Spirituality Boosts Mental Health

A recent Harvard study indicates that spirituality can have a positive impact on both general and serious illness and everyday health care.

Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital say this is the most comprehensive analysis of health and spirituality to date.

The 27 members on the panel are experts in spirituality in health care, public health or medicine and included representation of a wide variety of spiritual views, including atheism, Muslim, Catholic, Christian denominations, and Hindu.

Patient Centered Care:

With discussions about whole-person care at the forefront of medicine these days- addressing spirituality helps to care for the whole person.

In a survey of more than 400 people with persistent mental illness, 48% said that religion became more important to them when their symptoms worsened, according to The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Spirituality also intersects with mental health in several ways. It can help a person to feel more of a sense of purpose, better confidence, and feel a sense of mental strength.