Mind Body Spirituality
The topic of religion and its impact on individual’s health is widely addressed by both scientists and religious figures all over the world. Some of them argue, while the rest work together in order to discover and link the binding between religious preferences and their outcomes. Despite dozens of scientists claiming that faith has no direct impact on human’s body, it is obvious that somehow they are connected. The belief system affects the health of the individual. There are millions of people all over the world who prove that by following ancient traditions in order to become healthier (Secrets of Kabbalah - Documentary). Moreover, great amount of Muslims and their annual pilgrimage prove that spirituality has a direct impact on health (Inside Mecca).
It turns out patients who have the same disease and run the same treatment activities and procedures recover differently. Despite the fact that medical staff provide them with the same amount of medicine and contains them in identical conditions, some of them may recover faster than others. The issue of the concept lies far beyond the fact that the patient has psychological health hidden in his mind, which condition affects the body and well-being of the patient. Religious coping is an important predictor of health-related outcomes among patients with medical conditions. According to many contemporary scholars in the field of medicine and religion and their researches, religious aspect of recovery is presented by a complex collection of beliefs, attitudes and behavior patterns. When they are combined, they provide individuals with rich potential, which addresses their health.
The concept of religious coping has a strong application in the older ages. Because of their ability to cope with acute and day-to-day stressors, religious resources have a particular impact on the health of the older people. It might be explained by the level of their involvement to religious practices, which tends to increase in the older ages.
Placebo is another testimony, which demonstrates the positive correlation between individual’s faith and his recovery. Placebo is a substance, which has no apparent therapeutic properties. It is used as a drug, the therapeutic effect of which is associated with the belief of the patient in the efficacy of the drug. The whole point of placebo effect lies in the individual’s acceptance and faith in the healing properties of the medicine. The process of infusion does not require any special skills as critical consciousness relates to the actual object, as a rule, a tablet or injection without any real impact on the body. The process starts working when a medical staff report that the drug has a specific effect on the body. The concept of the method is widely used in different researches as it directly proves that faith has particular impact on the health of the individual.
Despite the proven positive effect of the faith, the process of religious coping has a negative side as well. People with absolute religious identity praise the higher power to be healthier. If they recover from the …