How are faith and good mental health connected?
How Faith and Mental Health Interact
There has been much evidence-based research done on the relationship between faith and good mental health. The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospels has been considered an excellent summary of the traits of good mental health. Spiritual and religious practices associated with faith have been found to increase relaxation and immune functions; and to decrease feelings of loneliness. Additionally, faith helps people find meaning and purpose, which can replace short-term behavioral drives and lead to long-term mental health benefits.
Contemplative practices create the relaxation response. A practice such as meditation can be Eastern (Buddhist, Hindu, or Tao) or Western (Christian or secular). All these faiths/religions have very distinct beliefs and purposes. Christian meditation is focused on Bible reading, praying, and contemplation as ways to a relationship with the Trinitarian God.
How Prayer Works Like CBT
“Prayer is a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),” Luhrmann said in her book How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others (2020). “It’s a way you attend to your own inner experience, let go of distracting thoughts and focus on more positive thoughts. By expressing gratitude, you shift attention from the way that things are going wrong to the ways they are going right.” Cognitive behavior therapy is a small portion of what prayer embraces.
Prayer Reduces Loneliness, Depression and Suicidality
A Christian would add that prayer is talking to and listening to God. He is three persons - one being, who wants to be part of your every day and loves you. It’s an authentic conversation with a true friend that includes the full range of emotions and thoughts.
One of the most striking findings in social epidemiology, Luhrmann notes (2020), is that religious involvement with God is better for your body in terms of immune functions and reducing loneliness. One explanation for this, Luhrmann writes, is that for those with an intense faith, God becomes a social relationship. MRI results indicate that in terms of brain function, talking to God resembles conversing with a friend. According to research, higher levels of spirituality and religiousness (S/R) have also been related to lower levels of suicide and depression. S/R may serve as a buffer against PTSD.
Luhrman points to the nature of the relationship with God can have both positive and negative effects on health. Christians believe that knowing (experiencing) God’s nature of mercy, justice, love, and faithfulness is vital. The God described in the Bible is our perfect Father, brother, and is with us always. Luhrmann notes that In all of this. imagination is essential . . .
Faith Can Increase Meaning and Purpose
Faith is related to finding purpose and meaning in life. In Christianity, purpose and meaning are aligned to God’s plans and agendas for you as described in the Bible. They are affirmed by your life experience, gifting, education, and circumstances among other things. Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning (2006) describes his life in four different Nazi concentration camps and how he chose to think and act. Frankl was an M.D. and Ph.D. and published over thirty books on theoretical and clinical psychology. He believed that man’s main drive is not pleasure but the discovery and pursuit of what we find personally meaningful. Man’s Search for Meaning demonstrates how Frankl’s mental health was associated with identifying purpose and meaning.
Faith can help you transcend oppression and suffering
To be able to make sense of suffering can lead to mental health, especially for people who are oppressed or dealing with terminal illnesses. For example, suffering according to Christianity is part of the world’s current state. Jesus and reality both say we shouldn’t expect to avoid it. Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble, but because He has overcome the world we can be courageous and have perfect peace (John 16.33). How? Christians have the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will be there to comfort and guide. Suffering can be perceived as discipline (teachable moments) vs punishment. It is temporary and endurance produces character, confidence, hope, and confident assurance of eternal salvation (Rom 5.4).
Faith Can Help You Overcome Substance Abuse
Hundreds of evidence-based studies demonstrate the positive impact of faith on health and well-being (e.g., Duke University n.d.; Koenig 2005, 2008, 2011, 2018; George et al. 2002; Johnson et al. 2002; Koenig et al. 2012; Rew and Wong 2006; Schoenthaler et al. 2018; VanderWeele 2017; Zemore 2008), and, as we will show in this section, nowhere is this positive impact more evident than in the recovery of people who are suffering from substance abuse. Substance abuse treatment is one area of psychology where the spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and social health intersect in successful treatment and lowered relapse rates.
Faith Can Increase the Impact of Counseling
As a Licensed Addiction Counselor and a Christian, I can second that clients who are pursuing God experience faster and more lasting recovery. Faith is a strong foundation for healing emotionally and mentally. As much as the roots of physical problems are emotional or mental, physical healing may happen also.
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References:
Luhrman, Tanya M. In How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others (Princeton University Press, 2020)
Referenced by https://news.stanford.edu/2020/11/13/deep-faith-beneficial-health/
Referenced by https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-019-00876-w
Referenced by https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8462234/
