Religion, spirituality improve quality of life

Religious practices and spirituality can help improve quality of life as they reduce mortality and cardiac recurrences by two years, according to an Indian study presented at an annual conference here.
"The religion and spirituality help people better cope with illness like heart disease, depression, stress and accelerates healing," said Shridhar Sharma, Emeritus Professor at the National Academy of Medical Sciences and Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences Delhi.
Over 200 top psychiatrists from all over the world attended the week-long 168th American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting that concluded here last week.
"Interactions among brain, mind, body, spiritualism and religion, popularly known as 'mind-body medicine' can be effective in the treatment of coronary artery disease, enhancing the effect of standard cardiac rehabilitation in reducing all-cause mortality and cardiac event recurrences for up to two years," Sharma said.

He said the practice of spirituality and religion can improve mood, quality of life, and coping as well as ameliorate disease and treatment-related symptoms, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting and pain.
"There is considerable evidence that emotional conditions/traits, both negative and positive, influence people's susceptibility to infection. Clinical observations have suggested that negative mood or stress is associated with slow wound healing," he said.
Referring to distinction between religion and spirituality, Sharma said religion helped us to deal with sorrow that we see in life while spirituality regulates our emotions such as love, hope, joy, forgiveness, compassion, trust, gratitude and awe.

"While the spirituality is intrinsic and is a personal way of relating to the divine, self, people and the world, religion is associated with formal organisation focusing on controls and morals," he added.