Life has never been more fast-paced than it is today. And in the middle of it all, it’s easy to find yourself struggling to find your inner peace and wellbeing. Of course, your health also suffers in the long run, especially if you don’t make time to take care of yourself.

The journey to wellbeing through spirituality and health has long been a cause of discussion in the medical world, and studies have proven that spirituality has an important role to play in promoting health and healing.

Defining Spirituality

There is no one definition of spirituality because it can mean different things from one person to the other. Some may see spirituality as being part of a religious organization while others may treat it as a non-religious practice.

Still, others may look at spirituality as a combination of both religious and non-religious practices. But while definitions may vary, one thing’s for sure: spirituality brings a higher purpose into a person’s life.

Role of Spirituality in Health

With the debate on the correlation between spirituality and health, studies have been conducted to closely examine the impact of spiritual practices in boosting health and they revealed that:

Spirituality can help Depression

Depression is one of the most common and devastating mental illnesses in the world, and it is mostly triggered when someone starts to isolate themselves.

Most spiritual practices, however, encourage social engagement and being involved in activities such as volunteering or attending yoga classes pulls a depressed person out of isolation and offers them a more positive environment where depression cannot thrive.

Spirituality can Restore a Sense of Purpose

Sometimes, health conditions are just physical manifestations of spiritual problems. Proof of this is how stress is a common predisposing factor in many illnesses including hypertension and heart disease.

With spiritual counseling, a chaplain will help an affected individual to deal with the stresses of their life through acceptance and finding ways to turn their weaknesses into strengths. This helps restore their sense of purpose and thus, keeps them emotionally healthier, which in turn could lead to better physical health.

Spirituality Boosts the Immune System

The world is filled with a ton of stressors, most of which one cannot control. And when stress becomes too much, it takes a toll on one’s immune system and may lead to different health and mental issues that affect an individual’s quality of life.

However, it has been found that practicing spiritual activities such as praying, meditating or spending time with nature can help boost the immune system to fight illnesses or help an individual recover from an existing health condition.

Spirituality and health are at the end of the day, intertwined with each other. They are both important aspects of life and one benefits the other to promote wellbeing in an individual. This is why spiritual healthcare is now introduced in the medical setting because it has been proven that offering empathy and support to a patient has a huge impact to their prognosis and quality of life in the long run.