Does Spirituality Have a Role in Managing Anxiety Disorders?

February 12th, 2020

By Nikki Harper

Staff Writer for Wake Up World

Anxiety disorders can have a crippling effect on quality of life, and with the number of sufferers on the rise – the Anxiety and Depression Association of America estimates that more than 40 million adult Americans are affected [1] – it’s becoming ever more crucial to understand how to effectively treat these issues.

Only just over one in three people with an anxiety disorder receives therapy and/or medical treatment [1] and even for those who do, there are increasing concerns about drug dependency, addiction and the over-prescribing of anti-anxiety medications [2]. An effective non-pharmaceutical solution is urgently needed, but researchers at the University of Toronto have recently made some interesting discoveries.

Researchers looked at a large, nationally representative survey of Canadians with a history of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Out of more than 2000 patients, 7 out of 10 are now free from the disorder, with 4 out of 10 deemed to have excellent mental health. A number of factors were considered in the research to have contributed to these recoveries, but a key finding was that spirituality appears to have a role in mental health healing [3].

The research shows that those who use spiritual or religious beliefs to help them cope with their anxiety disorder are 36% more likely to recover and to regain excellent mental health than those without spiritual beliefs. Esme Fuller-Thomson, lead author of the study, says there is a ‘strong link between recovery from a mental illness and belief in a higher power’. [4]

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