GEN 017: Religions, Religious Practices and Spirituality

Student Activity Sheet

Lesson #4
Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Lesson title: Characteristics of Spiritual Health and Spiritual Materials:

Distress Pen and paper
Learning Targets:
At the end of the module, students will be able to: References:
1. Differentiation of the characteristics of Spiritual Health
and Spiritual Distress. Old Testament, Book of Job
2. Identifying Job’s spiritual health and distresses during his
turmoil. O'Brien, M.E. (2011) Spirituality in
Nursing Standing on Holy Ground. 4th
Edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Sudbury.

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P., &

Hall, A. (2016). Fundamentals of nursing (9th
ed.). Mosby.

A. LESSON PREVIEW
The instructor will call 3-4 students from each group to share some insights from the last discussion.

1. When caring for patients, the nurse must understand the difference between religion and spirituality. Religious
care helps individuals:
A. maintain their belief systems and worship practices.
B. develop a relationship with a higher being.
C. establish a cultural connectedness with the purpose of life.
D. achieve the balance needed to maintain health and well-being.

Answer: A
 Rationale: Religion is associated with the “state of doing,” or a specific system of practices related to a
particular denomination, sect, or form of worship. It is a system of organized beliefs and worship that a
person practices to express spirituality outwardly. Religious care helps patients maintain their faithfulness to
their belief systems and worship practices. Spiritual care helps people identify meaning and purpose in life,
look beyond the present, and maintain personal relationships and relationships with a higher being or life
force.

B. MAIN LESSON

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION Page 1

 GEN 017: Religions, Religious Practices and Spirituality
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #4
Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Topic # 1
Spiritual health
 Spiritual health represents a balance. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Spiritual health matures with increasing awareness of meaning, purpose, and life values. (Potter et al.,
2019)
 Spiritual beliefs change as patients grow and develop. (Potter et al., 2019)
 can be defined as "a state of well-being and equilibrium in that part of a person's essence and existence
which transcends the realm of the natural and relates to the ultimate good. Spiritual health is recognized
by the presence of an interior state of peace and joy;, freedom from abnormal anxiety, guilt or a feeling of
sinfulness; and a sense of security and direction in the pursuit of one's life goals and activities" (O'Brien,
1982a, p. 98).
 Spiritual health is also understood as relating to the ability to identify and describe one's purpose in life
(Chapman, 1986; Levin & Schiller, 1987). Health care researchers found a significant correlation between
spiritual health and an individual's subjective evaluation of overall physical health (Michello, 1988), and
that spiritual health can be predictive of how a person confronts their personal mortality (Hart, 1994).
 Spiritual Contentment, the opposite of spiritual distress, is likened to spiritual peace (Johnson, 1992), a
concept whose correlates include "living in the now of God's love," "accepting the ultimate strength of
God," knowledge that all are "children of God," knowing that "God is in control," and ''finding peace in
God's love and forgiveness" (pp. 12–13). When an individual reports minimal to no notable spiritual
distress, he or she may be considered to be in a state of "spiritual contentment."

Topic # 2
Spiritual distress
 Spiritual distress is “a state of suffering related to the impaired ability to experience meaning in life
through connections with self, others, the world, or a superior being (Potter et al., 2019)
 such as "sudden changes in spiritual practices [rejection, neglect, fanatical devotion]; mood changes
[frequent crying, depression, apathy, anger]; sudden interest in spiritual matters [reading religious
books or watching religious programs on television, visits to clergy]; and disturbed sleep" (Taylor,
Lillis, & LeMone, 1993, p. 1174).
 Spiritual distress causes a person to feel doubt, loss of faith, and a sense of being alone or
abandoned. Individuals often question their spiritual values, raising questions about their way of life,
purpose for living, and source of meaning. Spiritual distress also occurs when conflict arises between
beliefs and prescribed health regimens or the inability to practice usual rituals. (Potter et al., 2019)
 It causes people to question their identity and feel doubt, loss of faith, and a sense of being alone or
abandoned. Individuals often question their spiritual values, raising questions about their way of life,
purpose for living, and source of meaning. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Sudden, unexpected illness often creates spiritual distress. People often look for ways to remain
faithful to their beliefs and value systems. Nurses use knowledge of a person’s spiritual well-being
and implement spiritual interventions to maximize inner peace and healing. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Many chronic illnesses threaten a person’s independence, causing fear, anxiety, and spiritual distress.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION Page 2

