Spiritual healing, while having its roots in ancient traditions, is becoming increasingly popular today. Many practitioners and their patients report significant healing has come about through spiritual healing. So what types of ailments respond well to spiritual healing? The answers as varied as the number of methods for practicing this art. But there has been a good deal of documented research that supports the assertion that spiritual healing and prayer can have significant physical benefits.
Many programs that help people overcome substance abuse, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, are based on spiritual healing principles. By working through the spiritual effects of past events, unhappy memories, childhood abuse, trauma and other factors that can cause substance abuse, the program offers people a way to not only kick their physical habit, but also heal the underlying issues that may be leading to that abusive behavior in the first place.
By focusing on forgiveness, acceptance and understanding, these spiritual recovery programs offer some impressive statistics for success. In fact, many studies have shown that recovery programs that include some sort of a spiritual aspect are more effective that programs that deal strictly with the physical realities of addiction. Stress and anxiety have also been show to respond well to spiritual healing methods. When a person is under stress, chemicals build up their bodies and cause a host of problems, including sleeplessness, short temper, loss of appetite, digestive ills, memory loss, and many others.
Spiritual healing can address the root issues that are causing stress in a person’s life, and offer strategies to alleviate the stresses, or, at least, provide helpful coping mechanisms. By learning how to handle their stress on a spiritual level, many people find relief from the all-too-common problems caused by excess stress in their lives.
Many people suffer from the affliction of high blood pressure, and often need to resort to prescription medication to keep the problem under control. Spiritual healers often report success in these patients, and some remarkable results have been documented. The same is often seen with other cardio-vascular problems. A strong spiritual aspect has even been show to help improve a person’s chances of surviving a heart attack or stroke. Depression is another condition that can have a debilitating effect on a person’s life.
Spiritual healing, including prayer, has been shown to correlate to a lower incidence of depression. In fact, in a study in Michigan, the results showed the African American men who placed a high priority on their persona spiritual journey were less likely to suffer from depression that those who did not pray. Likewise, a study in South Carolina demonstrated that new moms, and their babies, were less likely to suffer from common medical complications than non-religious moms. Even in devastating diseases like cancer, spiritual healing and prayer has been shown to be of enormous benefit.
A group of researchers in Texas demonstrated that a strong religious faith and belief in the power of prayer to heal generally predicted a better outcome for surviving cancer. Patients who had an active spiritual life were more likely to recover and suffer fewer complications. Most reputable spiritual healers will advise you to continue to work with your health care provider to address physical problems, as well as adding a spiritual element to your therapy. It is important to keep your physician informed of any new therapies you are adding, and find a health care provider who will work with you to find a good balance of medical and spiritual help. By combining the benefits of modern medicine with the powerful capabilities of spiritual healing and prayer, amazing results can be achieved.
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