In a recent study of depressed, medically-ill older adults, researchers at Duke University found that the more religious a patient was, the more quickly they recovered from depression. While many studies have looked at religion's role in preventing depression, this landmark study was one of the first to look at religion's role in recovering from depression. Co-morbidity can reduce the quality of life, delay recovery from a physical illness, increase length of hospital stay, and increase mortality. In fact, as the level of religious intensity increased, so did the speed of recovery from depression.
Intrinsic religiosity is a term to describe a person's internal or personal spiritual life.
It is separate from organizational religious activities like church attendance and is measured by such things as belief or experience. This study indicates that we physicians should encourage our patients to draw on their religious beliefs to work through such a crisis. American Journal of Psychiatry. NIHR is a nonprofit organization committed to conducting and mobilizing research on the relationship between spirituality and physical, mental, and social health.