Does Spirituality have Medical Benefits?
Spirituality, which is broadly defined as an understanding of the meaning and purpose of life, protects us against end-of-life despair, depression, and hopelessness.
Researchers from Fordham University determined that no matter what their religion, terminally ill people who had been given less than three months to live but had a sense of spiritual well-being, were less likely to spend those last months in a state of despair. They were also less likely than non-spiritual people to feel hopeless, want to die, or consider suicide.
Previous research has shown time and again that spirituality can greatly ease the mental and emotional anguish that accompany a host of medical ailments or the loss of a loved one. In this study that involved interviews with 160 terminally ill people, spirituality was measured in two ways: Inner peace and the comfort and strength they got from their religious faith.
When someone is terminally ill, it is quite common to feel despair in the final days of life. But Reuters reports that even when patients were depressed, they only tended to want to die if they had a low sense of spiritual well-being. Spiritual people who were depressed by their illness did not wish for a hastened death. "Spiritual well-being is a really crucial, central aspect of how you cope with death," study author Dr. Barry Rosenfeld of Fordham University in New York told Reuters.
What's the takeaway?
Developing our spirituality now may help us enormously later in life. And for those who are already ill, "meaning-centered" therapy could provide a critical boost during the last months of life. "It may be more important as you get older and closer to death, and have a more reflective perspective on life," Rosenfeld said, noting that even those with just a few months to live can benefit from trying to find the meaning and value in their lives. He insists it's never too late. "I think you can gain something up until the very end," Rosenfeld said.
_____
The study was published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Abstracted by Paschal Baute, May 18, 2003, from the Internet
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/package.jsp?name=fte/spirituality/spirituality
Researchers from Fordham University determined that no matter what their religion, terminally ill people who had been given less than three months to live but had a sense of spiritual well-being, were less likely to spend those last months in a state of despair. They were also less likely than non-spiritual people to feel hopeless, want to die, or consider suicide.
Previous research has shown time and again that spirituality can greatly ease the mental and emotional anguish that accompany a host of medical ailments or the loss of a loved one. In this study that involved interviews with 160 terminally ill people, spirituality was measured in two ways: Inner peace and the comfort and strength they got from their religious faith.
When someone is terminally ill, it is quite common to feel despair in the final days of life. But Reuters reports that even when patients were depressed, they only tended to want to die if they had a low sense of spiritual well-being. Spiritual people who were depressed by their illness did not wish for a hastened death. "Spiritual well-being is a really crucial, central aspect of how you cope with death," study author Dr. Barry Rosenfeld of Fordham University in New York told Reuters.
What's the takeaway?
Developing our spirituality now may help us enormously later in life. And for those who are already ill, "meaning-centered" therapy could provide a critical boost during the last months of life. "It may be more important as you get older and closer to death, and have a more reflective perspective on life," Rosenfeld said, noting that even those with just a few months to live can benefit from trying to find the meaning and value in their lives. He insists it's never too late. "I think you can gain something up until the very end," Rosenfeld said.
_____
The study was published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Abstracted by Paschal Baute, May 18, 2003, from the Internet
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/package.jsp?name=fte/spirituality/spirituality
posted by Paschal Baute | 7:44 AM
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