Find out in this article why, in recent years, various research has shown that we can use spirituality to manage stress.
If for many people talking about spirituality is like talking about religion, you can actually live spirituality regardless of religious beliefs or regardless of religion itself without it implying contradiction.
- In this sense.
- A religion is considered a codified set of beliefs and practices shared by a group of individuals regarding their relationship to a higher power.
On the other hand, spirituality refers to an individual’s relationship with a spirit, which can be a higher power (like a god) or simply a representation of the human being’s connection to a metaphysical reality greater than the person himself.
That’s why people can be religious without being spiritual and there are people who are spiritual without being religious, you can even meet people who live their spirituality, regardless of the religion they profess.
It should be noted that science has found that spirituality helps protect against depression because it thicks the cerebral cortex.
A 2014 study at Columbia University found a thickening of parts of the cerebral cortex associated with regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practices.
This may be why these activities protect against depression, especially in people predisposed to the disease.
Spiritual people have many ways of expressing spirituality, such as praying, attending religious services, interacting with like-minded people, meditating, through art or music (creating or watching/listening), contemplating nature, etc.
For example, religious often find that prayer is a way to be more connected to their god. Praying helps them feel calmer, safer, and more ingrained, which can help reduce stress.
Meditation would have similar benefits to prayer and also helps reduce blood pressure and increase immunity, among other factors that lead to stress management.
Prayer and meditation can bring inner peace and a sense of calm
Being grateful and expressing gratitude are also ways to express spirituality that help manage stress. Gratitude can reduce the stress experience.
Contemplating art or nature or artistic expression itself can also help manage stress, if it comes from the point of view of spiritual experience, gratitude.
Spirituality can help reduce and manage stress in many ways, creating a sense of stillness and inner peace that helps us control stress and regain communication with ourselves, with our mental and physical state.
We spend a lot of time working, moving from one activity to another, sometimes even doing several things at the same time, plus, we spend a lot of time listening to others, trying to distract us, while many thoughts go through our minds. uncontrolled.
The practice of spirituality can help us find moments of rest in the midst of daily life, the time we spend meditating, praying or simply enjoying what happens around us and in ourselves as mere spectators intelligently places us in front of reality.
It’s like hiring an assistant, with the advantage that this assistant has very valuable information about us.
Spirituality also helps us manage uncertainty. Trying to control everything is a very important source of frustration, simply because it is an impossible goal, so freeing ourselves from this goal, which we can consider a necessity, will lower our initial level of anxiety.
On the other hand, spirituality allows us to increase the meaning of the facts we live, both positive and negative, in a meaningful way, trying to learn situations rather than victimizing, blaming or living them superficially.
There is no doubt that spirituality also improves the sense of connection. Being part of something bigger than ourselves can make us feel less isolated and alone. Most stressors seem smaller and easier to manage if we know we belong.
Spirituality also helps us maintain a sense of purpose. The improved sense of connection and sense of meaning derived from spiritual practices allows us to look beyond ourselves.
This increases our sense of responsibility towards our community and even towards the universe in general.
In essence, spirituality helps us manage stress by changing the perspective it offers us.
Spiritual practice can help us turn seemingly insurmountable obstacles into acceptable challenges. Spirituality also helps us clarify our values and focus on what is important.