RELIGIOUS BELIEF HELPS RESPONSE TO ANTIDEPRESSANTS

BELIEF IN CARING GOD IMPROVES RESPONSE
TO MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION

http://www.eurekalert.org - Research suggests that religious belief can help protect against symptoms of depression, but a study at Rush University Medical Center goes one step further.  In patients diagnosed with clinical depression, belief in a concerned God can improve response to medical treatment, according to a paper in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.  A total of 136 adults diagnosed with major depression or bipolar depression at inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care facilities in Chicago participated in the study.  The patients were surveyed and the Study found that those with strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience an improvement.  Specifically, participants who scored in the top third of the Religious Well-Being Scale were 75 % more likely to get better with medical treatment for clinical depression.

The researchers tested whether the explanation for the improved response was linked instead to the feeling of hope (measured by feelings and expectations for the future and degree of motivation), which is typically a feature of religious belief.  “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 and an assistant professor of religion, health and human values at Rush University.  “It was tied specifically to the belief that a Supreme Being cared,” Murphy said.  “When treating persons diagnosed with depression, clinicians need to be aware of the role of religion in their patients’ lives. It is an important resource in planning their care,” stated Murphy.

Antidepressants can be an effective treatment for depression, but they don’t work for everyone.  In a new study, the authors found that patients who had strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience a 50 % reduction in symptoms.  They have discovered that people who have been diagnosed with clinical depression are more likely to respond to medication if they believe in a caring God.   This is not new to religious people, but we also ought to love Him, to serve Him; there must be mutual love, and finally we have to surrender us completely to His Eternal Love.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

The Proud man, urged by his false ego, ignores the fundamental principles of human life, viz., a virtuous life, full of faith and love to his ever loving Lord. But, providentially a day will come, when he must feel the necessity of this fundamental principle, realizing the utter vanity of the worldly pleasures. ... At every moment, he is being violently tossed by the roaring waves of this ocean of never-ending sufferings.  All his false hopes are frustrated; his confidence in the efficacy of his own actions betrays him finally. ... He feels his helplessness and sincerely longs to come out of this terrible predicament.  ... He recollects wise saying and comes round to the above fundamental principle. He surrenders himself to the Supreme Lord. ... Surrender, pure and genuine moves the Heart of the Supreme Lord. It melts Him and He flies to the rescue of a surrendered devotee.

Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Mahārāj :
“Guru y Atma Nivedan” - ‘The Act of Submission’
Bhakti Vigyan Nityananda Book Trust
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission  -  http://www.purimaharaj.com/