#i did research in numerical analysis (inverse problems) but it definitely was not my thing

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 89

Healing and Faith: Part 2

Dr. Harold Koenig

Among the pioneers of the study of faith's healing potential is Harold Koenig, an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Spirituality, and Health at Duke University Medical Center. Koenig first noticed the significance of faith as a factor in medical recovery when he was a young family doctor. He was consulted about a patient who had been hospitalized for a month after hip surgery. Her husband had died of a sudden stroke, and she had slipped on ice at his funeral and fractured her hip. The surgeon warned him that she was emotionally vulnerable. Indeed, she had experienced events that normally would trigger clinical depression and thus undermine her recovery.

He was therefore surprised to find the old lady cheerful when he entered her room. She said: "What can I do for you, Doctor?" Koenig's search for obvious signs of depression-fatigue, darkened or tear-reddened eyes, difficulty concentrating-indicated nothing. Upon further conversation, he discovered that she maintained her cheerful mood by reading the Bible. She told him: "If I wake up alone or afraid, I read my Bible or talk to God. He is always there, even when my loved ones are not. It's the most important thing that keeps me going."

Koenig was impressed. When she recovered with few complications, he felt compelled to study further the medical significance of such deep faith. Since that event, numerous patients have told him how their faith helped them cope, thus speeding their physical healing. His research team, which has studied thousands of Americans since 1984, has compiled powerful evidence that religious faith not only promotes overall good health, but also helps patients recover from serious illness.

"By praying to God, patients acquire an indirect form of control over their illness." They believe they are not alone in their struggle, and that God is personally interested in them. This safeguards them against the psychological isolation that batters so many seriously ill people. In a study of 455 elderly hospital patients, Koenig found that people who attended church more than once a week averaged about four days in the hospital. People who never or rarely attended church spent about ten to twelve days of hospitalization.

Dr. Dale Matthews

Dale Matthews is an associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. As a young internist in the early 1980s, he met a patient with strong faith who would make a lasting impact on his life. The man said: "I am a devout Christian. If you're going to be my doctor, I want you to pray with me" before allowing Matthews to treat him. Matthews had never shared his own faith with his patients, so at first he was reluctant. But nevertheless he joined hands with the man, who he hoped would keep quiet and keep the matter secret. After all, he did not want to be labeled "unscientific." He was alarmed when the man's booming voice filled the examination room. But Matthews had a crucial realization that day: His patient was a whole person, not a composite of symptoms and tests forming a "case." This led him to become sensitive to signals indicating that religion is important to a patient. If someone says: "I hope from God that nothing bad shows up in these tests," Matthews will say: "Tell me your thoughts about God." He declares: "We cannot prove scientifically that God heals, but I believe we can prove that belief in God has a beneficial effect." In his recently published book The Faith Factor, he incorporates religious wisdom, scientific research, and patients' stories to make a case for the faith-health connection.

Statistical Findings

Health care institutions are beginning to pay attention to the faith-health connection. Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and the AAAS have sponsored conferences on spirituality and health. Nearly half of all American medical schools now offer courses on the topic. Below we give findings of some published studies on the topic.

• In a survey of 269 doctors at the 1996 meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians, 99 percent said they thought religious beliefs could contribute to healing. When asked about their personal experiences, 63 percent of doctors said God intervened to improve their own medical conditions. Their patients agree even more enthusiastically that prayer is a powerful tool in healing. Polls by Time/CNN and USA Weekend show that about 80 percent of Americans believe spiritual faith or prayer can help people recover from illness or injury, and more than 60 percent think doctors should talk to patients about faith and even pray with those who request it.

• According to researchers at Columbia University, children whose religiously committed mothers are less likely to suffer from depression later in life. In their study, 60 mothers and 151 children were followed over 10 years to determine if there was any relationship between a mother's religious commitment and resulting depression in her children. The study found that daughters, but not sons, of women who considered religion to be highly important were 60 percent less likely to have a major depressive disorder at the 10-year followup. A second important factor linked with less depression was the degree to which the children embraced their mother's religion. When the mother and child were members of the same religious denomination at the followup, daughters were 71 percent less likely to suffer from a major depressive disorder while sons were 84 percent less likely.

