Abstract
To describe lived experiences of spirituality from the perspective of people who have been subject to inpatient psychiatric care and to interpret these experiences from an understanding of health as dialectical. After approval from a regional ethical board, eleven participants were recruited from two organisations for people with mental health problems. Participants were asked to narrate about spiritual experiences and occasions where such experiences had come close. The transcribed interviews were analysed by means of a phenomenological hermeneutical approach. A structural analysis of the text resulted in three themes; perceiving the presence of something extra mundane, making sense of reality and struggling for acceptance. The comprehensive understanding highlights spiritual experiences as going beyond religion, even though religious experiences appear as part of it. These experiences can indeed be a resource contributing to experiences of hope, connectedness, meaning and coherence in life. However, they can also give rise to doubt, anxiety and feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. Rather than understanding spiritual experiences as being either 'good' or 'bad', we could approach spirituality as something that is always present in alternate and inter-related forms. Metaphorically, this could be understood as a 'near-life experience', summarising participants' experiences related to their struggle with issues related to suffering and health which are simultaneously present. If psychiatric nurses could approach this complexity and, without being judgemental, explore seemingly positive and negative experiences of spirituality as dialectically related to each other, rather than viewing them as either resources or problems, this could contribute to insiderness care and hopefully also support people who struggle with these experiences to seek help when needed.
Highlights
According to Greasley et al [1], mental health issues and spirituality are closely related, and people struggling with mental health issues might often encounter intense spiritual experiences
In the same way as other people, persons suffering from mental health problems have experiences they describe as spiritual and existential
This study aimed to describe lived experiences of spirituality from the perspective of people who have been subject to inpatient psychiatric care and to interpret these experiences from an understanding of health as dialectical
Summary
According to Greasley et al [1], mental health issues and spirituality are closely related, and people struggling with mental health issues might often encounter intense spiritual experiences. Many definitions involve a faith in a God or a higher power, but a person might have spiritual experiences without being religious [5,6] Sometimes, these nonreligious spiritual experiences have been called existential, and focus has been on people searching for meaning and struggling with issues related. When people strive to understand why they have been afflicted by mental health problems and struggle with questions about the meaning of their lives, answers can be sought in religious and spiritual practices [12] This can contribute to experiences of meaning and coherence in life, as well as a sense of being in community with others [13,14]. Having a faith and trusting some kind of God or higher power can install hope for the future This can help a person to cope with challenges associated with mental health problems [11,15]. A fear that professionals will either ignore these issues or perceive them as signs of the person being odd, or mentally ill, can obstruct help seeking [5,20]
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