 GEN 017: Religions, Religious Practices and Spirituality
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #4
Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Dependence on others for routine self-care needs often creates feelings of powerlessness. (Potter et
al., 2019)
 Some nurses care for patients who have had a near-death experience (NDE). An NDE is a
psychological phenomenon of people who either have been close to clinical death or have recovered
after being declared dead. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Commonly patients who experience an NDE describe feeling totally at peace, having an out-of-body
experience, being pulled into a dark tunnel, seeing bright lights, and meeting people who preceded
them in death. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Patients with an NDE are often reluctant to discuss it, thinking family or caregivers will not
understand. Isolation and depression often occur. (Potter et al., 2019)
 After patients have survived an NDE, promote spiritual well-being by remaining open, giving
patients a chance to explore what happened. and supporting them as they share the experience with
significant others. (Potter et al., 2019)
 Impaired ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life through connectedness with
self, others, art, music, literature, nature, and/or a power greater than oneself. (Potter et al., 2019)
 A patient's experience of spiritual suffering, or spiritual distress, may pose unique challenges for
nursing intervention (Kahn & Steeves, 1994).
 Spiritual distress may be experienced by any ill person questioning the reason for his or her suffering
(Harrison, 1993).
 Defining characteristics of spiritual distress include questioning one's relationship with God,
attempting to identify religious idols, guilt feelings, and a variety of somatic symptoms (Heliker,
1992, p. 16); questioning the meaning and purpose of life; expressing anger toward God; refusing to
participate in usual religious practices; regarding illness as God's punishment; and seeking spiritual
assistance, other than usual spiritual or religious support (Tucker, Canobbio, Paquette, & Wells,
1996, p. 52).
 The nurse does not need religious training to meet a patient's needs in spiritual distress (DiMeo,
1991, p. 22);
 nurses continually engage in assessing, planning, intervening, and evaluating (the nursing process)
related to physical and emotional nursing diagnoses. In assessing spiritual need, the nurse must
determine whether they may provide the spiritual care, such as listening and counselling, or whether
a referral should be made to a chaplain or formally trained minister of the patient's denomination
(Duff, 1994)

The story of Job

Ask the students to read in advance the Book of Job Chapters 1-16 or provide a short video presentation about his
life.
Ask the students to complete the 1st column based on the story of Job. The signs of spiritual distress can also be
seen through his friends and wife. Afterwards, write the antonym of the words of the 1st column in the 2nd column.
Write as many as you can.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION Page 3

 GEN 017: Religions, Religious Practices and Spirituality
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #4
Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Spiritual Distress Spiritual Health

Example: agony Comfort

AL Strategy:

The teacher will ask the students to share their answers:

Spiritual Distress Spiritual Health
Example: agony
Despair
Torment
Sad
Incomplete
Pain
Fear
Weariness
Faithless

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)
We have to know and to see the differene between spiritual health and spiritual distress because.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.

TEACHER-LED ACTIVITIES
1) Collect completed work in the SAS.
2) Allocate your contact time with students to individual or small group mentoring, monitoring, and
student consultations.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION Page 4

 GEN 017: Religions, Religious Practices and Spirituality
Student Activity Sheet
Lesson #4
Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______
Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

3) During face-to-face sessions, you may administer summative assessments (quizzes, demonstrations,
graded recitation, presentations, performance tasks).
4) You may also explore supplementary activities that foster collaboration, provided that social
distancing is observed.
5) You may provide supplementary content via videos, etc.

It is important to remember that students who cannot make it to face-to-face, in-classroom sessions for
health and safety reasons, should not be given lower grades for missing in-class activities and alternative
summative tests.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION Page 5