The Self-Healing Mind by Gregory Scott Brown M.D

Author:Gregory Scott Brown, M.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Tapping into Your Spiritual Self

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

What do you think about spirituality?

It’s one of those questions I love to ask my patients, because it almost always leads to deeper discussions about connection, purpose, and the meaning of life. Conversations about spirituality can be rich, thought-provoking, and challenging. Usually, the way we understand ourselves as spiritual beings depends largely on our background and our life experiences.

When I suggest that spirituality is an important pillar of self-care for mental health, it’s not uncommon for the person sitting across from me to smile politely and affirm, “Oh, but I’m not religious.”

It’s undeniable that religion is a form of spirituality that resonates with a lot of people, but it’s just one manifestation of it, and that’s important to keep in mind. Maybe religion resonates with you and maybe it doesn’t. Whether you are religious or not, spirituality can be useful because it helps us appreciate the interdependent nature of the human experience. It allows us to understand that none of us is navigating life alone, and it helps foster a sense of connection. Some people find that connection in church every Sunday, in the company of a community of believers; others find it at a meditation center. One of my patients told me that going on long hikes and being in nature helps him tap into his spiritual self.

That said, spirituality and medicine have a complicated history. Go back in time and you’ll see that spirituality and healing have evolved since the dawn of man. Ancient Greek physicians wouldn’t just give you a poultice for a festering wound, they’d also make sure you prayed and sacrificed to the right gods to allow for a quick and painless return to health. Fast-forward a thousand years to the Middle Ages and you’ll find that doctors had traded polytheism for one all-knowing God, at least on the European continent, but they still relied on prayers as much as the latest bloodletting practices to treat patients. Even today, with advances in medicine giving us remarkable new treatments and drug therapies, most medical doctors believe there is a spiritual element to healing and wellness. In fact, in a survey of physicians, the vast majority stated they were religious or spiritual, and 20 percent of respondents said that their spirituality was part of their reason for pursuing a career in medicine. Spirituality and health care have been, and continue to be, intricately intertwined. These overlaps are seen in mental health care as well.

In this chapter, we’ll discuss how spirituality can help bolster your mental health. Tapping into your spiritual self isn’t just about finding God. It’s about learning how to appreciate the necessity of spirituality for mental health in a way that works for you. It’s also important to note that spirituality as a self-care practice doesn’t have to be about any kind of organized religion, but it certainly can be. You’ll

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