Spirituality means different things to different people. They may interpret it as:
- their religion or faith
- giving meaning and direction to their life, sometimes described as their ‘journey’
- a way of understanding the world and their place in the world
- belief in a higher being or a force greater than any individual
- a core part of their identity and essential humanity
- a feeling of belonging or connectedness
- a quest for wholeness, hope or harmony
- a sense that there is more to life than material things
“I don’t believe in a God – a divine being of any description… But I do have a great wonder at the workings of the world and the universe. I suppose you could call that a spiritual response.”
Spirituality is often seen as a broader concept than religion. Some spiritual beliefs are particular to an individual, whereas the beliefs attached to a religion are shared by large groups of people who follow established teaching.
People may develop and express their spirituality through:
- religious practices such as worship, prayer and reading religious texts
- coming together as a spiritual community
- living by certain values
- rituals such as burning incense
- wearing particular clothes or eating particular foods
- cultural or creative activities such as making music or creating art
- getting closer to nature
- activities that develop self-awareness or personal control such as contemplation or yoga
- physical activity
- friendship or voluntary work
Some people may consider these activities central to their lives, but they may not think of themselves as ‘spiritual’ nor associate these activities with ‘spirituality’.
Being able to express and explore our spirituality is a basic human need and a universal human right. This right applies to everyone and is enshrined in European and UK law, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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Spirituality can help people maintain good mental health. It can help them cope with everyday stress and can keep them grounded. Tolerant and inclusive spiritual communities can provide valuable support and friendship. There is some evidence of links between spirituality and improvements in people’s mental health, although researchers do not know exactly how this works.
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Spirituality can also help people deal with periods of mental distress or mental illness. Spirituality can bring a feeling of being connected to something bigger than yourself and it can provide a way of coping in addition to relying on your own mental resilience. It can help people make sense of what they are experiencing.
“I’m quite happy to live with the idea that… in a fallen world there are things that happen to people just… through chance and circumstance. But what one does need to believe is that all of that is happening in an ultimately meaningful framework.”
Having a spiritual life can give people strength and improve their wellbeing. But some people’s experiences of spirituality may be damaging to their mental health. They may find certain belief systems repressive and their followers judgmental.
Occasionally, people’s past experiences can be unhelpful to their recovery from mental health problems, whether or not they felt uncomfortable with those spiritual influences at the time. Their beliefs may disturb or frighten them and that can lead to behaviour that other people find challenging.
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“I think it was a combination of my GP, the medicine and my spiritual life. In some incredible way they all came together and I think it was the spiritual element that was the glue that held it together.”
The staff of mental health services need to respect service users’ spirituality as a human right. A mental health service culture that responds to spiritual needs:
People express their spirituality in many different ways and spiritual beliefs can influence the decisions service users make about the treatment they receive or how they want to be supported. Taking the spiritual needs of service users into account can support their recovery or help them live with their mental health problems in the best way for them as individuals.
Encouraging service users to explore what is important to them spiritually can be a valuable self help strategy as people often want to talk about their spirituality.
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Written in 2007
Adapted from our booklet for staff working in mental health services, Making space for spirituality: How to support service users.
The booklet explains why spirituality is important and suggests how staff working in mental health services can incorporate a spiritual dimension into the support they offer to service users.
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