Should there be a link between spirituality and psychiatry?
Spirituality is the basis of human existence therefore it should go without saying that there is a link between spirituality and psychiatry.
I have been on a spiritual journey for the last five years that broadened my spiritual horizons far beyond religious dogma. What I have learned is that there is a great difference between spirituality and religion and the two are mutually exclusive from one another. Spirituality is a connection to something greater than ourselves; some call this greater presence God, some call it universe, some call it spirit, some call it Jesus. Whatever name is invoked, it is all the same thing. Religion on the other hand is a worship of a higher power that teaches that we are separate from a higher power and that we must live our lives with guilt, shame, and fear and beg for forgiveness in order to join the higher power at the end of our lives.
There are a whole plethora of people such as myself that have released dogmatic beliefs to strengthen the connection to this higher power. This connection has opened our souls up to things that go beyond and far from organized religion, yet organized religion controls a majority of politics, and even psychiatry.
There are metaphysical occurrences, or what I like to refer to as spiritual gifts that are bestowed upon the spiritual being and is a right that everyone one is entitled to, but only those that embrace their spirituality seem to be endowed with, but this is a choice. Unfortunately because of the hold that organized religion has on psychiatry, many of these spiritual gifts are diagnosed as psychological disorders and medicated into oblivion. The diagnosis and medication not only permanently labels the individuals and “broken” the medications dulls and can even sever the spiritual connection.
My spiritual path has lead me to pursue psychology in the hopes that one day, others like me, can work to get the spiritual, metaphysical, and paranormal acknowledged by the American Psychology Association as a valid and profound affect on the human psyche so that instead of spiritual gifts being called psychological disorders and medicated, they will be seen as what they are, God given gifts, and help others embrace these gifts, and develop them to their full potential. This way, people can work through their existential crisis and not be labeled as a psychiatric patient.
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