Spirituality Guide

It is of no secret that the health of the body starts with the health of mind. And the health of mind is strongly related to the emotional state of the person. For instance, happy people seem to view life positively and better able to cope with problems. Hence, they manifest fewer physical ailments. Sad people, on the other hand, seem to be easily discouraged or to view things negatively, creating confusion to their psyche. As a result, their physical health deteriorates and manifests in various body aches and pains. This is particularly apparent in psychosomatic illnesses.

Psychosomatic illnesses manifest because the mind influences the body. This is sometimes referred to as the power of suggestion. Due to this, it is sometimes possible for a person to feel physically ill without any actual physical reason. Worrying on possible physical symptoms aggravates them. The patient then goes to the doctor for reassurance that there isn’t anything seriously wrong with them. A psychosomatic illness will sometimes disappear once the patient hears the reassurance. Others though may require treatment. Psychotherapy can also be cure pychsomatic symptoms (Wikipedia, 2005).

In social work, it is necessary to reach out to people who deserve help like the less privileged. In extreme cases such as poverty, homelessness, abuse and others, the main problem of these people who require social work is not the absence of opportunities to succeed in life. Rather, they are presented with opportunities but could not recognize them as such because they train their mind and develop the habit of expecting to fail.
Due to this, it can be gleaned that people who need the services of social workers are those whose greatest drawback is the way they think. Social work is for people who require encouragement because they lost confidence in themselves. In the most severe cases, some people give up on the struggle and lost in the battle of life. Their self-esteem has plunged to the lowest and they find no reason to go on.

Personally, I believe that there is a close correlation between social work and religion. Spirituality is an essential aspect of life. The person’s belief in a power outside oneself acts as a coping mechanism to stressful events. It gives him hope and strength to tackle whatever is facing him. The person is assured of a ‘power’ ever ready to help him should the need arise. This belief is the core of religion. Religion translated into a way of life such as guiding principles and kind deeds is the essence of spirituality. It is important for a person to practice his/her religious beliefs in day-to-day living in order to achieve harmony between beliefs and practices.