Spiritual beliefs linked to mental issues

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Being spiritual may give life deeper meaning but it can also affect your mind, research suggests.

Custom byline text:

A study found that people professing to be spiritual, but not conventionally religious, were more likely to suffer from a host of mental challenges.

Their issues included abnormal eating conditions, drug abuse, anxiety disorder, phobias and neurosis.

They were also more likely than others to be taking medication for mental health problems.Professor Michael King, from University College London, wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry: "People who had a spiritual understanding of life had worse mental health than those with an understanding that was neither religious nor spiritual."The study was based on a survey of 7403 randomly selected men and women questioned about their spiritual and religious beliefs, and mental state.Of the participants, 35% described themselves as "religious", meaning they attended a church, mosque, synagogue or temple. The vast majority of this group (86%) were Christian. A further 19% claimed to have spiritual beliefs or experiences without following a specific religion, while 46% were neither religious nor spiritual.More than nine out of 10 were white British, with an average age of 46. Spiritual people were 50% more likely to have a generalised anxiety disorder and 72% more likely to have a phobia.They also had a 77% higher chance of being dependent on drugs and were 37% more at risk of neurotic disorder. Spirituality was also associated with a 40% greater likelihood of receiving treatment with psychotropic drugs.The researchers wrote: "There is increasing evidence that people who profess spiritual beliefs in the absence of a religious framework are more vulnerable to mental disorder."

Contextual targeting label:

Education

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Spiritual beliefs linked to mental issues

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED