say, human birth! Even supposing that it is somehow possible (a lie!) for all the ‘lower’ animal species to achieve a net positive ‘virtuous’ balance to get promoted to a higher birth, their ‘virtual credit’ is settled as soon as they are born as the higher animal! Could God have thought: ‘as I have no loose change, I’ll just give this wrench a higher birth than s/he deserves, and make it a cripple, or illiterate.’ This would immediately apply to all suffering humanity (that everybody), meaning God has generously over-promoted us all by granting us our human existence, but at the same time, meanly made our lives miserable! (Bastard!). Sobering thought, but very unhelpful at the same time, as it proves the absurdity of it all, and GOD; as it would also prove that God has invariably miscalculated, or ‘S/He’s not very good at accounting’, eh? Or alternatively does God operate a ‘100% reservation policy’ of positive discrimination?! This is absurd as well, why bother?! Therefore however tempting and easy-ready this explanation (of bad things happening to pious, honest, virtuous people (infant deaths) and good thing happening to sinners (despotic tyrants living ion debauched luxury) is, it is irrational nonsense. Finally Moksha, Mukti, salvation or ‘liberation from the birth-death cycle’. Why? This assumes that suffering continues after death, no evidence. Why not make us simply immortal?! Bluff!!