Spirituality: Can it Help in Holistic Therapy?
What is spirituality?
Another way to approach this question could be to ask, “what does spirituality mean to you?” While we may wonder what spirituality ‘is’ or ‘is not’ in our search for understanding, spirituality is one of those terms (like ‘soul’) that can be hard to neatly pin down. Perhaps this is because spirituality has been described as “personal” (Koenig et al., 2009). In comparison to the structure that can be associated with religion, spirituality may offer more space for the influence of an individual’s beliefs, practices, and ways of relating to what they deem sacred.
Here are a few questions that may help you begin to formulate or strengthen how you would describe spirituality for yourself:
What is the meaning of life for you?
Do you believe in a higher purpose?
What or who is sacred for you?
Is spirituality nested within your religious beliefs?
These are not small questions. Yet, exploration and development of one’s spirituality can be helpful for many types of issues we could face.
Anxiety
When we experience things like constant worry, nervousness or restlessness, or impairment to different areas of life because of anxiety, these can be signs of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety could make it hard to concentrate at work, sleep well, or be present in relationships. Spirituality could help. One study found that using a variety of spiritual practices, such as meditation, prayer, and gratitude, significantly reduced excessive worry and sensations that can accompany anxious thoughts (like a racing heart or feeling hot). Spirituality seemed to be helpful not only in reducing anxious symptoms but helping to keep them at bay over a 6-month period (Koszycki et al., 2010).
Depression
I often liken our moods to the weather – it changes. We wouldn’t expect sunshine every day, nor would it be reasonable to expect that we are always going to be supremely happy. Although, if we start to experience daily sadness, disinterest in things we once enjoyed, or a sense of ‘numbness’ toward life, these could be signs of depression. If you can relate to these types of experiences, spirituality could be helpful.
Those spiritual practices I just mentioned (meditation, prayer, and gratitude) were also found to be helpful at reducing depressive symptoms. The usefulness of spirituality to help lessen the presence or impact of depressive symptoms doesn’t seem to be a ‘once-off,’ but something that many researchers have found across numerous studies (Bonelli et al., 2012).
Life Change
As we know, change comes in all shapes and sizes. We are consistently adjusting to the ever-changing movement in life across areas like work, family, relationships, and finances. Change can be hard, and we could develop symptoms of anxiety or depression as we try to adjust to change. Perhaps you’ve noticed yourself consumed by fears of the future as you anticipated a big move, or a blue mood that seems worse than you would expect given the circumstance. Practices of spirituality have again been found to help some people improve their adjustment. Spirituality has also been associated with greater quality of life and less distress in cancer patients (Laubmeier et al., 2004).
A prominent life change that we are all faced with at some point are the deaths of people we love. Spirituality to help us cope with death is perhaps more readily known, but it seems important to reiterate as grief is something that is often benefited by many different types of support, such as spirituality and therapy.
So, How is It Helping?
Spirituality may help because it can:
Give a sense of meaning and purpose to life
Help you cope with stress better
Increase positive emotions (like, life satisfaction, hope, & optimism)
Offer you a place of acceptance
Increase a sense of ‘indirect’ control
Connect you with community and support
Learn More
So what if you don’t have a spiritual practice and would like support in exploring what spirituality may mean for you? Or perhaps you are experiencing anxiety, depression, difficulty adjusting to life’s changes, or have a desire for personal growth and would like to begin therapy that recognizes spirituality. Holistic therapy at Grow True Psychology welcomes the mind, body, and soul into therapy and offers a free 15-minute informational phone consultation to see if it is a good fit for your needs.
Check back soon for the next blog about how to incorporate spirituality into your daily life.
Disclaimer: Please note that visiting this website does not constitute a doctor-client therapeutic relationship. The information and resources included or linked on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to assess, diagnose, or treat any medical and/or mental health disease or condition. The information obtained from this site should not be considered a substitute for a thorough medical and/or mental health evaluation by an appropriately credentialed and licensed professional. We do not know the specifics of your situation or have the facts to provide this type of evaluation and recommend that you seek an appropriately credentialed and licensed professional to establish a doctor-client therapeutic relationship. This website also includes links to other websites for informational and reference purposes only. This website does not endorse, warrant or guarantee the products, services or information described or offered at these other websites.
References:
Koenig, H. G. (2009). Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: A review. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54, 283-291.
Bonelli, R., et al. (2012). Religious and spiritual factors in depression: Review and integration of the research. Depression Research and Treatment.
Koszycki, D., et al. (2010). A multifaith spiritually based intervention for generalized anxiety disorder: A pilot randomized trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 430-441.
Laubmeier et al., (2004). The role of spirituality in the psychological adjustment to cancer: A test of the transactional model of stress and coping. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 11, 48-55.
