There is research based evidence that religion and spirituality help prevent many physical and mental illnesses, decreasing both symptom severity and relapse rate, enhancing recovery, as well as rendering distress and disability easier to endure. Religious and spiritual factors can significantly affect the presentation of mental disorders and its knowledge is of utmost importance for proper diagnosis and treatment.
In a country like India it is fair to say that the vast majority of the population believes in one or other religion with varying influences of local and diverse culture on the same. When it comes to the treatment of common mental illnesses in India, unlike West, faith healers and religion is the first port of call.
There is truer for rural population which comprises majority of the population. When a patient comes to see a psychiatrist, it is likely that the family has already exhausted a number of options including faith healers. Although there is no proper research data from India, from clinical practice, it is fair to say that religion and faith healers play a big role in the recovery of many common mental health conditions.
Conditions like dissociation, conversion, day to day stress, anxiety problems are managed by visiting holy sites, gurus and faith healers. They act as counsellors and religious places give a platform to vent emotions. Many people also turn back to religion in difficult situations to find solace. Some times this is the only hope in one’s life. There is evidence that suicide rates are lower in populations where religion prohibits suicide, and thus faith or religion becomes a protective factor.
Lately concept of spirituality has been introduced into psychiatry and is considered more inclusive and affecting everybody. Some consider the concept of spirituality better than religion, claiming that unlike religion it is not divisive and can be adopted by anyone.
Spirituality is also considered more secular, and applicable to the whole field of mental health care. There are advocacy groups who call for routine assessment of spiritual health in all mental health patients. According to the World Health Organisation, ‘Patients and physicians have begun to realise the value of elements such as faith, hope and compassion in the healing processes. The spiritual dimension includes these factors and goes beyond religious affiliation. According to the WHO, it may be categorised under four headings: transcendence, personal relationships, codes to live by, and specific beliefs.
In western psychiatry, there is emphasis on spiritual training and providing adequate resources and manpower. Chaplains, Imams and other religious leaders are regularly employed by the psychiatric and general hospitals for providing ongoing support to patients in need. Sometimes religious beliefs make people not to take certain kind of treatment and having a religious person to counsel the patient at that time proves a great help.
On the other hand, when many people do find religion and its practices helpful in recovering from common mental health conditions, there are times when it acts adversely because of the negligence and uncontrolled mushrooming of people acting as faith healers.
Some faith healers advocate stopping medication prescribed by doctors which can be risky and life threatening in conditions like epilepsy and mood disorders where medication forms the first line of treatment. Sometimes people with learning disabilities, psychosis and other conditions are treated in a very inhuman way and tortured based on ill formed beliefs around religion. People are sometimes chained at some places run on the name of religion and faith. There have also been incidents of sexual and physical abuse by self-styled religious leaders.
India has unlimited resources when it comes to religion, spirituality and faith healers but there needs for some training and sensitisation so that people do not intervene beyond their capacity and untoward incidents are prevented. Psychiatric departments need to organise regular workshops for local faith healers for coordinated work so that people who need medical intervention are promptly referred.
There is also need to keep check on rogue people who tend to exploit people on the name of religion and more so mental health patients who may be more vulnerable when unwell. Engaging faith and spirituality will also enhance the experience of patients and help build trust in their treating psychiatrists.
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