Spirituality and mental illness
Spirituality is repeatedly found to be an important component of a person’s well-being. Despite this, people’s spiritual needs are often seen to be neglected during treatment and in developing and managing care plans for day-to-day activities, and even in some cases seen to be part of the individuals’ psychosis or delusions.
What is spirituality?
Spirituality may be seen in a broad sense as the meaning and purpose that people seek within their lives, and it should ideally give to an individual, a sense of their own worth and value. It has been shown that people do better within a faith community that is accepting and non-judgmental. Spirituality can help individuals to develop inner strength and peace, and places importance on hope and optimism.
Spiritual practices may include:
- Belonging to a faith community
- Meditation and prayer
- Living by a set of codes; such as in your personal relationships with family and friends, or how you treat others generally
- Emphasis on spiritual values: honesty, kindness, hope and compassion etc
The role that spirituality can have for people with mental health problems is being increasingly researched and discussed by healthcare professions and communities. Raised awareness comes from the increasing amounts of research that is been completed by organisations such as the Special Interest Group on Spirituality (Royal College of Physicians) and through projects like Inspiring Hope by the Mental Health Foundation and NIHME (National Institute for Mental Health in England) to name a few.
