Much attention is focused on the importance of our physical and mental health, but what about our spiritual health?

As it turns out, our mind, body and spirit are all deeply intertwined. The health of one can significantly affect the health of another. While spirituality won’t cure you, it’ll help you cope with pain and navigate troubled waters.

But what is spiritual health? Does it require religious ideals and beliefs, church services, guilt and atonement? You may be surprised to know that there isn’t one path one needs to take to be spiritually healthy—it’s different for everyone.

Some people experience spirituality through religion, but religion isn’t the only tool to experience it . Spirituality is a sense of internal wellbeing and how you connect with something greater than yourself—whether that’s a higher power, nature, music, art or humanity as a whole. It’s the ideals and beliefs you form throughout your life that form your own unique spirituality. Spiritual health includes a purposeful life, transcendence and actualization of different dimensions and capacities of human beings. Spiritual health creates a balance between physical, psychological and social aspects of human life

What are the benefits of spiritual health?

The benefits of being a spiritual person are endless. It can create a sense of purpose and belonging, help you feel calmer and more mindful and create hope when things aren’t going the way you want them to. The biggest thing is spirituality can provide hope when there doesn’t feel or look like there is any. A lot of spiritual practices can help you find or make peace.

8 ways to boost your spiritual health

Some people find spirituality through religion; others don’t. There’s no right or wrong way to achieve spiritual health. If you’re unsure where to begin, here are a few ways to help you get started.

1. Connect with your faith community

According to a Gallup study, 43% of Americans say they belong to a church or other religious body. These places of worship offer several ways to connect and encourage those living with a mental health condition to have community connections.

Find someone or an organization that shares your beliefs and thoughts and reconnect with them – whether online, over the phone or in-person. Reach out to a pastor or spiritual leader and find ways to connect with like-minded people within your faith community who can support and encourage you.

2. Volunteer or help others

If you don’t have a faith community, that’s okay. Another way to feel connected to your spirituality and faith is to find a cause that matters to you and to give back. You can work at a food pantry, become a mentor or tutor or foster an animal. Doing so can grow your community and connect you with like-minded people. By helping others, it’ll also give you a sense of purpose and gratitude.

3. Practice yoga

You don’t have to be a yogi to gain the spiritual benefits of the practice. Yoga is for everyone at any level. Besides it can help your mind and spirit—reducing symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety.

4. Meditate

Like yoga, you don’t need to be an expert meditator. Meditation is one of the easiest practices to maintain because it requires little time. Some people think you have to sit and be quiet, but that’s not true. You can walk and meditate, being mindful of how your feet feel on the ground or the details of your surroundings. Just the practice of slowing your body down can help slow your brain down. Meditating for as little as five minutes can help reduce stress, depression and anxiety and increase your mindfulness. If you need assistance, there are some excellent guided meditation apps, such as Calm or Balance.

5. Keep a journal

The act of writing can help you process your emotions, increase your awareness and give you a nonjudgmental space to express your feelings in the moment. Write down your worries and your fears or start a daily gratitude journal with prompts.

6. Spend time in nature

Whether you live in the mountains, the desert or near the beach, spending time in nature can boost your spiritual health. You can’t help but disconnect from your phone, your day and your troubles. Even just a few minutes watching the birds, the trees swaying in the wind or the crashing waves on the shoreline can be therapeutic.

7. Focus on your hobbies

Find things that you enjoy doing, whether it be knitting, coloring, cooking, playing a sport or working out. Focusing on things you enjoy can bring back a sense of purpose and keep you focused in the moment—even just for a little bit.

8. Speak with a Chaplain or someone you trust

If you’re struggling to connect with your spiritual side or your mental health, reach out to someone specially trained or with someone you trust who can help.

Chaplains are trained specifically with the struggles of faith in a clinical setting.. They can help validate your feelings and won’t wash over them—brushing them off. They can guide you back on your spiritual path.

If you need help right now

If you are disconnected from your faith community and are finding it difficult (mentally, physically and/or spiritually), talk to your healthcare provider    or reach out to a mental health professional.

An Attitude of Gratitude: How to Promote a Positive Outlook

Having an attitude of gratitude may sound cliché, but in these unprecedented times, gratitude may be just the boost you need to help reframe and create a more positive experience.

Gratitude is a strong tool to help you reframe things during a hard time. For example, instead of saying you’re stuck at home, changing the sentiment to being safe at home, or even being thankful for having a home can help you mentally during a time that feels anything but positive.

Being grateful doesn’t mean you push aside the other feelings or are passive about what is going on in your life, we can still have a lot of other feelings about things going on, including sadness, anger, or grief. It’s good to allow ourselves to feel all these other feelings, yet not forget about the things and reasons we are grateful.

Let Gratitude Be Your Guide

When it’s hard to see past anxiety or stress in a situation let gratitude be your guide. Because we may focus so much on what we’re missing out on, we often forget about all the good things we’re experiencing through this situation. Instead of desiring a change that isn’t always possible, gratitude is one way to realize your satisfaction with what you have and where you are.

Practicing gratitude does not just make you feel better momentarily, but it is also good for your physical and emotional well-being. It helps with decreasing stress levels, improving sleep, pain tolerance and self-esteem. It can help you make better decisions including lifestyle choices and decrease risk for chronic medical conditions like hypertension and diabetes.  During  a challenging time it’s important to look for little things to be happy about, even if it takes extra effort.

Gratitude Gets Better with Practice

Prioritize things in such a way that brings in more meaning, mental peace, and happiness for you, just like a lot of other aspects of our lives, gratitude also gets better with practice.

Here are some suggestions of ways   you can adopt – and practice – gratitude into your routine:

• Start a gratitude journal or notebook: Start each day, or end each night, with jotting down things you’re grateful for. It could be as simple as the sun shining, having food in your refrigerator, or remembering something nice someone did for you.
• Meditate or take time to Focus: Focus on the things you are grateful for or count your blessings as the mental focus for a meditation or a reflective time.
• Express your gratitude: Demonstrate your gratitude for others by sending a thank you note, an email or recognizing them for what they’ve done or how they’ve impacted your life.

For more advice on how to manage your mental health during this uncertain time consult an expert