[Spirituality and Resilience in Psychiatric Medicine]

At the end of the twentieth century, the WHO tried to change the definition of health. Until then, the health of a person comprised biological, psychological, and social aspects. At the conclusion of the twentieth century, we understood that happiness required more than just these 3 aspects of health. So, the WHO discussed the addition of a spiritual aspect for the new definition of health. It is difficult to translate spirituality into Japanese. However, spirituality is very important in psychiatric care. For example, people who have spiritual pain or grief of loss experience a need for spiritual care. In the recovery process, the importance of resilience has been reported numerous times. Doctor Mieko Kamiya was an excellent psychiatrist and poet. After she contracted tuberculosis and recuperated alone, she fell into a deep depressive state and spent days of distress. In extreme situations, she had the mysterious experience of having her whole body bathed in light. She felt the presence of a great, natural power. Her spirituality and resilience awakened. So, she recovered to strong health through resilience and spirituality. Strong resilience was induced by spirituality. Spiritual care is important in disasters.