Is Prayer an Effective Stress Management Strategy?

Defining Stress
Stress is perilous.
The Health and Safety Executive report in the UK National Statistics state that
stress was prevalent in 40% of all work-related illness were due to stress [1].
Each individual suffering from work-related stress took an average of 24 days
off work [1].
An equivalent of 10.4 million working days are lost annually due to work-
related stress[1].
Stress is defined in terms of a 'person-environment fit'.
Stress has been divided into two sub-categories. The environmental influence is
the 'stressor', and the individual response is 'stress' [2].
Lazzarus defined stress as A particular relationship between the person and
environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her
resources and endangering his or her well-being, (as cited in [2], p 222.)
However, not all stress is detrimental. In the early 1970's Hans Selye
distinguished between 'distress' and 'eustress' [3].
According to the Oxford Dictionaries, Distress is specifically Extreme anxiety,
sorrow, or pain. where as eustress is defined as Moderate or normal
psychological stress interpreted as being beneficial for the experiencer[4].
Therefore, the adequacy to which prayer can manage stress will be based on the
definition of Lazzarus in relation to distress.
Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative prayer consists of four steps also
referred to as 'moments'.
The first of these moments is ' The Sacred Word'. This initiates
the prayer through the use of a 'sacred word'. The act of using this
word and sitting quietly with the eyes closed helps the individual
to 'surrender' to God's will.[5]
The second moment is 'Rest'. During the prayer, the individual
enters a deep rest. During this time of interior silence, early
trauma and emotional blocks begin to 'soften' and the individual
becomes more aware of them. During this time God begins the
healing of damaged emotions and thoughts and the individual
experiences a deep sense of contentment, a sense of home coming,
and of well-being, (Keating 1994, cited in [5], p. 312).
The third moment is 'Unloading'. During this time a number of
thoughts, past experiences and emotions rise unconscious mind.
The purpose of Contemplative Prayer is to fully experience
emotions, and 'give them to God'. During the Unloading moment,
individuals may experience intense anger, sorrow or fear without
relation to recent events. [5]
The fourth moment is 'Evacuation'. During this moment, the
individual releases emotionally difficult experiences, thoughts and
feelings by allowing the emotions a place to vent.. Contemplative
prayer allows the individual obtain a sense of closure in life. [5]
An underlying theme of contemplative prayer is to enable the
individual to work together with God to overcome stress and
worries

Theory
Contemplative Prayer reflects Carl Rogers' Humanistic
Approach
Carl Rogers suggested that the best way to aid a patient was to provide the
individual with an unconditional positive regard, no matter what was said or
done by the client, the therapist would only have positive regard for the client.
[6].
Contemplative prayer functions in fundamentally the same way, except in this
case, God acts as the therapist and the individual is the client. God provides
unconditional love for everyone, as demonstrated by dying on the cross for
everyone's crimes, and the individual, in the simplest way, seeks to 'get things off
their chest' by talking with God.
Empirical evidence suggests prayer is beneficial in several
practical applications.
Ferguson, J., Willemsen, E., & Castaneto, M., (2010) Conducted 10 two hour
contemplative prayer sessions whilst assessing stress levels. Results showed that
participants were more competent to cope with stressful situations.[5]
Harris, J. et al. (2008) studied 327 participants through questionnaires and found
that their faith and prayer helped them to manage traumatic experiences.[7]
Belding, J. et al. (2010) studied 111 participants and divided them into self-talk,
prayer and control groups. Heart rate and blood pressure were taken before and
during stressful stimuli. Prayer did not significantly lower stress. It was
theorized to be due to the participants considering reading a prayer to not be an
actual prayer. [8]
Das, I. & Anand, H., (2012) discovered that after a month of praying, galvanic
skin responses greatly increased, which suggests psychophysiological relaxation.
They concluded that there is a significant positive effect of prayer on GSR. [9]

References
[1] Health and Safety Executive (2013). National Statistics retrieved from
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/stress.pdf
[2]Ogden, J. (2007). Health psychology : a textbook [electronic resource] / Jane Ogden. Maidenhead : Open
University Press, 2007.
[3]Szabo, S., Tache, Y., & Somogyi, A. (2012). The legacy of Hans Selye and the origins of stress research: a
retrospective 75 years after his landmark brief "letter" to the editor# of nature. Stress (Amsterdam,
Netherlands), 15(5), 472-478.
[4]Oxford Dictionaries (n.d.).Oxford Dictionaries Language Matters. Retrieved from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/distress?q=Distress
[5]Ferguson, J. K., Willemsen, E. W., & Castaeto, M. V. (2010). Centering Prayer as a Healing Response to
Everyday Stress: A Psychological and Spiritual Process.Pastoral Psychology, 59(3), 305-329.
[6]Thorn, B. (n.d.). Person Centered Therapy. Historical context and developments in Britain. p. 8.
[7]Harris, J., Erbes, C. R., Engdahl, B. E., Olson, R. A., Winskowski, A., & McMahill, J. (2008). Christian
religious functioning and trauma outcomes. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 64(1), 17-29.
[8]Belding, J., Howard, M., McGuire, A., Schwartz, A., & Wilson, J. (2010). Social Buffering by God: Prayer and
Measures of Stress. Journal Of Religion &Health, 49(2), 179-187
[9]Das, I., &Anand, H. (2012). Effect of Prayer and OM Meditation in Enhancing Galvanic Skin
Response. Psychological Thought, 5(2), 141-149.
[10]How to prevent and manage stress. (2011). Stress Management: Approaches for Preventing & Reducing
Stress (2011) (pp. 10-28). Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Health Publications.
Conclusion
Prayer is an effective and useful stress management
resource.
It aids many people in dealing with environmental stressors.[7]
Rather than suppressing or ignoring stress, prayer enables the
individual to deal with stress and traumatic situations.[5]
It is beneficial physically through religiosity and GSR [9], [10]
Even if individual is not religious, shares many similarities with Carl
Rogers' Humanistic approach and may prove beneficial.
Evaluation
Strengths
Incorporates a holistic approach in relation to the Humanistic approach.
Is practical, compatible, easy to use in many environments
The all-embracing nature of Christianity allows contemplative prayer to be used
by any christian of any culture and race.
Limitations
Not widely used outside of the Christian Faith.[10]
by Isaiah Doub