In the fast pace of life today, many people define themselves based on their spirituality. Today, spirituality is more than just an aspect of a person’s religious background spirituality is closely related to an individual’s mental health, self-awareness, and emotional balance. As many people suffering from anxiety, stress, and a sense of disconnect due to their environment are using spiritual practices to help them cope.
Due to the increased use of technology, an increase in working conditions where an individual may feel increasingly isolated from other people, and the constant use of technology mentally, and emotionally, to connect with individuals, individuals are seeking a deeper understanding of themselves as individuals, as well as, an inner sense of security, during challenging periods.
The focus that individuals have upon the mind/soul connection within themselves during the emotional healing process has increased within modern culture based upon this search for inner security during challenging periods of transition.
Experiencing Spirituality
Instead, an individual experiences their spirituality through their experience with themselves. This experience may be through nature, a meditation session, a prayer session, or reflective thinking. Regardless of how an individual experiences their spirituality, these individual experiences provide comfort to the individual, and lessens feelings of isolation that they may experience during a mental health challenge.
The spiritual practice leads to greater self-reflection and assists with the individual’s understanding of their emotions and thoughts. Spirituality has been found to help reduce anxiety and develop emotional control over a longer period of time. Today, many therapists recognize spirituality as a supportive element of a person’s overall mental health care process.
Mind and Spirit Connection
The connection between the mind and spirit shapes an individual’s approach to their mental health. The mind and through the thoughts, emotions, and inner values, help to provide balance and awareness of one’s daily responsibilities while giving support to each of them.
The mind-soul connection allows individuals to align their actions with their inner values.
Modern Spiritual Resources
Many modern resources offer practical and easy methods that foster a connection between your Mind and Soul. The widespread popularity of mobile apps for Meditation (like Headspace) and the increase in awareness of Spiritual Wellness as a viable approach (due to high-profile figures like Oprah Winfrey) has created a wider availability of resources on how to incorporate Spirituality into our daily lives.
Nurturing your Mind-Soul connection results in an increase in your own Inner Peace and Emotional Restoration. The increased awareness of this connection drives more opportunities for individuals to explore how Spirituality intersects with their Emotional Health journey in today’s world.
Using Spirituality to Heal Emotionally
Spirituality can assist in healing your emotional wounds by providing an alternative way for individuals to work through pain, grief, and all of the unresolved emotion that can come from these experiences. Rather than trying to ignore or suppress unwanted or unpleasant feelings, spiritual practices, such as Meditation, allow you to accept and have compassion for yourself. This gives you the ability to heal emotionally over time, without the negative impact of Emotional Strain on your mental/emotional well-being.
Healing Through Reflection
Spirituality encourages individuals to reflect on their emotional experiences instead of suppressing those experiences. Spiritual Reflection could be achieved through journaling the use of prayer or simply quieting one’s mind with the goal of achieving improper action. Spiritual Reflection gives individuals the opportunity to see their emotional responses in a non-judgmental manner.
Through this, individuals can let go of emotions, process through the emotions and see their personal struggles more clearly.
Most often, individuals find healing by connecting their emotional pain to their Life Purpose or Life Source (perhaps God). In instances when individuals view their emotional pain and suffering through a lens of opportunity for Growth, it is much easier to manage and experience their emotional suffering.
Spiritual Practice
Spiritual Practice provides individuals with the opportunity to create regular, daily routines to help foster Emotional Healing. Individuals will learn to calm their body’s Nervous System and Support their Emotional Stability through the daily routines of Spiritual Practice.
Common Supportive Approaches to Cultivating Inner Peace
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Mindfulness Meditation– Learning how to pay attention to your feelings in an observing way without reacting
Inner Peace and Mental Health
Inner Peace is the result of Spirituality, and is a key contributor to the individual’s Mental Well-Being.
Inner peace refers to the individual’s ability to maintain a calm, balanced state of being even when facing outside stressors.
Cultivating Inner Peace in the current times helps the individual to alleviate anxiety and emotional burnout.
How Inner Peace Contributes to Mental Health
When individuals have Inner Peace, their stress response becomes less reactive.
Having an Inner Calm allows for more emotional regulation, which helps with concentration.
Having emotional stability allows for better Sleep, Better Clarity of Thought, and more Healthy Relationships.
In addition, Inner Peace reduces Rumination and Over-Analyzing, which are two common contributors to mental health issues.
