Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T00:39:18.705Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 9 - Common Mental Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2022

By
Glòria Durà-Vilà  and
Simon Dein
Edited by
Christopher C. H. Cook  and
Andrew Powell
Christopher C. H. Cook
Affiliation:
Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University
Andrew Powell
Affiliation:
Formerly Warneford Hospital and University of Oxford
Get access

Summary

This chapter focuses on religious and spiritual aspects of anxiety and depression. It begins by examining acedia, before moving on to critically reviewing studies on religiosity both in the religious and among atheists. It then considers the relationship between depression and the ‘Dark Night of the soul’. It appraises studies of the prevalence of anxiety in religious groups, with a focus on obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although spirituality/religion can have a positive impact on the experience of depression and anxiety, they can also have negative effects, and these are documented. The authors move away from the predominant focus on Christianity in the literature to discuss common mental disorders in relation to Judaism and Islam. Finally, the parallels between spiritual direction and psychotherapy are examined.

Keywords

anxietydepressionpsychotherapyreligionsoulspirituality
Type
Chapter
Information
Spirituality and Psychiatry , pp. 180 - 194
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramovitch, H. and Kirmayer, L. J. (2003) The relevance of Jungian psychology for cultural psychiatry. Transcultural Psychiatry, 40, 155–163.Google Scholar
Abu-Ras, S. and Abu-Bader, S. (2009) Risk factors for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): the case of Arab and Muslim Americans post-9/11. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 7, 393–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allport, G. W. and Ross, J. M. (1967) Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Álvarez, J. (1997) Mística y depresión: San Juan de la Cruz (Mysticism and Depression: Saint John of the Cross). Madrid: Trotta.Google Scholar
Ano, G. G. and Vasconcelles, E. B. (2005) Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: a meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 6, 461–480.Google Scholar
Baker, J. O., Stroope, S. and Walker, M. H. (2018) Secularity, religiosity, and health: physical and mental health differences between atheists, agnostics, and non-affiliated theists compared to religiously affiliated individuals. Social Science Research, 75, 44–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandelow, B. and Michaelis, S. (2015) Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the Twenty-first century. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 17, 327–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barron, L. W. (2007) Effect of religious coping skills training with group cognitive behavioural therapy for treatment of depression. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Northcentral University.Google Scholar
Barry, W. A. and Connolly, W. J. (1982) The Practice of Spiritual Direction. New York: Seabury Press.Google Scholar
Barshinger, C. E., LaRowe, L. E. and Tapia, A. (1995) The Gospel according to Prozac: can a pill do what the Holy Spirit could not? Christianity Today, 1 August, 34–37.Google Scholar
Benner, D. G. (2002) Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship and Direction. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.Google Scholar
Berrios, G. E. and Kan, C. S. A. (1996) A conceptual and quantitative analysis of 178 historical cases of dysmorphophobia. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 94, 1–7.Google Scholar
Bonelli, R., Dew, R. E., Koenig, H. G. et al. (2012) Religious and spiritual factors in depression: review and integration of the research. Depression Research and Treatment, 2012, 962860.Google Scholar
Braam, A. W. and Koenig, H. G. (2019) Religion, spirituality and depression in prospective studies: a systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 257, 428–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brann, N. (1979) Is acedia melancholy? A re-examination of this question in the light of Fra Battista da Crema’s Della cognitione et vittoria di se stesso (1531). Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 2, 180–199.Google Scholar
Burris, C. T. (2020) Poker-faced and godless: expressive suppression and atheism. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Advance online publication. Available at https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, T. (2004) Prozac and the sick soul. In Elliot, C. and Chambers, T., eds., Prozac as a Way of Life. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, pp. 194–206.Google Scholar
Cook, C. C. H. (2011) The Philokalia and the Inner Life: On Passions and Prayer. Cambridge: James Clarke and Co. Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, C. C. H. (2021) Worry and prayer: some reflections on the psychology and spirituality of Jesus’ teaching on worry. In Manning, R., ed., Mutual Enrichment Between Psychology and Theology. London: Routledge, pp. 163–175.Google Scholar
Crabtree, S. and Pelham, B. (2009) What Alabamians and Iranians have in common: a global perspective on Americans’ religiosity offers a few surprises. Gallup News. Available at www.gallup.com/poll/114211/alabamians-iranians-common.aspx (accessed 4 December 2013).Google Scholar
Cristianisme i Justicia (1994) Creer desde la Noche Oscura (I). Testimonios. Cuadernos, 57, 1–30.Google Scholar
Daly, R. W. (2007) Before depression: the medieval vice of acedia. Psychiatry, 70, 30–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dein, S. (2006) Religion, spirituality and depression: implications for research and treatment. Primary Care & Community Psychiatry, 11, 67–72.Google Scholar
