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Belief In God Correlates With Better Mental Health Treatment Outcomes

Posted by Soulskill on from the take-two-communion-wafers-and-call-me-in-the-morning dept.

Hatta writes "According to researchers from Harvard Medical School, belief in god is correlated with improved outcomes of treatment for depression. Quoting: 'In the study, published in the current issue of Journal of Affective Disorders, researchers comment that people with a moderate to high level of belief in a higher power do significantly better in short-term psychiatric treatment than those without. "Belief was associated with not only improved psychological well-being, but decreases in depression and intention to self-harm," says David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D., an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.' This raises interesting questions. Does this support the concept of depressive realism? If the association is found to be causal, would it be ethical for a psychiatrist to prescribe religion?"

3 of 931 comments (clear)

  1. Thus proving... by Joe+U · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That ignorance is bliss.

  2. It's comforting to have an easy out. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's God's will. God is testing me. It's beyond my control. There's also the "God gives me strength" angle.

    I suppose it's easier to overcome mental health problems if one believes that they bear no responsibility for their troubles and that an infinitely powerful being will make everything okay if they just believe. A metaphysical placebo.

    It's a bit rougher if you've only got yourself to blame for your shortcomings and believe the strength to overcome must come from within.

  3. Enjoy each day by Dorianny · · Score: 5, Interesting

    People are so worried about how long they have to live and what will happen to them after death that they forget to enjoy the life they have. A close relative was diagnosed with low grade lymphoma a few months ago (manageable but unfortunately uncurable ) and she wander why I took such a devastating diagnosis to open her eye to the happiness of everyday life. "I don’t take life for granted anymore. I learned to live in the moment. I also realized that when I live in the present moment, life is wonderful" she said to me. It sounded like a frigging cliche but she seems happier than she has ever been. Perhaps we are just wired to constantly worry and its only when faced with the prospect of death that we realize how futile an effort it is.