(Rhonda Johansson) Social isolation, in the form of spiritual retreats, can boost mental health according to a study published in Religion, Brain & Behavior. Researchers determined that serotonin and dopamine production is greatly affected by religious and meditative retreats.
Related The Spiritual Cause and Solution of Depression — 15 Symptoms to Identify Your Lack of Fulfilment
by Rhonda Johansson, December 25th, 2018
Hailing from The Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University, the researchers assert that these practices evoke powerful, positive emotional feelings. These are caused by a surge of production in the feel-good hormones of dopamine and serotonin.
Dr. Andrew Newberg, Director of Research at the Marcus Institute said, “Serotonin and dopamine are part of the reward and emotional systems of the brain. Our study showed significant changes in dopamine and serotonin transporters after the seven-day retreat, which could prime participants for the spiritual experiences that they reported. Hopefully, future studies can answer these questions.”
A meditative approach to holistic wellbeing
The study looked at 14 Christian participants aged 24 to 76. These participants attended a seven-day Ignatian retreat. This specific Jesuit practice focuses on exercises that promote reflection and spiritual growth. Post-retreat brain scans showed a dramatic decrease in dopamine (five to eight percent) and serotonin (six and a half percent) transporter bindings. A decrease in these bindings causes the brain to be flooded with these neurotransmitters. Think of the brain being soaked in feel-good hormones. Dopamine mediates cognition, movement, and emotion. Serotonin, on the other hand, regulates mood.
Participants reported feeling happier and healthier after morning mass and an afternoon of silent contemplation. Researchers saw a marked improvement in perceived physical health, fatigue, and tension. Feelings of self-transcendence were also noted. Scientists have linked this emotion to changes in dopamine binding.
Buy Book Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There From Here
Buy Book You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter
“In some ways, our study raises more questions than it answers,” concludes Dr. Newberg. He suggests further research is necessary in order to determine how retreats impact neurotransmitter systems. “Our team is curious about which aspects of the retreat caused the changes in the neurotransmitter systems and if different retreats would produce different results.”
Buy Book Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Depression: The silent disease
This study has many implications, particularly when it comes to treatment of mental diseases, such as depression. This illness, which affects around 15 million Americans, is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Mental health experts say that this number may be even higher due to the fact that social stigma and ignorance of the disease lead a large number of cases going unreported. Depression, combined with all other known anxiety disorders, costs the U.S. around $42 billion a year.
Depression is also the leading factor in suicide. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, a life is lost to suicide every 40 seconds worldwide. Over one million people commit suicide each year. Sadly, mental health groups say that the global rates of suicide have increased by 60 percent in the last 45 years. Close to two percent of worldwide deaths are suicides. These incidents can be prevented, they say, if the depression that provokes it is treated.
Buy Book The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (Book & CD)
Treatment for this mental condition usually follows a biopsychosocial approach. Patients are typically recommended a combination of prescription medicine and psychological therapy. The goal is to regulate the brain chemistry in order to make talk therapy more effective. Nevertheless, antidepressants have been studied to have various side-effects. Some of these include language disorders in children and an increased risk of dementia in the elderly. (Related: Antidepressants burden users with extreme side-effects.)
Antidepressants work by inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine and serotonin. As a result, these hormones stay longer in the brain, improving mood and concentration. It has been studied that depression is effectively treated once brain chemistry is balanced.
Buy Book Awakened Empath: The Ultimate Guide to Emotional, Psychological and Spiritual Healing
Buy Book Living With Less: An Unexpected Key to Happiness
Perhaps, instead of overprescribing harmful medication, doctors should look into more natural methods of treating mental health issues. If the results of this study show us anything, it’s that sometimes, a relaxing, refreshing break from the stresses of life could be all the brain needs to reset itself.
Read Mind.news for more reporting on the healing power of the mind.
Stillness in the Storm Editor: Why did we post this?
Spiritual renewal or vitalization is a concept that major religions, mystics, and shamans have acknowledged since time immemorial. Modern science has yet to accept the fact that one can gain vitality from a spiritual retreat, mainly because of a prejudice against any metaphysical and phenomenological realities that cannot, as of yet, be measured empirically. The preceding article reveals that, while a thing can’t be measured objectively, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There is a very real benefit to spiritual work and seasons of reflection that is partially revealed in the above article. With this knowledge in hand, one can begin to develop the mind liberating and life uplifting power of spirit science—the objectively real and measurable effects of a spiritual way of life—the quest to find God and be like him. This information also helps refocus one’s attention on their personal subjective experience with reality, especially with respect to their experience of seeking for and finding the Creator of all things, which is according to some sources, the more truthful and pragmatic definition of religion.
– Justin
Not sure how to make sense of this? Want to learn how to discern like a pro? Read this essential guide to discernment, analysis of claims, and understanding the truth in a world of deception: 4 Key Steps of Discernment – Advanced Truth-Seeking Tools.
Stillness in the Storm Editor’s note: Did you find a spelling error or grammar mistake? Send an email to [email protected], with the error and suggested correction, along with the headline and url. Do you think this article needs an update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for reading.
Source:
https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-12-25-spiritual-retreats-change-brain-chemistry.html
Leave a Reply