In a May 5th article in TheChattanoogan.com, Debra Chew asks “Are spirituality and prayer key to mental health?” It’s a question that deserves to be considered and ties in with the goal of this blog which is to further the conversation in Kansas about the connection between spirituality and health. Debra’s familiarity with mental illness and with spiritual care lets the reader take away hope. Below you will find the first paragraphs and a link to read the complete article.
“Spirituality should be considered one of the vital signs in the care and treatment of patients,” said Christina M. Puchalski, MD, FACP, Founder and Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish). She was speaking to over 400 chaplains, physicians, nurses, and researchers from all around the world who were attending the second annual HealthCare Chaplaincy Network (HCCN) Caring for the Human Spirit Conference held in Orlando in late April. The attendees participated in various workshops and several of them focused on integrating spirituality into care for those suffering from mental illness.
I am familiar with the importance of spiritual care in dealing with mental illness, as close members of my family have dealt with this issue for as long as I can remember. My family didn’t talk openly about it when I was a kid; I just remember feeling sorry for those who suffered because it seemed they didn’t have a sense of inner peace for any length of time. As I moved into adulthood and began a spiritual practice that taught me to turn to God when I had my own health problems, I often prayed that they would feel God’s love for them and that this mental illness – or illness of the mind – would be healed.