Definitions of Spiritual HealthAdherence to a religious doctrineAbility to discover and express one’s

purpose in lifeAbility to experience love, joy, peace, and

fulfillmentAbility to help yourself and others

achieve full potential

Religion and SpiritualityBoth affect healthThey have similarities and differencesSpirituality

Orientation to the transcendent features of life

ReligionOrganized entity with basic beliefs and

practices

Spirituality and HealthSome researchers have shown evidence that

prayer can improve healthLiving a spiritual life correlates with healthy

behaviors in generalPrayer is the most common form of

complementary and alternative medicineBusinesses have begun to recognize the role

of spirituality in the health of employees

How Spirituality and Religion Affect HealthControl theory: when someone feels a

degree of control over a stressor, the person’s health is less affected by the stressor

Two different approachesPrimary control: attempts to change the

situation (problem focused)Secondary control: attempts to control oneself

(emotion focused)Religion or spirituality can function as

either primary or secondary control

USA Weekend Faith and Health Poll79% believe spiritual faith can help people

recover from illness, injury or disease.56% say their faith has helped them

recover from illness, injury or disease.63 % believe it’s good for doctors to talk

to patients about spiritual faith.Yet only 10% say a doctor has talked to

them about their spiritual faith as a factor in physical health.

Making the Most Out of Patient SpiritualityToday, 70 medical schools have classes on

spirituality and medicine, compared to 5 schools as of thirty years ago.

90% of patients who have spiritual beliefs want their doctors to ask about their spiritual beliefs. The focus should be on the ‘whole person.’

Making the Most Out of Patient SpiritualitySpirituality gives people purpose and

meaning. This becomes more important when people become ill. It becomes more important than money, job, status, etc.

“We are not destroyed by suffering, but by suffering with no meaning.” – Victor Frankel

Spirituality and Stress

Purpose vs. randomness

Hope vs. despairOrder vs. chaosSocial support“Servant” mentality

(thinking of others)Helping othersvolunteerism

Health impactPower of prayer

(intercessory)Longevity (life span)

Family stabilityPerspectiveForgiveness

(benefits)

Philosophical Stress (Distress or Eustress)

Forgiveness as a Clinical Intervention

Dr. Richard Tibbits

Teaching people how to forgive to relieve anger/anxiety. Anger correlates to hypertension/heart disease. Short term/long term resentment is reduced by forgiveness.

Forgiveness as a Clinical InterventionPsychosocial components to forgiveness

Interpersonal Reconciling with another (relationships) Bridge building (not every relationship will be

reconciled)

Forgiveness as a Clinical InterventionPsychosocial components to forgiveness

Intrapersonal Letting go (what goes on inside of the individual) Learning to let go, or the only one who suffers is

me. Don’t hold onto your ‘grievance’ story, quit recalling

‘the story’ which is physiologically stimulating.

Forgiveness as a Clinical InterventionThree steps to forgiveness:

Discovering the purpose for the future My future will not be affected by what you did to me

(control). I will not play the ‘victim’ role because it will

control my future. Forgiveness allows a person to move on with their

life. Nobody gets better by ranting or contemplating

about the past.

Relaxation TechniquesMeditation-2 components

Figure- what you are focusing on (breathing)Ground- everything else blocking out

Autogenic Training- self generatedDaydreamingFind that “enjoyable “ place

Progressive RelaxationBiofeedback- instant results, physiologicalPrayer- focus on specifics

What Is Meditation?Meditation

requires an object of focus

The object of focus could be a word (mantra), your breathing, or a geometric shape such as a mandala

Approaches to Meditation

1. Opening up of the attention Requires nonjudgmental attitude Allows external/internal stimuli to come in All stimuli are absorbed

2. Focusing of the attention Object of focus is either repetitive or

unchanging

One of two approaches is used regardless of One of two approaches is used regardless of the type of meditation selected:the type of meditation selected:

“Burning up the Engine”

The healthiest lifestyle comes equipped with four gears.

Richard Swenson’s “Margin”

“Burning up the Engine”The first gear is PARK, for the contemplative

times. This gear is used for rest and renewal to recharge our batteries. We sit and think about values and spirituality.

“Burning up the Engine”The second gear is LOW. The gear is for

relationships, for family, for friends. We use this gear to talk with someone, read your kids a story. No hurry here.

“Burning up the Engine”The third gear is DRIVE. This is our usual

gear for work and play. This gear uses lots of energy. The fast speed feels good because it’s productive. It gets us from place to place quickly. This is the gear we mow the lawn or exercise in.

“Burning up the Engine”The forth gear is OVERDRIVE. This gear is

reserved for times that require extra effort. If we have a deadline, we kick into this gear. This is the gear you use during flu season when your schedule is overbooked.

Dr. Richard Swenson