The Significance of Physical Health - Assignment Example

Impact of Spirituality on Physical Health Introduction The significance of physical health cannot be undermined in today’s increasing sedentary lifestyle. Physical activity is extremely important for reducing the possibility of cardiac problems and obesity. An active lifestyle is compulsory as it keeps the lungs well maintained so as to burn off excess calories to prevent overweight. Regular exercise will not only maintain a good physical health but will also help to cure mental problems like depression, anxiety and stress. In order to maintain a healthy and balanced physical life, other than physical exercise the role of spirituality cannot be undermined. Various scientific researches (Hill & Pargament, 2008; Powell et al., 2003) have established link between spirituality and physical wellness. Spirituality can be defined as awareness of a power in the universe greater than that can be comprehended. It generates feeling of interconnection between all beings on this earth, and provides meaning to life that helps people to learn self-values. Spirituality helps people to “find meaning, hope, comfort, and inner peace in life” (Ehrlich, 2011). As stated by Hill and Pargament (2008), there are complexities in leading a religious or spiritual life. According to psychologists, there can be different kinds of struggles like interpersonal struggle. People may have religious conflicts with family members, peers or church leaders. Also, people may have conflict with their self like their external behavior may not align with the concepts and beliefs they espouse. Finally, people may doubt the benevolence of God and question the purpose of life. These kinds of struggles can have strong impact of physical health of people since they elicit questions and doubts regarding faith and religion. There can be both positive and negative impacts on human health. The negative impacts include psychological problems like depression (Lloyd et al., 2013) anxiety (Johnson et al., 2011) and suicidal tendencies (Colucci & Martin, 2008) since having doubts on God’s presence can lead to fear and disillusionment. It has also been observed that spiritual struggle can delay or hinder the recovery of medical rehabilitation patients (Fitchett et al., 1999) resulting in prolonged hospital stays or increased mortality rates. This is because religious fanatics believe in divine intervention and they delay the use of medical facilities. They also remain prejudiced regarding certain medical interventions like abortions and transfusions as going against God’s will. Moreover, religious zealots can suffer from stress as a result of excessive spiritual practices which in turn can cause mental and physical problems. Also, they may perceive religious lapses as spiritual sins which can further deteriorate their physical health caused by spiritual anguish. All these negativities that can have adverse impact on physical health are further enhanced by religious leaders who make terrible predictions that any religious misdemeanors or lapses in faith can bring Hell on earth (Park & Slattery, 2012, p.380). On the other hand, spiritual struggle can also have positive impacts like reduced stress caused by low level of prejudice (Hill & Pargament, 2008, p.10). Other than the above mentioned research studies which implicate the positive or negative impact of spirituality on physical health, there has also been studies that have implied a two-way relation between spirituality and physical health (Park & Slattery, 2012). The impact of spirituality or religion on health is more prominent in women than men, and such impacts are further influenced by different elements. For instance, those who attend religious services in churches are prone towards socializing with people who have positive approach towards life. Therefore, these people will be more focused towards activities that are positive for health like exercises and will not be inclined towards physically harmful behaviors like alcohol consumption or substance abuse. Moreover, there is also difference in the rate of church attendance between people of different social and educational status. Koenig and Vaillant (2009) have studied that people from higher social class and high educational status are frequent visitors to church, and this reduces the probability of depression and alcohol problems which are contributing factors for mortality and poor physical health. Then there is the other side of spirituality and health relationship like health affects spirituality. According to a study conducted by Green et al. (2011) on forty euphysema patients undergoing medical treatment, it was found that 37 percent of the patients focused on prayers during the 2 year treatment period. However, this study also concluded that the patients were not involved in any other religious activities that they were not performing prior to the treatment like watching religious programs, attending church or reading religious literature. Moreover, it was observed that medical rehabilitation patients rely more on religion and spirituality than medical intervention for recovery. Such reliance can manifest in both negative form like doubting the benevolence of God or in positive form like increased praying. So far, the impact of religion on health has been explored. However, researchers now state that physical wellbeing is related with the power of forgiveness. According to psychologist Dan Shoultz human beings have not been instructed by God to preserve negative emotions like anger, resentment or revengeful attitude. Based on this concept, Shoultz believes that not being able to forgive can make people retain within themselves hostile feelings towards the perpetrators, and this can lead to mental illness like depression, anxiety, and stress which can further cause the related physical ailments (Kitchen, 2001, p.35). Therefore, the act of forgiveness can have positive impact on physical health. Similarly, developing positive emotions can help a person to refrain from negative thoughts that can cause depression, anxiety or stress. Moreover, positive thoughts enable people to strengthen their approach towards compromises in life which means reduced mental and physical problems (Fredrickson, 2000). Conclusion The essence of spirituality can be felt in both positive and negative sense. It is true that human beings require the sense of higher being as benevolent protector in order to find meaning in life. However, just like too much of anything can have adverse effect, similarly excessive reliance on spiritual power and divine intervention can lead to depression, anxiety and increased stress which in turn can cause the associated physical ailments. On the other hand, people suffering from incurable diseases like cancer can find the strength to build inner resilience from such activities like praying or becoming engaged in spiritual activities. References Colucci, E. & Martin, G. (2011) Religion and Spirituality Along the Suicidal Path. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38(2), 229-44 Ehrlich, S.D. (2011) Spirituality, Univ. of Maryland Medical Center, retrieved on March 21, 2015 from: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/treatment/spirituality Fitchett, G. et al. (1999) The role of religion in medical rehabilitation outcomes: A longitudinal study. Rehabilitation Psychology, 44(4), 333-53 Fredrickson, B.L. (2000) Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3(1), 1-25 Green, M.R. et al. (2011) Religious and spiritual coping and quality of life among patients with emphysema in the national emphysema treatment trial. Respiratory Care, 56(10), 1514-21 Hill, P.C. & Pargament, K.I. (2008) Advances in the Conceptualization and Measurement of Religion and Spirituality: Implications for Physical and Mental Health Research. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, S(1), 3-17 Johnson, K.L. et al. (2011) Which Domains of Spirituality are Associated with Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Advanced Illness? Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26(7), 751-58 Kitchen, A. (2001) Forgiveness: A Key to Better Health. Vibrant Life, 17(1), 34-37 Koenig, L.B. & Vaillant, G.E. (2009) A prospective study of church attendance and health over the lifespan. Health Psychology, 28(1), 117-24 Lloyd, B., Baetz, M. & Bowen, R. (2013) Religious Attendance, Spirituality, and Major Depression in Canada: A 14-Year Follow-up Study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(4), 225-32 Park, C.L. & Slattery, J.M. (2012) Spirituality, Emotions, and Physical Health, pp.379-387, In Miller, L.J. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, NY: Uxford Univ. Powell, L.H., Shahabi, L. & Thoresen, C.E. (2003) Religion and Spirituality: Linkages to Physical Health. American Psychologist, 58(1), 36-52 Read More