Johnson Kirk A
Department of Medical Humanities, Drew University, Madison, NJ, USA.
J Relig Health. 2018 Dec;57(6):2290-2300. doi: 10.1007/s10943-018-0564-8.
Depression is a growing issue within the field of medicine. It negatively impacts individuals' lives and the people they are most connected to. For decades, medical professionals have been searching for solutions to assist those who are suffering from this illness. The use of drugs has not been a sufficient means of treatment to alleviate depression and its symptoms. There is a dire need to expand therapeutic interventions that can attribute meaningful recovery for victims of depression. One means of positive treatment is the use of prayer. Prayer, one of the most ancient forms of meditation, aligns and relaxes the mental state of the mind. The uses of drugs are limited by physiological focus, but prayer is a mechanism that brings human beings into a unique state of oneness. Oneness comprises the holistic nature of a human being and asserts the triad of well-being: mind, body, and spirit. As the emergence of humanities and holism continues in medicine, centering/meditative prayer and similar practices like mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can be useful therapeutic interventions specifically for major depressed patients.
抑郁症是医学领域中一个日益严重的问题。它对个人生活以及与他们关系最密切的人产生负面影响。几十年来，医学专业人员一直在寻找解决方案来帮助那些患有这种疾病的人。药物治疗并非缓解抑郁症及其症状的充分手段。迫切需要扩大治疗干预措施，以使抑郁症患者能够实现有意义的康复。一种积极的治疗方式是祈祷。祈祷是最古老的冥想形式之一，能使精神状态协调并放松。药物治疗受限于生理层面，但祈祷是一种能让人类进入独特合一状态的机制。合一包含了人类的整体本质，并主张幸福的三位一体：心智、身体和精神。随着医学中人文主义和整体论的不断兴起，专注/冥想祈祷以及类似正念认知疗法的实践对于重度抑郁症患者可能是有用的治疗干预措施。
