Spirituality isn’t all mystical.
Divine intervention. A growing body of evidence shows that spiritual beliefs are linked to improved health outcomes, including lower rates of all-cause mortality, depression, and substance use.
Researchers say spirituality — defined as having a sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to something larger than oneself — is a social determinant of health that requires clinical attention.
However, only 7% of medical schools currently require classes on the topic, and 46% of public health graduate students say the influence of spirituality is never covered in their programs.
Finding yourself. While the majority of humans still value mental health, it is becoming harder to nurture it with each generation and is declining.
- Gen Zers are three times more likely to suffer from mental health problems than Baby Boomers.
- Gen Zers with poor mental health are up to four times less likely to have good mental health and two times less likely to have good physical or social health.
Young people self-report a lack of purpose and resilience and are paying for social experiences in search of wellbeing, anxiety relief and connection.
But as concepts like holistic health and alternative medicine go mainstream, spirituality may once again be seen as a core component of well-being.
ending: Since the Enlightenment, organized religion has understandably been separated from health science. Coming full circle, experts are beginning to suggest that faith, whether it comes from religion, nature, or relationships, may be just as important as diet and health.
