Resilience Factor 4: Religion & Spirituality

"Many people turn to religion or spirituality as a way to cope with hardship or trauma. Some find solace in formal religious services, while others seek inspiration and strength through individual spiritual practices that help them to connect with God or to find their place in the universe" (Southwick and Charney, 2018, pp. 110).

Southwick and Charney, 2018 provide six suggestions for bringing spirituality into your life:

- - Make meditation and prayer part of your daily routine by setting aside time for practicing it
  - Make a habit of reading things that pertain to your chosen faith
  - Designate a physical place for daily spiritual practice.
  - Become part of a group that worships/practices together
  - Practice a creative form of spirituality, such as writing or singing
  - Practice a physical form of spirituality such as martial arts

Spirituality and religion can be powerful sources of hope, meaning, peace, comfort, and forgiveness for the self and others. This can in turn help promote better physical and emotional well-being and provide better coping for those that are suffering.

Michelle

God is Our Refuge

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

- From Psalm 46

Pierce Our Hearts With Compassion

Lord, at times such as this, when we realize that the ground beneath our feet is not as solid as we had imagined, we plead for your mercy.

As the things we have built crumble about us, we know too well how small we truly are on this ever-changing, ever-moving, fragile planet we call home. Yet you have promised never to forget us.

Do not forget us now.

Today, so many people are afraid. They wait in fear of the next tremor. They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble. They roam the streets in shock at what they see. And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief and the names of missing dead.

Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster. Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still, and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.

Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day. Console the hearts of those who mourn, and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.

Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion, we who watch from afar, as the poorest on this side of the earth find only misery upon misery. Move us to act swiftly this day, to give generously every day,

to work for justice always, and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.

And once the shaking has ceased, the images of destruction have stopped filling the news, and our thoughts return to life's daily rumblings, let us not forget that we are all your children and they, our brothers and sisters. We are all the work of your hands.

For though the mountains leave their place and the hills be tossed to the ground, your love shall never leave us, and your promise of peace will never be shaken.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. - Offered for the people of Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010

Reference:

Prayers in times of natural disasters. (2021, April 21). Retrieved from: https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/prayers-in-times-of-crisis/in-times-of- natural-disaster

Sol

Group Activities

Practicing spirituality in a way that puts individuals into contact with one another; singing, playing music, dance or prayer circles can be beneficial. With the LGBTQ community one of the primary issues with natural disasters is displacement from their community when they were already isolated due to (frequently) being kicked out of their biological families. I think the group activity would help them recreate that community and sense of belonging.

Josh

Your Own Path

I hear often from Burn Survivors at my workplace two sides of the same argument. One person might say that they got burned because God or the Divine is testing or punishing them. Another might say that they survived their burns because God or the Divine looked after them. In either case, and to answer the question posed here, I believe that it is extremely important for each person to forge their own path through recovery as it pertains to their sense of the divine. Much like the concept of "trauma-informed care," in which we approach each person with the understanding that we cannot know what they may be going through, or from a place of understanding their trauma, we must look at spiritual recovery in a similar light.

I think one of the worst things we can do, as nurses, is to tell somebody, "I know exactly what you're going through." We cannot possibly understand the nuances of somebody's internal life. So if I were to suggest something to somebody dealing with a disaster I would first get a sense of what they're going through (what their experience of the trauma was), where they're mindset is at this moment, and a brief understanding of what their spiritual beliefs might be. If need be I would reach out to a professional, a chaplain of some kind, or see if they have somebody they usually talk to about spiritual beliefs. And frankly I would not try to fix the situation on my own. I would try to let them talk with me if they feel inclined, and help them process as much as possible. But in the end, each journey is complicated, personal, and the best we can do as nurses is help guide survivors without forcing them into what we would want or need if the situation was reversed.

Yasmin

Meditation

For someone who has experienced an earthquake, I would be mindful and aware of their beliefs and spiritually before making any suggestions. I think to start, one thing that would be helpful is to promote meditation for this individual. I would promote meditation using music and sounds from nature, to help them reconnect with nature, especially after experiencing an earthquake. I have posted the meditation video below as an example. Maybe this can help the individual associate positively with nature overtime, after experiencing a negative event with nature:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE6RYpe9IT0

321 Relaxing – Meditation Relax Clips. (2015, December 26). Relaxing Music with Nature Sounds - Waterfall HD [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE6RYpe9IT0

Roselyn

Since I turn to faith when I face tests and trials in my life and I believe that I can call unto God and I will receive his help. I will likely give advice towards this belief. To meditate and call unto God. I believe that when I go to the chapel, to pray, to self reflect, to meditate I am closest to Him. I will likely invite them to go to church since this is where I draw strength. It is however up to the person if he or she will want to do so. I myself had a fair share of calamities and disasters when I was still in the Philippines; typhoons, floods, and earthquakes.

This is one of the verses that I tend to remind myself when I am worried or stressed. It is from the book of Matthews 6:25-33. This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? And why worry about clothes? Look how wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass- grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! So do not start worrying: where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes? (These are the things that the pagans are always concerned about.) Your father in heaven knows that you need all of these things. Instead , be concerned above everything else with the kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

Rebekah

Reconnecting

If I were to help during times of natural disaster, I would first identify the level of spirituality and religion a person might be as to be more sensitive to what they may believe. Trying to send someone who has been emotionally harmed by religion to a one for support during a disaster would be cause of more distress and harm. I would encourage those who use social media to look for groups and pages associated with how they find themselves to be connected spiritually or religiously and look for meeting sites or times they could reach out for support. I know social media can be viewed as toxic but its an easy way to connect with similar minds and views quickly to get support and feel connected.

Helen

Religion & Spirituality

For people who lost their homes or loved ones during the nature disasters such as earth quarter, flood, wild fires, and etc. First, I will access their levels of spirituality in an appropriate manner considering the challenge. Second, I will have the crisis prevention and intervention plan ready to support them during their difficult time. Small groups often provide support for clients who suffer from similar mental health issues. Clients in the group are encouraged with setting up daily goals. The evaluation of goals will take place later in the group meetings to access if they have met the goals, or they need modification their goals. Meditation is a great way to help people to produce a deep-state of relaxation and eliminate the stream of tangled thoughts that may be jamming in the mind causing stress and anxiety. Music therapy is a wonderful way to help people to recover from past traumatic events. Music provides a nonverbal outlet for emotional expression and helps to reduce anxiety and stress. It also provides an opportunity for connecting with families and friends, and improve emotional state and mood.

Crista

Beliefs, faith and spiritual practices can shift in times of disaster. Something that I could do to promote spirituality is recognizing that that means different things to different people. Listening and being present, while being a supportive presence will helping those that are suffering look for moments of happiness in their grief and loss. Haitians use faith, prayer, and singing as their primary methods of spirituality. Providing space and time where they feel comfortable to practice these methods would be imperative to promoting their spirituality.

Religion, spirituality, mindfulness and meditation is a personal choice that can serve as a source of strength during times of adversity. These sources of faith provide a foundation for resiliency and coping in the face of difficult traumatic events and losses through a meaning-making process. Spirituality also plays a role in coping with grief and loss as long as it is done through positive outlet such as spiritual connectedness. However, negative religious coping such as being angry with God can actually be harmful to a person's resilience.

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