SPIRITUALITY

/Joanna Woyciechowska, MD -
Duluth Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Program/

• Spirituality does not mean religion.
• Spirituality transcends all religions, transcends cultures and ethnic groups, gives a sense of belonging to the universe and struggles for completion instead of competition.
• Spirituality may play an important role in a disease process, in mental health, coping mechanisms and in changing a life-style as well as an attitude to a healthy one.
• Spirituality can make one a more balanced person and awake one’s own power of healing, awake a physician within oneself.
• Spirituality can raise a person’s ability to create new resources and reach for existing services.
• Spirituality, as any other medicine, should be offered to a proper patient at a proper time, in a proper dose, but always in a very gentle manner.
• Measuring the spiritual realm of human existence, in health and disease is in its infancy. It is very difficult to discuss it now. Since it doesn’t cost money, nor brings side effects we decided to employ it in our MS Program.