英语听力文摘 English Digest 700 有信仰会感觉更好么？（在线收听）

Believe In God And Feel Better

Whether or not a treatment for an illness or disorder works usually doesn’t depend on whether we believe it will work. For example, if you have an MRI, barring a malfunction, the technology will work even if you don’t understand it or believe that such a thing is possible. Ditto for most types of surgery, antibiotics and other medications, and so on.

Believe In Treatment

But when it comes to treatment for mental illness, the patient’s belief seems to very much matter. At least one study by Harvard researchers has found that patients who believe in God tend to respond better to treatments for problems like anxiety and depression.

Why?

The study found that people who express a belief in God are also more likely to believe in the efficacy of drug and behavioral therapies and expect that they will help. And so, researchers speculate, such patients may be more vigilant about taking their medication and more enthusiastic about participating in other forms of therapy. Patients who are more skeptical, meanwhile, may be less likely to engage in therapy in a fully cooperative way.

Spiritual Beliefs

There hasn’t been much research on the relevance of patients’ spiritual beliefs to treatment for mental illness. So it’s not yet clear if and how psychiatrists and other healthcare providers may be able to factor in religious beliefs in a clinical setting. But more research may help doctors find a way to harness patients’ spirituality in a way that helps them heal.

有信仰会感觉更好么？

疾病或病症的治疗是否有效通常不取决于我们是否相信它会有效。例如，如果你有核磁共振成像，除非出现故障，即使你不理解或不相信这是可能的，这项技术也会起作用。大多数类型的手术、抗生素和其他药物也是如此。

相信治疗

但在治疗精神疾病时，患者的信念似乎非常重要。哈佛大学研究人员的至少一项研究发现，信仰上帝的患者对焦虑和抑郁等问题的治疗往往反应更好。

为什么？

研究发现，表达对上帝信仰的人也更有可能相信药物和行为疗法的疗效，并期望它们会有所帮助。因此，研究人员推测，这类患者可能对服用药物更为警惕，对参与其他形式的治疗更为热情。同时，持怀疑态度的患者可能不太可能以完全合作的方式进行治疗。

精神信仰

关于患者的精神信仰与精神疾病治疗的相关性，目前还没有太多研究。因此，目前还不清楚精神科医生和其他医疗保健提供者是否以及如何能够在临床环境中考虑宗教信仰。但更多的研究可能会帮助医生找到一种方法，以帮助患者康复的方式来利用患者的精神。