Spirituality and Mental Health Science
These tools combine the principles of Spirituality with Mental Health Science, making the cultivation of Inner Peace more Accessible.
Many Wellness Educators, such as Deepak Chopra, focus on the importance of Creating a Congruence Between Your Thoughts, Emotions and Values.
The development of a long-term sense of inner peace is evaluated as a means of establishing the highest degree of mental well-being or behaviour.
Thus, this concept of alignment leads to a form of spiritual coping strategies that are beneficial for an individual in regards to applying various strategies (coping mechanisms) toward stress in their life.
Spiritual Coping Strategies
Use spiritual coping strategies as a way to cope with modern-day stressors.
The strategies provide individuals with the ability to handle modern-day stresses in a positive manner.
Instead of finding refuge in extra-ordinarily external resources (i.e., a psychiatrist) to escape their difficult events, spirituality offers the ability to be aware of one’s own thought processes and belief systems.
These types of strategies can help support the mental health of an individual in terms of decreasing the emotional burden they carry.
The primary purpose of a spiritual coping strategy for the individual is to find a way to respond in a rational and sensible manner when one experiences a great deal of stress.
Spiritual Tools for Everyday use
Many modern-day spiritual paths/resources provide practical tools for individuals trying to balance their busy lives.
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Intentional deep, slow breaths during moments of tension.
Spirituality’s Role in Reducing Anxiety/depression
Spirituality can provide individuals with emotional stability and self support during times of high anxiety and/or depression.
Many individuals turn to spirituality in order to help manage high levels of mental/intellectual distress.
Individuals’ spiritual beliefs can also serve as a means of reframing their thoughts toward their emotional state, and allowing individuals to view their emotional distress as an experience that is temporary and/or meaningful.
As a result, spiritual beliefs support efforts to create mental stability and, thus, reduce the emotional burden associated with traumatic experiences.
Mindfulness, Meditation, and Psychological Awareness
Mindfulness/mindful awareness and meditation are being utilised as spiritual coping strategies, to provide individuals with the ability to manage high levels of anxiety and/or depression.
The focus of these spiritual coping strategies is to provide individuals with a greater level of psychological awareness, reducing rumination and emotional distress associated with their emotional experience.
In addition, as an individual continues to practice mindfulness/mindful awareness, an improvement in psychological management of stress is realised.
Growth of Mind and Spirit – Self Awareness of Soul
The Purpose of Spirituality – Understanding Your Internal Self
A number of common practices in spirituality will aid in continued self-awareness and reflection on one’s self, including:
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Silent reflection, which allows individuals to contemplate their reactions.
The Integration of Spirituality into Daily Life in Today’s Society
The integration of spirituality into the daily lives of individuals will enable them to maintain a measure of mental balance amidst everything else in life.
By having small, simple, and consistent spiritual practices in one’s everyday life, one will be able to maintain their emotional grounding and mental balance for a longer period of time, thus supporting their overall mental health, even when they are busy, and not helping to disrupt their daily lives.
Practices in Daily Life That Support Balance With Spirituality
Simple forms of spiritual practice can create large shifts in mental focus for individuals.
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An example of such a practice would be morning reflection.
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This personal reflection will encourage the individual to set positive intentions for that day.
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Evening gratitude will promote emotional clearing and release stress before bedtime.
When creating a routine around developing an individual’s spirituality, consistency is more important than the length of time.
The role of Technology and Modern Spiritual Support in today’s society
“Through the use of modern technologies, we have access to spiritual support.”
By using a wellness app or online community, we can practice guided meditations and self-reflection anytime, and we now have mental health resources with optimal practice through our various lifestyles.
“Free global resources for inner peace are provided through companies such as Insight Timer.”
By maintaining a balance of spiritual practice, these tools also teach people about the role of spirituality is in their relationships and communities.
How People View Spirituality and Spiritual Support in Relationships
“Spirituality shapes how we communicate with and empathize with others, as well as resolve conflicts.”
When someone brings spiritual awareness to a relationship, they may react with more emotional softness (less stress).
Coupled with emotional support is the purpose of shared spiritual practices in strengthening the emotional connection of couples.
Influencers (such as Brené Brown) are promoting vulnerability and emotional presence within this practice, creating a natural path for promoting spiritual health and mental health.
By doing so, they promote community and social reward and encourage people to connect to the spiritual side of their nature as well as their mental side.
