Improving Mental Health Through Spirituality
Spirituality is said to be borne out of humanity’s quest for purpose and mission in life. Such is not an easy task as it could mean a quest that can take a lifetime! However, many people have also experienced enrichment in their spirituality even at a young age or right in their middle age. So it’s fair to say that it’s achievable, and it’s just a matter of how one seeks such enlightenment.
But then many would ask: Why must one seek spirituality? Regardless of culture, race, and geographical situation, spirituality is a major influence in a person’s life – in thinking and in how a person lives. It is so powerful that it can affect every facet of a person’s life. It can even affect one’s mental health. You may ask how spirituality improves mental health.
Do you know that there were some studies made in Northern Ireland that show how prayers can improve the mental health of the patients? Amazingly, most patients were seen to have reduced signs of agitation, inappropriate emotional expression and other psychiatric symptoms. Their mindsets visibly improved evidenced by their modified behaviors. Is it hard to believe? For the medical scientists, it is unusual, even mystical. It is hard to believe but the growing evidences are proving that indeed spirituality can improve mental health. For the believers, this is something that is not only possible; these all happen for a reason.
To make a heads and tails about the entire phenomenon, let us look at spirituality. What is spirituality and why can it bring about such improvement to people with mental sickness? Spirituality is best described as practices and beliefs that grow depending to each individual’s values and philosophies in life. Most people reach spirituality as they get in touch with their self and the Supreme Being. This directs them towards better understanding life’s values and of the particular values that they want to live by. This gives them a purpose and a mission in this life.
How does this influences mental health. Mental health refers to the psychological well being of a person. Being mentally healthy is evident in a person’s various manifestations and feelings. Most individuals suffering from mental health disorder tend to cope slower with today’s technology and other new lessons that demand learning adjustments. They have difficulty adjusting with life’s changes which, as we know, happen all the time.
Spirituality encompasses almost about everything in a person and how one lives and relate with other people. It drives one to be a good person, happy and interacting well with others. One adopts what one believes are right, ethical, moral including a healthy, stress-free lifestyle. One surrenders all difficulties to the Supreme Being; they diminish such stresses as merely trials that make them stronger. These help people to get stronger mentally. Unaffected by stresses, anxiety and depression, one copes better in the face of all life’s problems.
It is true that this way of looking at how spirituality improves mental health is not very popular among medical scientists. It is, however, also true that this notion is getting much support from those people who understand the miracles of spirituality. Indeed there are just too many conflicting views about the way spirituality can make mental Today, the connection between spirituality and mental health bring hopes to a lot of patient suffering from mental disorder. Spiritual intervention is now being introduced in many mental health care facilities In this concept, spirituality does not argue with science; rather it help improves the well being of every patient with mental health disorder.
In conclusion, if you have family, friends or co-worker suffering from mental health problems, why not try spiritual intervention. Statistics show more and more patient recover faster with spirituality.