Durà-Vilà, G. (2016) Sadness, Depression, and the Dark Night of the Soul: Transcending the Medicalisation of Sadness. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Durà-Vilà, G., Dein, S., Littlewood, R. et al. (2010) The Dark Night of the Soul: causes and resolution of emotional distress among contemplative nuns. Transcultural Psychiatry, 47, 548–570.Google Scholar
Ellison, C. G. and Levin, J. S. (1998) The religion–health connection: evidence, theory, and future directions. Health Education & Behaviour, 25, 700–720.Google Scholar
Ellison, C. G., Christopher, G., Matt Bradshaw, K. J. et al. (2014) Prayer, attachment to God, and symptoms of anxiety-related disorders among U.S. adults. Sociology of Religion, 75, 208–233.Google Scholar
Fakhr El-Islam, M. (2008) Arab culture and mental health care. Transcultural Psychiatry, 45, 671–682.Google Scholar
Font i Rodon, J. (1999) Religió, Psicopatologia i Salut Mental (Religion, Psychopathology and Mental Health). Barcelona: Publicacions Abadia de Montserrat.Google Scholar
Glas, G. (2003) A conceptual history of anxiety and depression. In: den Boer, J. A. and Sitsen, A., eds., Handbook on Anxiety and Depression. New York: Marcel Dekker, pp. 1–48.Google Scholar
Greenberg, D. and Huppert, J. D. (2010) Scrupulosity: a unique subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Current Psychiatry Reports, 12, 282–289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodge, D. R., Zidan, T. R., Husain, A. et al. (2015) Correlates of self-rated health among Muslims in the United States. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 96, 284–291.Google Scholar
Hodges, S. (2002) Mental health, depression, and dimensions of spirituality and religion. Journal of Adult Development, 2, 109–115.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, A. and Whitley, R. (2021) Religion and mental health: a narrative review with a focus on Muslims in English-speaking countries. BJPsych Bulletin, 45, 170–174.Google Scholar
Idler, E. L., Musick, M. A., Ellison, C. G. et al. (2003) Measuring multiple dimensions of religion and spirituality for health research: conceptual background and findings from the 1998 General Social Survey. Research on Aging, 25, 327–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Julian, R. (1992) The practice of psychotherapy and spiritual direction. Journal of Religion and Health, 31, 309–315.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jung, C. G. (1928/1969) Psychoanalysis and the cure of souls. In Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 11. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 348–354.Google Scholar
Jung, C. G. (1932/1969) Psychotherapists or the clergy. In Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 11. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 327–347.Google Scholar
Kennedy, G. J., Kelman, H. R., Thomas, C. et al. (1996) The relation of religious preference and practice to depressive symptoms among 1,855 older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 51, 301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khattab, M. (2020) The Clear Quran. Available at https://quran.com/12 (accessed 24 December 2020).Google Scholar
King, M., Marston, L., McManus, S. et al. (2013) Religion, spirituality and mental health: results from a national study of English households. British Journal of Psychiatry, 202, 68–73.Google Scholar
Koenig, H. G. and Al Shohaib, S. (2017) Islam and Mental Health: Beliefs, Research and Applications. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Publishing Platform.Google Scholar
Koenig, H. G., George, L. K., Meador, K. G. et al. (1994) Religious affiliation and psychiatric disorder among Protestant baby boomers. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 45, 586–596.Google Scholar
Koenig, H. G., King, D. E. and Carson, V. B. (2012) Handbook of Religion and Health, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Krumrei, E. J., Pirutinsky, S. and Rosmarin, D. H. (2013) Jewish spirituality, depression, and health: an empirical test of a conceptual framework. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 20, 327–336.Google Scholar
Kupfer, D. J., Frank, E. and Phillips, M. L. (2012) Major depressive disorder: new clinical, neurobiological, and treatment perspectives. Lancet, 379, 1045–1055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levav, I., Kohn, R., Golding, J. M. et al. (1997) Vulnerability of Jews to affective disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 941–947.Google Scholar
Lewis, C. A. and Maltby, J. (1994) Religious attitudes and obsessional personality traits among UK adults. Psychological Reports, 75, 353–354.Google Scholar
Littlewood, R. and Dein, S. (2013) The doctor’s medicine and the ambiguity of amulets: life and suffering among Bangladeshi psychiatric patients and their families in London – an interview study – 1. Anthropology & Medicine, 20, 244–263.Google Scholar
McMinn, M. R. and McRay, B. W. (1997) Spiritual disciplines and the practice of integration: possibilities and challenges for Christian psychologists. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 102–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinelli, R. (2009) When and How Should I Go to Confession? Rome: Basilica of Saints Ambrose and Charles Publications.Google Scholar
May, G. G. (1982) Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: A Psychiatrist Explores Spiritual Direction. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row Publishers.Google Scholar
May, G. G. (2004) The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.Google Scholar
Merton, T. (1960) Spiritual Direction and Meditation. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.Google Scholar
Moon, G. W. (2002) Spiritual direction: meaning, purpose, and implications for mental health professionals. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 30, 264–275.Google Scholar
