Surprising results about treatment for depression
Research has long shown that belief in God can help protect against symptoms of depression - but now there's scientific evidence that belief in a God who is concerned and cares can really improve response to medical treatment.
The Journal of Clinical Psychology reported on a study of adults diagnosed with major depression or bipolar depression. The results? Patients with strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience an improvement.
The researches tested whether the improved response was linked instead to the feeling of hope, which is typically a feature of religious belief. But the degree of hopefullness, measured by feelings and expectations for the future and degree of motivation, did not predict whether a patient fared better on anti-depressants.
''In our study, the positive response to medication had little to do with the feeling of hope that typically accompanies spiritual belief,'' said Patricia Murphy, PhD, a chaplain at Rush University Medical Center and an assistance professor of religion, health and human values at the school. ''It was tied specifically to the belief that a Supreme Being cared.''
"What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4, Hebrews 2:6 NIV)
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"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me" (Psalm 27:10 NKJ)
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"He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care" (Psalm 95:7 NIV)
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"O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?" (Psalm 144:3 NIV)
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"I will answer him and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me" (Hosea 14:8 NIV)
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"The Lord their God will care for them and restore their fortune" (Zephaniah 2:7 NAS)
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"The Lord Almighty will care for his flock" (Zechariah 10:3 NIV)
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"Casting all your care upon Him, for he cares for you" (I Peter 5:7 NKJ)
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"As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so will I care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day" (Ezekiel 34:12 NAS)
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Reprinted with permission by IntegrityNotes.com
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