Religious and spiritual implication in the assessment and management of bipolar disorder

Abstract

Introduction

Religion/spirituality and medicine have been related in one way or another sense the beginning of our know History. Patients’ beliefs, values and practices influence the way disease is perceived and managed. In order to provide adequate care the physician must have proper knowledge of the patients’ spiritual/religious context, otherwise it may fall prey to errors of diagnostic, inappropriate management and subsequent poor compliance.

Objectives

To present the case of an adult male (a preacher whose beliefs include mediunity) with delusional ideation of mystical content and mood elation, identified during a religious ceremony.

Aims

Questioning the frontier between spiritual/religious beliefs and psychopathology.

Methods

A case report is presented and a literature review of the theme is shortly surveyed.

Results

The case reports to a 53 years old man, who during a religious ceremony presented himself with agitation and disinhibition, removing all his cloths and living the church naked. Additionally it was identified the presence of insomnia, heteroaggressiveness, accelerated speech, mood elation and delusional ideation of mystical and megalomaniac content. Several studies demonstrate the importance of acknowledging the religious/spiritual beliefs of patients. This knowledge allows the psychiatry to correctly identify the existing psychopathology and organize an appropriate intervention plan for the patient.

Conclusions

Spiritual and religious beliefs’ influence the way disease is perceiver and managed. Physician should collect a brief spiritual story of the patient and learn about the different religious/spiritual beliefs and practices of their community, in order to understand the full dimension of the individual illness.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.