Moore, T. (2004/2011) Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life’s Ordeals. New York: Avery.Google Scholar
Moreira-Almeida, A., Neto, F. L. and Koenig, H. G. (2006) Religiousness and mental health: a review. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 242–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newport, F. (2011) More than 9 in 10 Americans continue to believe in God: Professed belief is lower among younger Americans, Easterners, and liberals (online). Available at https://news.gallup.com/poll/147887/americans-continue-believe-god.aspxGoogle Scholar
Norris, K. (2008) Acedia & Me. New York: Riverhead.Google Scholar
Nouwen, H. J. M. (1980) Introduction. In Leech, K., ed., Soul Friend: The Practice of Christian Spirituality. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row Publishers.Google Scholar
Pargament, K., Smith, B., Koenig, H. et al. (1998) Patterns of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 710–724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G. and Perez, L. M. (2000) The many methods of religious coping: development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 519–543.Google Scholar
Payne, J. S. (2008) “Saints don’t cry”: exploring messages surrounding depression and mental health treatments as expressed by African-American Pentecostal preachers. Journal of African American Studies, 3, 215–228.Google Scholar
Payne, J. S. (2009) Variations in pastors’ perceptions of the etiology of depression by race and religious affiliation. Community Mental Health Journal, 5, 355–365.Google Scholar
Petts, R. J. and Jolliff, A. (2008) Religion and adolescent depression: the impact of race and gender. Review of Religious Research, 49, 395–414.Google Scholar
Pirutinsky, S., Rosmarin, D. H., Pargament, K. I. et al. (2011) Does negative religious coping accompany, precede, or follow depression among Orthodox Jews? Journal of Affective Disorders, 132, 401–405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riley, J., Best, S. and Charlton, B. G. (2005) Religious believers and strong atheists may both be less depressed than existentially-uncertain people. QJM: Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians, 98, 840.Google Scholar
Rosmarin, D. H. (2018) Spirituality, Religion, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: A Guide for Clinicians. New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Rosmarin, D. H., Pirutinsky, S., Pargament, K. I. et al. (2009) Are religious beliefs relevant to mental health among Jews? Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1, 180–190.Google Scholar
Rosmarin, D. H., Bocanegra, E. S., Hoffnung, G. et al. (2019) Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression among Orthodox Jews. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 26, 676–687.Google Scholar
Ruiz, P. (1998) The role of culture in psychiatric care. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1763–1765.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scrutton, A. P. (2018) Is depression a sin? A philosophical examination of Christian voluntarism. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 25, 261–274.Google Scholar
Sethi, S. and Seligman, M. E. P. (1993) Optimism and fundamentalism. Psychological Science, 4, 256–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shreve-Neiger, A. K. and Edelstein, B. A. (2004) Religion and anxiety: a critical review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 379–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siev, J., Chambless, D. and Huppert, J. (2010) Moral thought–action fusion and OCD symptoms: the moderating role of religious affiliation. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 309–312.Google Scholar
Smith, T. B., Bartz, J. and Richards, P. S. (2007) Outcomes of religious and spiritual adaptations in psychotherapy: a meta-analytic review. Psychotherapy Research, 17, 643–655.Google Scholar
Sperry, L. (2001) Spirituality in Clinical Practice: Incorporating the Spiritual Dimension in Psychotherapy and Counseling. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge.Google Scholar
Spiegelman, J. M. (1984) Psychotherapists and the clergy: fifty years later. Journal of Religion and Health, 23, 19–32.Google Scholar
Swinton, J. (2001) Spirituality and Mental Health Care: Rediscovering a Forgotten Dimension. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Tek, C. and Ulug, T. B. (2001) Religiosity and religious obsessions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 10, 99–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, P. (2017) Confession: The Healing of the Soul. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Tzeferakos, G. A. and Douzenis, A. I. (2017) Islam, mental health and law: a general overview. Annals of General Psychiatry, 16, 28.Google Scholar
Van Herreweghe, L. and Van Lancker, W. (2020) Letter to the Editor of Public Health in response to ‘Religiousness and depressive symptoms in Europeans: findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe’. Public Health, 187, 60–61.Google Scholar
Winnell, M. (2020) Religious Trauma Syndrome. Available at https://journeyfree.org/rts/ (accessed 14 November 2020).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2020) Depression. Available at www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression (accessed 4 December 2020).Google Scholar
Worthen, V. (1974) Psychotherapy and Catholic confession. Journal of Religion and Health, 13, 275–284.Google Scholar
Yorulmaz, O., Gençöz, T. and Woody, S. (2009) OCD cognitions and symptoms in different religious contexts. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 401–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zagano, P. and Gillespie, C. K. (2010) Embracing darkness: a theological and psychological case study of Mother Teresa. Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, 1, 52–75.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×