This Ivy League researcher says spirituality is good for our mental health

Psychologist Lisa Miller claims that spirituality offers significant mental health benefits, including reductions in anxiety, depression, and addiction rates, according to her latest book “The Awakened Brain.”

Who said what: Dr. Lisa Miller is a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
* Dr. Miller argues that spiritual beliefs can lead to happier lives, alongside decreased rates of anxiety and depression.
* She shared a story of observing the spiritual experiences of mental health patients during a Yom Kippur service, which led her to further study the impact of spirituality on mental health.

The science behind it: Dr. Miller’s research primarily focused on the effects of personal spirituality on addiction and depression.
* Her findings revealed that individuals who view their personal spirituality as significant are 80% less likely to develop addiction to drugs or alcohol.
* These results held true even though other factors, such as social support or resources, were accounted for in her study.

In action: A case study involving a patient named Iliana was shared to illustrate the real-life implications of her research.
* Iliana was able to overcome severe grief after her father’s sudden death due to her belief in a spiritual connection with her father.

Challenging skepticism: Despite facing skepticism from her peers, Dr. Miller insists that there is solid scientific evidence supporting the healing power of spirituality.
* She encourages skeptics to consider the peer-reviewed science proving our inherent spiritual nature and the substantial mental health benefits it can provide.

View original article on NPR

This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.

Contact us about this post

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *