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What Does Faith Has to Do With HealingFinding the Link Between the TwoIn earlier centuries, it was common for people with health problems to seek help from priests, religious leaders or pray for healing from God. However, as the number of people taking part in organized traditional religions diminished considerably, this became less of an option. As healing became a part of science, Western medical practitioners slowly moved away from spirituality and religious faith. The relationship between faith and healing was seen as weak or non-existent. However, recent scientific studies prove that spiritual healing is indeed a powerful "medicine".A Yale University study of 28,212 elderly people found that those who rarely or never attended church had twice the stroke rate of weekly churchgoers. Dr. Harold Koenig, an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, is considered to be a pioneer in the scientific study of the potential of spiritual healing. After studying thousands of people since 1984, Dr. Koenig found that religious faith not only promotes overall good health, but also aids in recovery from serious illness. "By praying to God," Koenig said, religious patients "acquire an indirect form of control over their illness." They believe that they are not alone in their struggle and God is personally interested in them. This safeguards them against the psychological isolation that batters so many people with serious disease. In a study of 455 elderly hospital patients, for example, 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 10 to 12 days hospitalized. When Koenig initially began telling his colleagues about these observations, many were skeptical. They saw spiritual healing as irrelevant to medical science. In recent years, however, more scientific journals have been publishing reports with similar findings. More and more doctors are beginning to understand that faith can have a role in healing. A Dartmouth Medical School study found that heart patients were 14 times more likely to die following a surgery if they did not participate in group activities and did not find comfort in religion. Within six months of surgery, 21 patients had died; but there were no deaths among the 37 people who said that they were "deeply religious." Researchers in Israel studied 3,900 people living on kibbutzim over a 16-year period. Their findings: the religious had a 40 percent lower death rate from cardiovascular disease and cancer than their secular peers. A Yale University study of 28,212 elderly people found that those who rarely or never attended church had twice the stroke rate of weekly churchgoers. Spiritual Healing and GodHarvard Medical School associate professor Dr. Herbert Benson has brought new understanding of the science involved in healing faith. It is believed that the correlation can be partially explained by the fact that people who are religious are less likely to smoke, drink or engage in risky sexual activities and they are more likely to have a network of social support. He also noted that 60 to 90 percent of doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses -- hypertension, infertility, insomnia and cardiovascular disease. Benson showed that the relaxed state brought on by prayer and meditation reduces the impact of stress hormones."Repetitive prayer slows a person's heart and breathing rates," he said. "It lowers blood pressure and even slows brain waves, all without drugs or surgery." Non-spiritual healing techniques such as meditation have a similar effect but most people prefer the enhanced emotional comfort of prayer. Stress also impairs the immune system by making it produce an inflammatory agent called interleukin-6, which is associated with chronic infection, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Koenig found high blood levels of interleukin-6 in people who rarely attended church. Regular attendees had significantly lower interleuin-6 levels, suggesting that they coped well against stress, as evidenced by their stronger immune system. In his book Timeless Healing, Benson theorized that since we are the only species conscious of our own mortality, we have "an organic craving," for the eternal. Medical AcceptanceThe medical profession is gradually coming to terms with researchers like Koenig and Benson. American residency programs for new psychiatrists, for example, are now required to address spiritual healing issues in their formal training. At John Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Thomas A. Corson and his colleagues have been teaching a faith-and-medicine course for a few years now. Dr. Corson predicts that the courses will soon become more common in the country.Dr. Dean Ornish, whose cutting-edge research into diet and stress-managing relaxation techniques brought him international acclaim, supports the helpful benefits of prayer and meditation. In his book Love and Survival, he noted that emotional tranquility through spirituality might be the "ultimate healing experience". The good news is that the medical community is starting to embrace the views of these experts. In 1992, only a few medical schools in the United States taught spirituality. Today, more than 50 schools of the 125 in the country have a dedicated curriculum. The course discusses major religions as seen from a medical perspective. Students are taught about religious opinion on issues like euthanasia, transfusion, the use of drugs and organ transplant. They are also taught to tap into religious resources like a hospital clergy when the need arises. Also Read:
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