The thought above is from the young Spiritist speaker, Patrícia Lins (photo), our interviewee today. She was born in Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, 33 years ago and works as an electrical engineer. She is a volunteer worker at the Irmã Scheilla Spiritist Fraternity, in the Pituba area of the state capital. In the interview she gave us, she speaks about her battle against depression and Spiritism helped her overcome it.

How did Spiritism come into your life?

When I was nine years old, I began to suffer from a very unpleasant and persistent form of nausea, which prevented me from studying, playing or doing any other activity, basically. It began when I woke up and stayed with me all day. I spent the day sleeping, unable to focus on anything I did. My parents took me to a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a paediatrician, who prescribed all possible exams, including for pregnancy. But he couldn’t find anything. I was seen by other doctors. The last paediatrician I saw suggested that I went to a Spiritist Centre and sought treatment there. I went to the Cristo Redentor Centre in Brotas, did the spiritual treatment and joined the youth study group. My health improved. I read many Spiritist books, from the age of 9 to the age of 15 and I felt good, but what attracted me in Spiritism was its scientific and intellectual aspects, not its moral side. I then abandoned Spiritism altogether and I don’t even need to say that all the nausea symptoms returned. I just returned to Spiritism in 2016, when I was 30, and watched a talk by Flávio Santos. I was suffering from deep depression and hearing him worked like a shock treatment. That was what I needed to wake up. I began crying convulsively, imagining how disappointed my spiritual guide must have been with me.  

So, attending a Spiritist talk helped you get over depression... what else did you do to win the fight against depression?

It is important to stress that individual will power is crucial to achieve success in the treatment. But we cannot overlook the care with our physical body and our psychological structures. Each person suffers from depression in their particular way, with different intensity levels and impact. We cannot generalise. But in my case, I can say that depression took me to the absolute bottom, emotionally, and I had then the opportunity to connect my inner world, my pains and imperfections and see them clearly. That talk was like healing, a medicine applied on an open wound. It showed me the way to new ways of being happy according solely to my own choices. But I also underwent psychological treatment, even though I didn’t need to take any medication.

You have been giving many Spiritist talks, posting them on social media. Tell us a bit about that work and the reaction you’ve been getting.

It all began in a very informal way. In June 2017, Flávio told me he was busy that day and asked me to replace him. He had to give lessons as part of a course on The Spirits’ Book. I said I was available, I read that particular chapter, shared me reflections and loved the experience. I then began to get invitations for talks.

I had a camera and used to record sports events as a hobby. I decided to follow Flávio’s example and film the talks in order to help disseminate the information among those who could not attend the meetings. That’s how it all started. As for the impact this work has had, I believe I have fulfilled my expectations. I always said that I would be happy if at least one person had benefitted from my message. And all the videos have so far been accessed by at least one person. I really don’t worry much about the number of views or likes.

Is there any particular memory from your talks that you would like to share with our readers?

There is something that happened one day that has really stayed with me. The talk was about “Children” and once more I spoke about Jesus. At the end, a young woman approached me and said she had attempted to commit suicide earlier that day. And she told me she would leave the building and kill herself, jumping under the underground train. I was livid. I thought: “Oh God, how incompetent I am! I come here to bring the sweat message of Jesus to these people and this sister is leaving here with the wrong idea.” I was frustrated. There was nothing I could do. I then hugged her and said: “Please, I have bonded with you, I like you and I need to hug you every week. Your life matters to me. Wait for another week at least, if you have to.” She smiled and said she was going to think about it. I don’t know what happened. She never came back.

What else is needed so that Spiritism can have a bigger impact on our society?

I think we need to talk more about Jesus. We must establish links and connections with the early Christianity, to empathise with the apostles and live like they lived, in real fraternity. Spiritism needs to be like the Gospel revived. We will only have that impact on society when each one of us live the Gospel in their inner world. I feel that in many ways Christ is still a distant figure to many, still on the cross… We need to get him out of there and put him inside our hearts. But that needs to happen everywhere, starting by our homes, and not only inside Spiritist Centres.