Keep the Faith & Keep Your Health

Faith, Health and Healing, Is there a connection?

Faith is defined as belief and trust in and loyalty to God or belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion. This belief as defined in the Bible is “the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1

As one writer describes it; Now faith is the confidence that we shall receive the things for which we hope, the proof of the reality of things we do not see.

“Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, love, promote health and prolong life. A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul. “A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like a medicine.” Proverbs 17:22.” CH 344.3

But, what is the connection between one’s Faith in God and Improvement in health?

To better understand this we should first look at the effect of the mind on the body and of the body on the mind.

“Every organ of the body was made to be a servant of the mind. The brain is the capital of the body, the seat of all the nervous forces and of mental action.” -CH 176.1

A psychosomatic disorder is a disease which involves both mind and body. Some physical diseases are thought to be particularly prone to be made worse by mental factors such as stress and anxiety. Your current mental state can affect how bad a physical disease is at any given time.

The diseases generally known to be in this category are diseases associated with the autonomic nervous system such as  migraine headache, lower back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, peptic ulcer, bowel disorders, cardiovascular disorders, arthritis, lethargy, allergies and certain endocrine disorders.

Some persons may even display physical ailments as a result of their belief that they have such a condition or that a food or environmental condition is affecting them when it is not.

A simple example of the body mind connection is someone experiencing shock (accident, loss of a love one, news of a terminal illness) or anxiety displaying symptoms such as loss of appetite, inability to sleep, lack of energy, lack of sexual interest, unable to eat or hold food in the stomach, memory problems (short term recall), and more.

A person’s mood is also a determinant in their ability to recover. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that “A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like a medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones”. A “broken” spirit can also depress or reduce the effectiveness of a person’s immune system but the  opposite is true for a person with a “merry” or bright spirit. This is where one’s faith can and does provide a positive mental attitude which enhances mood, eliminates depression, reduces stress, improves sleep, supports immune function and more.

On the other extreme we have persons with known and diagnosed mental illnesses. Because of this relationship they too can improve or better manage their condition by  improving their physical health with lifestyle changes such as exercise, sleep and improved nutrition. Belief in God and close association with a church provides the nurturing, encouragement, positive wholesome  social bonds, prayer, faith in a positive outcome and balance to support stabilizing their condition.

A strong  Faith [religion] enhances our immune system’s ability to fight disease. One’s Faith or belief in God, while improving the mood and providing purpose in life, also provides for fellowship and interaction with others, a place of sharing and participating in service to others.

Today there are numerous studies on the effects of good health on the mind and the mind on good health across various medical disciplines. PNI and PNEI or Pyschoneuroimmunology and Psychoneuroendoimmunology are relatively new and exciting areas of study on the effect of the mind on the body’s protective immune system. They are based on the concept that the mind and the body are inseparable.

Lets breakdown the name:

• ‘psycho’ means thoughts and emotions,

• ‘neuro’ means that the physical brain is involved,

• ‘endo’ brings in the endocrine system, and

• ‘immunology’ explains how your immune system protects you from illness.

PNI researchers study how your emotions and thoughts impact your brain, hormones, and nervous system and also your immune system’s ability to protect you. It can also work the other way – changes in the immune and endocrine systems create changes in your nervous system which lead to changes in your emotions.

An action as simple as making one laugh can raise the levels of infection fighting anti-bodies, increase respiration (increased oxygen to the brain), improve relaxation & sleep and burn some calories.  Laughter also changes one’s mood while combating the health destroying effects of high stress.

And the connection to Faith ………..

In a report by Yeung, W. J & Chan Y. (2007) entitled The positive effects of religiousness on mental health in physically vulnerable populations: A review on recent empirical studies and related theories.  International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. 11 (2),  37-52. It was noted that there were many studies on the effects of religion on the physically healthy population but very few on the physically vulnerable. In the introduction to their report they state the following:

“As people become ill and physically vulnerable, they experience great stress as a result of the changes in life caused by adverse conditions they are undergoing. Research pointed out that many people who were not religious previously might turn to religion for comfort (Koenig, 2001; Koenig, & Larson, 2001). This often involves in beliefs in a living and caring God, private religious activities, reading religious scriptures for direction and encouragement, or looking for support from pastors or members of faith community. In fact, many studies commonly reported that religiousness was powerful resources of hope, meaning and purpose in life, comfort and solace. These protective and beneficial effects are particularly strong in people with illness and disability (Ehman et al., 1999; King, 2000; Koenig et al., 1998; Koenig et al., 2004; Mueller et al., 2001). “

In his book, “God, Faith and Health, ” social epidemiologist Jeff Levin, Ph.D., M.P.H examined more than 200 studies on faith and health. Among the common links are:

On the average, people who are more religious tend to have healthier lifestyles.

Attending church, mosque or synagogue provides a social structure. “Being around other people you receive support. We know that social support is good for people’s health,” he says.

The practice of prayer, meditation or public worship services elicits positive emotions. A variety of new scientific research suggests that our emotions can lead to psychological changes that benefit our health.

It is a physical fact that the brain controls all the functions and processes of the body. Without a brain we cannot exist and therefore follows that psychological factors can affect physical conditions. It is therefore very important when dealing with health to consider the mental status of an individual.

Dr. T.M. Luhrmann, a professor of anthropology at Stanford, called it, “One of the most striking scientific discoveries about religion in recent years.”

Dr. Luhrmann, also the author of “When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God,” explained in the New York Times: “Religious attendance … boosts the immune system and decreases blood pressure. It may add as much as two to three years to your life.”

Dr. Luhrmann believes there are three reasons for those physical benefits.

1] Social Support. But Dr. Luhrman was referring to more than mere Sunday attendance. Rather, religious community interaction and involvement. At the churches she studied, people cared for one another, bore one another’s burdens, ate together, prayed together, encouraged one another, met one another’s needs, etc.

Dr. Luhrmann noted, “And we know that social support is directly tied to better health.”

2] Believers led healthier lifestyles. Though churchgoers struggled with weaknesses like anyone else, she wrote that, “on average, regular church attendees drink less, smoke less, use fewer recreational drugs and are less sexually promiscuous than others.”

3] One’s Belief System in God cultivated one’s experientially based thinking about him. Having faith in God exercises one’s trust and relationship with God

In my years of working with others to build health and combat disease,  I have never seen a person fully improve health and recover from disease while there exist worry, lack of hope  or anxiety in their life. But I have seen many recover from sickness because of the hope, joy and positive mental attitude brought on by their strong belief in the restoring power of God.

At Neoteric Natural Health Consultants we promote and support the connection between one’s faith in God in improving one’s health and quality of life. It makes no sense to have good physical health and not to go the next step to achieve improved mental and spiritual health thereby improving your self-image (positive), personal and family relationships.

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Author: Curt de Gourville, Lifestyle Counselor

Thanks:  The Faith & Health graphic above depicting the link between faith and health is used with the kind permission of the FAITH AND HEALTH CONNECTION MINISTRY. 

Reference:

• “Keep The Faith And Keep Your Health”, March 29, 2002 by Rhonda B. Graham, InteliHealth News Service
• The Free Dictionary: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/psychosomatic+illness
• Study.Com – Psychoneuroimmunology.
• Dr. Luhrmann, also the author of “When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God,”

 

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