Exploring The Spiritual Side Of Wellbeing

By Jan Howard

Spirituality and the role of religion in people’s emotional and physical wellbeing can be important tools to combat domestic violence and child abuse.

The Rev Paul Beavers and Rabbi Jon Haddon discussed “Spirituality – A Tool to Combat Domestic Violence and Child Abuse” during the third annual Child Abuse Conference held recently at Danbury Hospital. Rev Beavers is director of pastoral care at Danbury Hospital, and Rabbi Haddon is the spiritual leader of Temple Shearith Israel in Ridgefield.

“If God makes peace in high places, how much more it’s needed on earth,” Rabbi Haddon said. “How do we picture strife? Pictures of violence are very far away in my life.

“But there are families right here who know about the horrific scenes of violence,” he said. “These are not images from different places, but the real abuse of spouses, parents, and, most of all, children.”

Rabbi Haddon pointed to the images he remembers from television during the Vietnam War. “We could turn it off,” he said. “In truth, there are many homes that are no longer places of peace. Even in the Jewish community we are not immune from the statistics. Violence exists in Jewish families.”

Physical abuse, Rabbi Haddon said, is anything that aims to control or frighten. Forms of control, such as shoving, “never should be minimized,” he noted. Other forms of control or to frighten include blocking movements, denying sleep, throwing, pushing, biting, choking, burning, and throwing down stairs. “The list goes on and on,” he said.

Emotional abuse is the use of coercive methods to control behavior, such as intimidation, isolationism, and economic control. “It can be so severe as to be brainwashing,” Rabbi Haddon said. A person can lose his/her self-esteem or sense of reality, he added.

“Doctors and nurses are on the front lines of this problem,” he said.

There should be zero tolerance toward abuse of any kind, Rabbi Haddon said. Unlike what was taught from the scriptures in the past, society has changed, he noted, and no longer is anyone allowed to beat a child.

Those who would quote the scriptures on the right to physically discipline a child should be answered with the passages that speak of compassion, he said.

“We are in the business of teaching people to be nice. We should reemphasize the sanctity of marriage and the family,” he said. “We should have zero tolerance toward abuse.”

During Passover, Rabbi Haddon said the promise within all children is recognized. “We think of children who have no home. We think of children whose tears should be dried.”

Rabbi Haddon noted children are remembered who have suffered from hunger and abuse. “We pray for the children.”

“People with faith are better able to cope with pain,” Rev Beavers said. “For prevention and treatment, spirituality can be an important resource.”

Religion offers individuals various resources for coping with stress, such as the image of a benevolent God as a source of solace, prayer as an effective coping technique, support from a strong, compassionate network, and a forum for addressing issues.

These resources can be effective in buffering one’s mental health against the negative effects of stressful life events, Rev Beavers said. It also can offer a sense of hope and optimism that enhances recovery from physical setbacks.

 Studies of the biological, behavioral, and environmental risk factors for illness have been done for some time, he noted. Recent studies, however, have revealed that religious and spiritual beliefs and practices may also play a critical role in influencing an individual’s wellbeing.

“These studies suggest that religion and spirituality may play a more direct role in mental and physical health and may play a mediating role in preventing illness or helping in getting better,” he said.

These findings have been found in diverse study populations, regardless of age, religious affiliation, or gender, he noted.

 “Religious commitment is an important factor in wellbeing,” he said. “Surveys of the United States population have shown that religion plays a central role in the lives of many Americans.”

Regarding religious beliefs, 96 percent of Americans surveyed indicate a belief in God; 59 percent say religion is very important or extremely important in their daily lives; 60 percent say they pray at least once a day; and 56 percent say their faith has helped them recover from illness, injury, or disease.

Rev Beavers said that data suggests that religious commitment correlates with reductions in mental health problems, including depression, suicide, delinquency, and alcohol and drug use.

He suggested that doctors can utilize this information by taking a spiritual history to understand the patient more fully, to ask questions to help a person reveal concerns and special issues he/she might have to help the health-care provider understand how important spirituality is to the patient.

“Doctors tend to rely on their technical training,” he said, noting, however, that patients want their doctors and other medical professionals to be caring people as well as technically skilled.

Rev Beaver noted, however, that medical practitioners have to be in touch with their own spirituality. “You can’t address a patient’s spirituality before addressing your own. I believe that.”

Studies have demonstrated that religious approaches to the treatment of mental health problems are promising. He said only one study directly addresses the issue of domestic violence, and he found no studies that dealt specifically with spirituality/religiousness and child-abuse.

Evidence suggests that spirituality/religiousness is an important resource that clinicians should not overlook. Rev Beavers noted that doctors should consider the possibility of making referrals to pastoral care people. “Patients should be encouraged to seek out a religious person to experience a sense of wellbeing,” he said.

A recent study indicated that 80 percent of family physicians referred patients to clergy as often as ten or more times a year.