Tuesday 5 January 2016

Spirituality and mental health

Recent events have brought into focus, once again, the intersection of religion and spiritual beliefs and mental illness. Jamaicans commonly hold beliefs ranging from deep conviction to distant deference to things spiritual. One is, therefore, led to ask, what is the line between spirituality and health?

Brain as organ

The conflict this question highlights is seen, perhaps, most starkly in mental health. Mental health issues bring about changes in perception, mood, thought, and behaviour, which are the same things we use to measure humanness, character and personality.

As such people often forget that the brain is still an organ of the body, just as the heart or lungs are. The brain being an organ means it is also susceptible to disease, malformation and dysfunction. If someone is unwell with the heart, the common response is to take them to the doctor or hospital. For the religious, that means simultaneously seeking divine intervention through prayer. We have to ask ourselves, what causes us to see the brain as different from any other organ? For the full article click here 



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