An overview of spirituality as a health booster

Spirituality is not easy to define even to this day, in spite of an increase in data and research is being carried out on the subject of spirituality. In common parlance, spirituality is usually understood as connecting to something larger than a person’s desires, worldly and material concerns to a transcendent or sacred idea or rituals based on a particular or organized religion. Spirituality for some people could involve adhering to a belief system in addition to having a sense of community and support.

Spirituality could also mean talking about your situation or life problems with a priest or religious leader who performs services for military, hospitals, universities, and other religious institutions. Recent research on the impact of spirituality on overall human health through randomized clinical trials has found that it did have some benefits that include reduction of anxiety. There are some benefits that spirituality can aid in boosting your health and well being when you are facing illness or when you are taking care of your family members. 

Some of the benefits of spirituality on human health in coping with various physical and psychological disorders include-

• Spirituality that also includes talking with a priest or chaplain can help people to come on terms with the fractured relationships and regrets as confirmed at a session carried out by Dr. Laura Dunn, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
  
  
• Spirituality and organized religious sessions provide social support that can reduce the risk of depression due to isolation. A religious community or sessions may be in the form of a yoga class, a church group or an online group.
  
  
  
• Spirituality encourages a sense of hope to counter the hopelessness due to depression.
  
  
• Caregivers can manage their stress through spirituality. As a coping mechanism – spirituality helps caregivers in reflecting on the inherent meaning of what they are doing as caregivers. It has been found that priests who are contacted by caregivers over the phone for at least three sessions have helped them in resolving challenges in the relationships or in caregiving and even addressed issues of forgiveness.

These are some the benefits of spirituality that help you in boosting your health and regaining your cognitive abilities. Spirituality, in the end, helps you in getting relaxed and not distracted by negative thoughts.