Reflections On Spirituality Faith and Well Being

A well known historical romance writer recently wrote in one of  her romances, "even harder than renouncing material possessions is giving up those possessions which are immaterial — the griefs and fears, reasons which most humans prize beyond measure, even the memories that feel like the sum of yourself. Worrying about the things that are not in our control is wasteful and destructive."  How true !

Spirituality and faith are the only remedies which will really be able to and snap you out of this destructive spiral of affairs without the need to consult an expensive psychologist.

There have been hundreds of studies that have shown evidence that religiously devout people — in any denomination  — enjoy more positive mental health and psychosocial adjustment than people who are less religious or not religious at all.

The effect faith has on a person’s mental health depends on how they live it and how they internalize it.

Here are three main factors that change how a person’s beliefs affect their well being with the first factor being how they live their beliefs. Someone who holds a certain set of beliefs but lives contrary to those beliefs is more likely to develop mental health problems. On the flip side, people who fully live their established beliefs have an increased chance for mental health.

The second factor is the motivation for participating in their religion. If a person goes to church or any religious gathering to be seen by others, to make business connections or because they’re worried that others will judge them, these extrinsic motivations are more likely to contribute to mental health problems. However, if they attend church and follow the doctrine of their religion because they love it and truly believe in it, or in other words, they have intrinsic motivations, this contributes highly to their mental well being.

The final factor is how individuals use their religion to cope with their problems. If people use their religion to passively accept their problems as God’s will without trying to solve them, or if they blame God for all of their problems, it can be very unproductive for emotional health. If, however, people use their religion to take advantage of the social network it provides, or to participate regularly in meditative, sincere prayer, this has shown to help a person maintain their psychological health.

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