Religious Belief May Affect Well-Being

(WebMD)  When people go through a stressful medical event, their religious beliefs may help or hinder them psychologically, a new study shows.

The study shows less distress after heart surgery in people who lean on faith for comfort and support than those who feel spiritually angry or doubtful.

The researchers included Amy Ai, Ph.D. She's an associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Social Work.

Ai's team studied 309 people due for major heart surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center between 1999 and 2002. The study was presented Thursday in New Orleans at the American Psychological Association's 2006 convention.

The patients were 33 to 89 years old. The average age was 62. Their faiths:

Christian: 83 percent

Jewish: 3 percent

Muslim: less than 1 percent

Other: 3 percent

No preference: 10 percent

The patients were interviewed twice, once in person and once by phone, before surgery. They also took a survey about 36 days after surgery.

The pre-surgery interviews gauged the patients' religious coping style as being positive or negative.

Here are examples of those religious coping styles:

Positive: Finding forgiveness, spiritual support, and love in their religious beliefs.

Negative: Feeling spiritually discontent, angry at God, or questioning God's love.

Other factors — which aren't necessarily religious — were also measured, including the patients' sense of hope and social support before surgery.

People with positive religious coping styles reported less psychological distress in the post-surgery survey than those with negative religious coping styles.

Social support and hope tended to go with positive religious coping styles, the study also shows.

Patients' faith may deserve more attention from health care workers, Ai and colleagues note.


SOURCES: American Psychological Association Convention 2006, New Orleans, Aug. 10-13, 2006. News release, American Psychological Association.

By Miranda Hitti. Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D. © 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved

[afranco297]

Just a follow-up to my initial comments. I don't want to give the impression that I wasn't scared or frightened or that I never experience fear with regard to health issues, especially as a cancer survivor. But with faith, all of this can be acknowledged and confessed to God, and should be as we ask for His help. In fact, as a person of faith, one can experience fear and peace simultaneously (seems strange but really isn't). I had thought this was strange and discussed it with my pastor -- how can I be afraid and at peace at the same time? He suggested that the fear is from just being human; there would be something wrong to not be afraid when one has a life threatening illness. The peace is from God. When I surrendered to the Lord it was while I still experienced fear; yet I know He was there (and still is) and walks me through the valley as well as the mountaintop. So, it's not that believers don't fear or are pollyanna-ish; just that we have Someone to take our fear to and a source of help, guidance, strength and encouragement. At any rate, remember that one of the names of God is the Great Physician

[afranco297]

These study results come as no suprise to me. I am a breast cancer survivor and also a Christian. I know that the Lord has helped me every step of the way from diagnosis to treatment to recovery. I closely sensed the presence of the Lord throughout this experience. For example, in the operating room I had a peace which could not be explained by my circumstances; I knew that the medical team and I were not alone. Certain Bible verses some of which were shared with me by friends, came to mind and were a great comfort. A key thing is to know when to totally surrender your life and the situation to the Lord. We need to do our part in taking care of ourselves to the best of our ability and ask God for His guidance in that area; when we know we've done all we can, it's time to let go and release the outcome to God