Having a healthy spiritual life and living by faith does more than just make you feel happy and fulfilled — it also helps your body heal more efficiently and completely from physical and mental issues.
At Faithfully Guided, we focus on a whole-person approach to health using biblical principles and evidence-based science so you can live your most abundant life physically, mentally, and spiritually. Read on to learn more.
Understanding the Link Between Your Spiritual, Physical, and Mental Health
An intersection of religion, medicine, and healthcare has existed since recorded history began. Early hospitals in the West were built and staffed by religious organizations, and in the American colonies, clergy people also often served as physicians.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 describes the body as a “Temple of the Holy Spirit,” which also emphasizes each person’s responsibility to care for their body, discouraging harmful behaviors. Faith can help you respond more positively to physical and mental health challenges.
Faith and Physical Health
Mounting evidence demonstrates that negative emotions, particularly those associated with stress, adversely affect our physical health and healing ability. It has been researched that demonstrated religious practice or faith positively impacts cardiovascular functions and outcomes, as well as lower inflammatory marker levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogens that put people at a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Similarly, faith has the following effects on physical well-being.
- Reduces the occurrence of hypertension.
- Positively affects cognitive functioning.
- Engages the parts of the brain responsible for retaining memories.
- Increases immune functions.
- Improves endocrine function.
- Maintains physical function in aging.
- Can extend life longevity.
Further, people of faith are less likely to smoke, more likely to eat well and exercise, and less prone to engage in risky sexual behaviors.
Faith and Mental Health
Religious faith gives believers stress coping resources that induce more positive emotions and reduced mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or even suicide. People of faith also feel a strong sense of purpose and an optimistic worldview that God is in control and that He listens and responds to prayer. Religious beliefs also address existential questions and provide believers with answers about what happens to us in this life and the afterlife, reducing uncertainty-related angst.
Religious doctrine or biblical principles guide believers on how to live life within social groups. Doing so can provide guidelines to cope with stressful events such as divorce, problems with children, financial hardship, legal trouble resulting from lawbreaking, or diseases resulting from risky sexual activities.
Lastly, because most religions promote loving other people and treating them with compassion and kindness, human support is often available during times of difficulty. Religion also encourages the following virtues that help maintain friendships and social relationships, further strengthening positive emotions.
- Honesty
- Forgiveness
- Gratitude
- Patience
- Steadfastness
Let Faith Guide You With Faithfully Guided
It’s clear that a faith-based approach that is accessible to all people can help prevent some physical and mental ailments, as well as equip you to handle them better when they happen. If you’re ready to find out how a whole-person approach to wellness can help you live more abundantly and happily, contact us today.
