If you’re of the Christian faith, you’re probably very familiar with the “faith of a mustard seed” scripture (Matthew 17:20). This passage assures us that the smallest amount of faith or belief can move mountains, obstacles, road blocks, or anything else that’s hindering you from where you need/want to be in life. While faith and belief in God are a given for many people, not everyone believes in a higher power, and it’s totally their right to do so. However, a new study has evidence that might convert some non-believers.
According to US News Health, “a belief in God may boost the effectiveness of short-term treatment for mental illness”. The study included 159 psychiatric patients who had their levels of depression, well-being and self harm evaluated and were asked about their belief in God during the duration of the study. Now, the study just observed faith in a general “god”, but I know their is POWER in the name of Jesus and although the study did not specify the Christian faith, those who believed in “a god”, proved to do much better in treatments than those who did not.
As reported by US News Health:
Patients with higher levels of belief in God were twice as likely to respond to treatment as those with no or little belief in God. Even among the more than 30 percent of patients who said they had no specific religious affiliation, those who had a moderate or high belief in God had a better response to treatment than those with little or no belief.
While the study also mentioned that the results were not necessarily cause and effect, it makes sense that those with faith responded better to treatments than those without it. Faith brings about hope. One of the main reasons many people get through hard times is because they have hope in something greater than themselves. They believe that there is something greater in life to look forward to than their current situation. Hope also breeds strength. Not always physical strength but spiritual strength. One can be weak in their body but strong in spirit through faith and hope in something bigger than and greater than what they see at the moment. They may be at their whits end and have been given up to die, but they can’t give up because their faith keeps them strong.
One in five Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness, and “only about 60 percent of people with mental illness get treatment each year”. So that means that half of that percentile may be getting cured or at least improving because of their faith, in addition to medical treatment.
What do you think? Is believing that you’ll get better a better antidote than medical medicine? I know what I believe, but I’d like to hear from my readers. What do you think about this study?
(Have gotten your copy of “Am I in a Bad Relationship?” yet? Purchase it here).
Dr. O
Picture source: http://whowillyouserve.blogspot.com/2011/08/doubt-vs-faith.html
