Spirituality is Associated with Fewer Suicide Attempts By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “spirituality can engender the perspective that things happen for some reason and serve a greater purpose. This, in turn, deploys our attention toward the potential for a brighter future, which can create a sense of optimism even when one’s situation […]
Spirituality is Related to Reduced Depression but Negative Religiosity is Associated with Suicidality By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The trouble is that just as it is hard to feel connected to other people while depressed, it is difficult to feel connected to God. A leap of trust and faith is frequently needed […]
Spirituality is Associated with Improved Psychological Well-Being in Patients with Persistent Mental Illness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “No cure that fails to engage our spirit can make us well.” – Victor Frankl Religion and spirituality have been promulgated as solutions to the challenges of life both in a transcendent sense and […]
Spirituality is Associated with Lower Suicidality in Adolescents By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “suicide is never the right answer. The more we can nurture a sense of connectedness and purpose in our lives (of “spirituality”), the less likely people will be tempted to “end it all.” – Eben Alexander After cancer […]
Protect Against Mental Illness and Suicide in Gay Men with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness enables you to recognize just how transitory thoughts are. They come and they go, like clouds before the sun. . . Watch your suicidal thoughts as they float by. You don’t need to grab one […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “An improved understanding and respect for individual spiritual practices can help shape personalized medical care for older adults, and improve health outcomes.” – Helen Lavretsky Psychological well-being is sometimes thought of as a lack of mental illness. But, it is more than just a lack of something. […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “As we learn more and more about the connections between the mind and body, it becomes clear that spirituality, religion and faith can help some individuals live well with mental health conditions. Some individuals and families turn to faith in times of crisis to help in their […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Mindfulness is a valuable practice for improving the cognitive symptoms of depression, such as distorted thinking and distractibility. It helps individuals recognize these more subtle symptoms, realize that thoughts are not facts and refocus their attention to the present” – Margarita Tartakovsky Depression is epidemic. Major depressive […]
“there are certain moral reactions to war and the experience of combat training that indicate a violation of moral conscience in war can have devastating inner consequences in soldiers.” – Rita Nakashima Brock It has been widely reported that there are extremely high levels of suicides among veterans. But these reports are based upon […]
“Addiction tries to make a spiritual experience static. When we are in an addictive process, we want to hold on to the moment, not feeling the discomfort of the longing but attempting to maintain what we feel in an instant. Our spirituality becomes stagnate and the addiction leads us into a deep bondage with […]