Modern health care has adopted a practice of being patient centered. With this in mind, attending to patients’ needs is paramount to their recovery. But we know that mind, body, and spirit are all connected. So in addition to tending to one’s physical health, we also need to address psycho-social and spiritual health. All three of these contribute to the wholeness of an individual.
As patients participate in their own health care, medical assessments should include questions about our patients’ personal life to determine what conflicts and struggles they have.
Spirituality connects to something bigger than we are – something sacred in life. Whether a person believes in a higher power or not, spirituality searches for meaning in life. For some, meaning may be derived from nature, vocation, family, pleasures or abilities.
When illness threatens or alters what is normal for a person, their life balance is upset. The converse may also be true – an increased level of conflict, stress or anxiety can be a contributing factor for physical illness.
People are blessed with sovereignty, giving us choices to make throughout life. When our health is threatened, and we face our mortality, reality is acknowledged that our lives and sovereignty are limited. Spirituality wrestles with this issue of mortality, and helps us cope with it through the means of our belief system.
During illness, a process may occur similar to a grieving process, whereby what we once were is surrendered, accommodating our body and spirit to adapt and accept our new normal baseline. Support systems are very important at this time, giving us hope to continue to have meaningful lives.
When we are faced with imminent death, as reality detaches us from normalcy, spirituality can comfort us through the hope of our faith system. It can remind us that pain and suffering will soon be over. Caregivers can empathetically listen to personal stories, validating the patient’s life. Taking measures to ensure a patient’s dignity helps give peace of mind and spirit as their body betrays them.
All health care associates can practice the art of promoting spiritual wellness by seeing patients as they are to themselves, their families, their cultures and their beliefs. Find out what is important to them, and strengthen them by assuring them their illness does not define who they are. Help them to reconnect to their spiritual well-being, where healing can take place, regardless of their physical health.
