Religion and spirituality in the context of bipolar disorder: a literature review

Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) affects approximately half a million Canadians. Religion and spirituality (R/S) may play an important role for individuals with BD by providing a means of coping with, and an explanatory model for, their disorder. We conducted a systematic review of empirical studies that have explored R/S in individuals with BD or samples that explicitly delineate individuals with BD. Only six studies met our inclusion criteria. Findings from these studies suggest that R/S strategies may be important for some people in the management of BD. Religion and spirituality thus become relevant concerns for a therapeutic regime that seeks to develop wellness within a bio-psychosocial model. However, the limited body of research and methodological shortcomings of existing research make it difficult to draw relevant conclusions about how this might be accomplished. The authors propose a need for longitudinal, prospective, mixed methods research in order to inform evidence-based practice.

Spiritual Meaning in Life and Values in Patients With Severe Mental Disorders

“…Despite the fact that S/R may play an important role in BD (Pesut et al, 2011), only 9% of patients with a BD in our sample report that S/R plays an essential role in terms of meaning in life. This may be due to the interaction between S/R and mood switches during the course of the illness.…”

Associations Between Spirituality, Meaning in Life, and Depressive Disorders Among a Sample of Individuals in Treatment for Substance-Use Disorders

“…Similar results have been reported among 49 patients hospitalized with schizophrenia (Stolovy et al, 2009) and among 171 older adults reporting depressive symptoms (Westerhof et al, 2010). Pesut, Clark, Maxwell, and Michalak (2011) conducted a literature review concerning spirituality and BIPO in which they found only six articles. They found that individuals diagnosed with BIPO generally found that spirituality was beneficial to their coping with their symptoms, but noted that the benefit was no greater than that derived by the general population.…”

“…Future studies would benefit from using longitudinal data and an experimental design to determine if there are causal connections between and among spirituality and meaning in life as they are related to mood disorders. In addition, since the questionnaire utilized in the current study provided only quantitative data, we were unable to determine whether connectedness to God in this sample was a protective factor against BIPO symptomatology or evidence of possible delusion as suggested by Pesut et al (2011). Future researchers may want to consider conducting face-to-face interviews to garner qualitative data on how individuals with BIPO view their relationship with a higher power.…”

“…These findings are interesting in that it appears that, in this sample, those with clinical levels of BIPO symptoms were looking for purpose and meaning in their lives even though they had a strong sense of connectedness to their "higher power." This phenomenon may be related to the tendency that Pesut et al (2011) identified in their research for individuals with bipolar disorder to use religion and spirituality to raise their quality of life as they manage their disease over time. However, our results suggest that clients with BIPO would benefit more by having both an opportunity to assess and process religious factors that may be related to symptom level and a connection to resources that may increase their sense of purpose and meaning in life during treatment.…”

“…However, for BIPO the clinical group reported significantly higher levels of religious well-being than the nonclinical group. In their review of the literature concerning religion and BIPO, Pesut et al (2011) have noted that individuals with BIPO may report mystical experiences that could be indicative of religious delusions but could also indicate a level of connection with religion that could act as a good source of social support. Given that the questionnaire utilized in the current study was not qualitative in nature, it is impossible to determine whether the positive direction of the relationship between connectedness to God and bipolar symptomatology was a sign of protection or of risk in this sample.…”