How a Spiritual Life Affects a Person’s Health

A person’s life has several aspects that constitute a healthy whole. Generally, despite the desire to have a well-rounded life, people consider one or several aspects as the topmost priority. For example, there are those who feel that their physical health is the most important; as such they spend all their days with several workout routines and healthy eating. Meanwhile, those who prioritize their social life cannot go through a week without meeting up with several friends. Those who feel that their emotional health is most important would not think twice about sacrificing meals or even a job if only to get the love of his or her life back after a dramatic fight.
But how about the people who believe that the spiritual aspect supersedes all others? How do people who spend their entire week working at 8 to 5 jobs have the energy to attend prayer meetings or other religious activities during the weekend while other people are flat on their beds recuperating? How does a spiritual life affect a person?
1. Physical health – People who believe in a Supreme Being have a higher sense of hope for anything they are feeling physically. For example, when two people are diagnosed with the same sickness and one of them believes in a Divine Being and the other doesn’t, the former is more likely to have the confidence that he will get well. This results in the physical realm being subject to whatever that person believes in the spiritual. This is also largely why those who go to church and spend their time listening to sermons instead of catching up on sleep can regain their energy as well: they claim that the truths they learn in church are “food” for them.
2. Emotional life – Those who have a strong belief in a Great God who cares about them are less likely to succumb to depression or a sense of hopelessness even when everything else falls apart. This is because they have an anchor that everything else will work out OK. This also means that they can handle stress much more easily.
3. Social life – People who go to religious gatherings typically have a greater source of wisdom when it comes to relating to other people. For example, ancient Chinese principles teach the importance of treating others as we would like to be treated. Christian principles emphasize the importance of loving other people, including one’s enemies. These kinds of mindsets set the tone for one’s social interactions.
4. Professional life – People who have strong beliefs in terms of their spiritual life tend to act out those beliefs in their professional life. For example, those who work or are involved in a business may adhere to certain principles such as honesty and integrity much more strictly when they believe that they are expected to be so on the premise of their religious beliefs. Those who do not have such beliefs are more likely to succumb to pressures of what other people do in the workplace.
5. Mental life – People who go to religious gatherings and are refreshed typically have their mental health in a much improved state. Studies have checked people who believe in certain religious rituals like glossalalia: when they perform this ritual of speaking in other languages they haven’t learned, scientists have found a certain portion of the person’s brain working when it reportedly does not function during other activities. Also, the person’s immune system reportedly shoots up, tying it not only to mental health but also to the person’s physical health as well.
As we can see, there are certain advantages that a person experiences when he has something to hold on to in terms of his spiritual life. Of course, it still depends on the person’s beliefs that dictate which aspect of his life that he chooses to prioritize. In the end, the results will just show in terms of how it affects all the other aspects of one’s lifestyle.