• Another significant finding of the study was that highly religious mothers were less likely to be depressed themselves. Women for whom religion was highly important were 81 percent less likely to have major depression at the 10-year followup. This finding is consistent with other studies showing an inverse relationship between religiosity and depression. Several possible explanations exist for these findings. According to the researchers, highly religious mothers also were less likely to be divorced or exhibit poor social functioning—-both of which could contribute to depression in children. Another potential explanation comes from a recent study at the Medical College of Virginia, which found that religion can protect people from depression by buffering them against stressful life events.

• A Dartmouth Medical School study found that heart patients were 14 times more likely to die following surgery if they did not participate in group activities and did not find comfort in religion. Within six months of surgery 21 patients died, but there were no deaths among 37 people who said they were "deeply religious."

• A Yale University study of 2,812 elderly people found that those who never or rarely attended church had nearly twice the stroke rate of weekly church-goers.

• A survey of 5,286 Californians found that church members have lower death rates than nonmembers—regardless of such risk factors as smoking, drinking, obesity, and inactivity.

• Those with a religious commitment had fewer symptoms or had better health outcomes in seven out of eight cancer studies, four out of five blood pressure studies, four out of six heart disease studies, and four out of five general health studies. According to one research analysis, people with a strong religious commitment seem to be less prone to depression, suicide, alcoholism, and other addictions.

• Can others' prayers help? In a 1988 study by cardiologists Randolph Byrd, 393 heart patients in San Francisco General Hospital Medical center were divided into two groups. One was prayed for by people around the country; the other did not receive any prayers from study participants. Patients did not know to which group they belonged. The group that was prayed for experienced fewer complications, fewer cases of pneumonia, fewer cardiac arrests, less congestive heart failure, and needed fewer antibiotics.

• Researchers studying a sample population of 2,730 drawn from the Alameda County Study—a long-term research project of health and mortality—found that people who both attend religious services and participate in other activities through their place of worship receive protection from the stress of financial burdens, health issues, and other problems.

• In a study of nearly 600 severely ill hospital patients aged 55 and older, researchers measured 47 ways of coping. They discovered that patients who sought a connection with a benevolent God as well as support from clergy and church members were less depressed and rated their quality of life as higher, even after taking into account the severity of their diagnosis. Researchers also found that patients who gave spiritual support to others by praying for them or encouraging their faith also faired better emotionally.

• Another recent study conducted at Duke University revealed more striking results. In the first study to examine the role of religion in recovering from depression, researchers followed 87 patients aged 60 or older who were diagnosed with depressive disorder after being admitted to the hospital for a physical illness. They discovered that religion can help people recover from depression. In fact, the more spiritual the patient, the more quickly he or she recovered.

Conclusion

Can faith really heal? According to some researchers, the answer is a definite yes. The study of the link between religious faith and physical healing is very young. But there are important signs that faith can have significant positive impact on health, complementing such conventional medical practices as pharmaceuticals and surgery. Increasingly, professionals from respected institutions are looking into the relationship of faith and healing via scientific methods. Once considered a taboo, studying the healing powers of faith is now taken seriously in scientific circles. Regardless of its results, the very existence of this effort promises to expand the possibilities of cooperation between science and faith, and lead to a better understanding of human nature. *Fight or Flight Response: Stress has been defined as the perception of threat or danger that requires behavioral change. Stress results in various bodily changes, including increased metabolism, and increases in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and blood flow to the muscles. These internal physiological changes prepare us to fight or run away, and thus stress reaction has been named the "fight or flight" response. The fight or flight response was first described by Harvard physiologist Dr. Walter B. Cannon. It is mediated by the increased release of adrenaline and noradrenalin (epinephrine and norepinephrine) into the blood stream.

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How To Handle A Narcissist.

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