Spirituality in health care will always be welcomed

Dr Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado, pulmonologist and also a member of AME-Santos, in an interview published in this issue, discusses the problem of the spiritual dimension applied to medical treatment and other approaches that benefit patients. Below are commented excerpts.

"Attention to the aspect of spirituality has been growing and becoming essential in the practice of health care. For patients it is fundamental to be approached as a person who is suffering and not as an individual without face, with body pain, with a malfunctioning organism or as a dehumanized patient. They want to be seen and treated not only in their physical aspect, but also in their emotional, social and spiritual aspects." (Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado)

Emotional, social, and spiritual skills may be brought together in the same professional, but developing them fully can hardly become achievable in the same individual. A multidisciplinary team working together is needed. But the first step in this approach is to recognize that the patient is a multifaceted reality.

"It is noteworthy that there is a growing body of research demonstrating that religious / spiritual beliefs and practices are correlated with better mental health, quality of life, better physical health, longer longevity, and better medical outcomes." (Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado)

It is the science that demonstrates the complexity of the individual under care and shows what the gains are from a spiritualistic approach, which brings unique results on health. Although it is a clear reality for spirits, only medical research could legitimize this knowledge.

"Religion and spirituality have been positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being, such as satisfaction with life, happiness, positive and high moral affection, better physical and mental health. It is observed that the level of religious involvement tends to be inversely related to depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs." (Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado)

Psychological well-being, satisfaction with life, happiness, positive affection, high morals, better physical and mental health - all these aspects are associated with spirituality. Hope, as a result of spirituality, is the phenomenon that guarantees to be the protection of good emotions.

"Religious and / or spiritual beliefs, in most cases, provide hope, comfort and meaning, especially in the face of life-threatening illness." (Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado)

Hope sustains the sound emotional. Comfort gives us strength to face the adversities of life. And meaning holds understanding, it gives meaning to life. All these gains sustain our lives. We are faced with so many difficulties, with so many oppressive singularities, that it is no small thing to count on these valuable resources. Life, as "A Friend Spirit" says in The Gospel according to Spiritism, is composed of a thousand of nothing that are like pinpricks that end up hurting.

"Clinical practice by itself can be spiritual if we admit the sacred nature of the person and provide care with respect, kindness and competence, recognizing that as much as the doctor, the patient is a human being who needs, above all, attention." (Márcia Regina Colasante Salgado)

In recognizing the sacred nature of the person, that is, there is a divine spark in our hearts, spirituality is put in focus, and guides the entire clinic, even if the therapist does not believe it, even though he knows it works. Stimulating the development of spiritual aspects in the human being under medical care forms the fundamental basis upon which it leads to the column of suffering with forces to overcome the displeasure of the disease.