Leaving religion was the most liberating thing that i did.
Like I felt free. I have extreme OCD and anxiety so back then, I would try to pray harder, visit temples more, learn chants, and whatnot, and guess what? It only made me more anxious, and due to my disorders, I would try to be as clean as possible before doing anything religious. Shit got so bad that I couldn't even eat the things I enjoyed because I didn't want to upset "god." Or how caste focused i became. My constant anxiety around religion eventually became one of the biggest reasons as to why I left. I literally felt "impure" because I wasn't doing enough, and that feeling still haunts me. It was just so pathetic.