How Prayer can Improve Mental Health

2014-11-14 00:24:15 CPCC Blogging Team

Eating well-balanced meals and exercising regularly are some of the most common ways to improve your overall mental and physical health. However, there is a topic that can improve your well-being and is less talked about – prayer. It does not matter if you are praying for others, yourself, of if you just sit with a quiet mind, there are many mental benefits of praying on the human brain, including:

• Reducing your stress – regular praying has a strong impact on your state of mind, helping you to relax and reducing the effects that stress has on your internal organs. Praying also helps to reduce physical stress and levels out your emotional reaction to it.
• Reducing your chances of anxiety and depression – praying can thicken your brain cortex, which can help to fight off depression, especially in people who are predisposed to it. Praying at a place of worship can also increase your chances of being less depressed and more positive.
• Helping you deal with an emotional attack – prayer helps to give you the tools to deal with day-to-day stress. It also offers you time alone, where you can focus on yourself to help reduce mental stress.
• Reducing your susceptibility to stress related disorders – stress related disorders such as diabetes, heart disease, ulcers, hypertension, and migraines can be avoided with regular prayer, which also helps to reduce your overall stress level.
• Making you happier – prayer can help to increase the level of dopamine in your brain, which is also known as the “happy hormone.”
• Making you a better person – prayer helps to cast a grander vision for your life, helping you to feel more humble, less greedy for material things, and more focused on meaningful relationships.

Try making a new habit this week like prayer and gentle breathing 30 minutes before bed time and see if it helps.  For more information on how prayer can help improve your everyday life, contact Community Presbyterian Counseling Center in San Ramon, California. 

Mental Health