Dimensions of Spirituality and Mental Well-being during the Pandemic: A Narrative Review
Keywords:
dimensions of spirituality, pandemic, well-beingAbstract
Spirituality is a multidimensional construct through which people search for meaning and gain a sense of belonging. Well-being can be defined as people’s evaluation of the quality of their own lives. The pandemic has been linked to poor well-being and an increase in psychological risk factors. One way to battle that is through spirituality. Therefore, this review aims to summarize how different dimensions of spirituality - love, altruism, unifying interconnectedness, religiosity and contemplative practices - affect well-being during the pandemic. A keyword search was performed and through purposive sampling, 24 studies were shortlisted for this review. It was found that all aspects of spirituality, in varying degrees, helped alleviate symptoms of pandemic induced stress, anxiety and depression. While a more exhaustive and robust research is warranted, this review suffices in concluding that spirituality and its dimensions can be used as low-cost intervention methods in case of adversities like pandemic.
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