History of the Problem
Rachel Evans (2011) lists a number of nutritional therapies for the treatment of depression, ranging from St. John's Wort to "dan zhi xiao yao, a traditional Chinese medicine." Alternative medicine has often been seen as a supplement to the treatment of depression in the past. Other treatments have included the famous lobotomy technique designed by Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his technique. Moniz simply drilled and snipped "nerve fibers running from the frontal lobes to the rest of the brain" (Lerner, 2005). And Kyziridis identifies several ways in which the ancient Greeks would approach mental illness such as depression:
"Cicero…believed that man could help with his own cure through philosophy" (p. 43). Even today there are numerous studies that still show how physicians rely on pharmaceuticals to restore balance in a patient suffering from depression: Prevention of depends upon early intervention and usually relies on the administering of an antipsychotic. "One preliminary study suggests that treatment given at the ?rst sign of personality disruption can sometimes stave off the onset of full-blown schizophrenia and restore normal mental health" (Wyatt, 2001).
John Docherty at Cornell University dismisses some researchers for using what they call a "cross-sectional analysis," indicting them for "categorizing patients with different kinds of psychiatric disorders" (Arehart-Treichel, 2001). What Docherty reveals is that identifying a patient's disorder and treating is not always as black and white as it may appear. One reason it often appears gray may be that not all of the components of the patient are being taken into consideration. Why should psychiatrists limit themselves to the physical, emotional, and social and not deal with the spiritual?
The suggestion has been made that spirituality can play an impact on some individuals. Lisa Cooper and Daniel Ford (2001) argue that "research indicates that patients want their physicians to address issues of faith and spirituality in the course of their treatment, and that patients with strong spiritual and religious tendencies are receptive to physicians referring them to pastoral counselors or praying with them." What Cooper and Ford cite as a downside in their research is the lack of time and strategy devoted to developing this area of concern: "Not much is known about how, when, and with whom patients would like to discuss their spiritual needs in the context of medical care."
Reference List
Arehart-Treichel, J. (2001). Early Symptoms May Hold Key to Preventing
Schizophrenia. Psychiatric News. Retrieved from http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/36/6/33.full
Cooper, L., Ford, D. (2001). How Important is Intrinsic Spirituality in Depression Care?
Journal of General Intern Medicine 16(9), p. 634-638. DOI: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009634.x
Doolittle, B., Farrell, M. (2004). The Association Between Spirituality and Depression
in an Urban Clinic. Prim Care Companion Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 6(3), p. 114-118. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474734/
Evans, R. (2011). Q/Which nutritional therapies are safe and effective for depression?
Journal of Family Practice. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_2_60/ai_n57310063/pg_3/?tag=mantle_skin;content
Kyziridis, T. (2005). Notes on the History of Schizophrenia. Retrieved from http://www.gjpsy.uni-goettingen.de/gjp-article-kyziridis.pdf
Lerner, B.H. (2005). History of Medicine: On Lobotomy. ScienceWeek.
Retrieved from http://scienceweek.com/2005/sw050812-6.htm
MacLean C.D. et al. (2003). Patient preference for physician discussion and practice of spirituality. Journal of General Internal Medicine 18(1), p. 38-43. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12534762
McCoubrie, R., Davies, A. (2005). Is there a correlation between spirituality and anxiety and depression in patients with advanced cancer? Supportive Care in Cancer 14(4), 379-385. DOI: 10.1007/s00520-005-0892-6
Stanley, M.A. (2011). Older adults' preferences for religion/spirituality in treatment for anxiety and depression. Aging Mental Health 15(3), p. 334-43. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21491218
Wyatt, R.J. (2001). Tantalizing Clues to Preventing Schizophrenia. The Dana
Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=1452
Given a society that is disenchanted with the "ideological and political aspects of religion" the answer would be to embrace the kind of spiritualism that works effectively for healthcare professionals, Pesut continues, because it rejects the social influence of religious dogma and sets the healthcare professional free to interact on a higher level with patients. Tradition #4: In the twenty-first century, a spirituality that seems ideally suited for healthcare environments
Spirituality According to the holistic model of care, a lot of nurses should contemplate their patients' spiritual necessities so that they can give them the total patient care that they deserve (Govier, 2000). There is rising consciousness of the influence that spiritual happiness can do for a patient's real and apparent health and excellence of life (Chibnall et al., 2002; Mount, 2003). Spirituality and spiritual care in the past years is
SPIRITUALITY, RELIGION, & NURSING Beliefs Religion is an institutional practice of beliefs regarding a wide variety of aspects that are fundamental to identity and existence. Religion has set practices, beliefs, systems, and rituals that believers follow. Religions often have official texts that explain the history, the reasoning, and the metaphors used within that religion. Religions are distinctive in that there are set rules and often ceremonies along the followers' lives that commemorate
These are some of the positive functions of a religion. In other ways, religion has a negative impact on the individual and society at large. Some people become obsessed with religion because they find it easier to block out opposing points-of-view than to accept plurality and uncertainty. Instead of seeking rational solutions to problems, some people turn to the irrationality of religion. A person can be spiritual without being religious,
Role of Spirituality in the Treatment of Depression Over the last thirty years, one of the most interesting paradoxes in the study and treatment of depression has been that increased knowledge about the biomedical and genetic causes of the disease has been coupled with a renewed interest in the effect of religion and spirituality on human mental health and well-being. No matter how religion and spirituality are defined -- and many
Similarly the Ayurvedic tradition of India emphasized rest and relaxation and nutritional well-being, along with various mentally stimulating exercises. Ayurvedic resorts are still popular in the East. Buddhism is also viewed as an avenue out of depression -- a mode to enlightenment. Nonetheless, as James C.-Y. Chou (2005) states, "The concept of psychological depression in Eastern cultures is not as well accepted as it is in Western cultures. In fact,
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