She is recognized as one of metro Detroit\u2019s best doctors, but when it comes to healing, Dr. Earlexia Norwood is fueled by faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in the ability of God to work within people,\u201d said Norwood, who works with the Henry Ford Medical Center in Troy. \u201cMy practice could not exist without prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norwood prays daily. Sometimes before seeing patients. Occasionally, with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ask God to give me the wisdom and understanding I need to \u2026 uncover anything that is hidden,\u201d she said. \u201cFor patients going through a terminal illness, I pray because I know they need more than the science and medicine I can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n
For believers like Norwood, faith in a higher power long has been considered a healing balm. But now, a growing body of medical research \u2014 including a recent Wayne State University study \u2014 is validating the power of faith\u2026.<\/p>\n
There was a time when medicine and faith had clear borders. Doctors treated the physical body and religious leaders fed the spiritual body. But thanks to a growing body of research and the increased presence of health practitioners whose faith is part of their practice, religion and medicine are joining forces in ways far beyond the hospital chaplain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a fair amount of science to substantiate the power of prayer, belief and spirituality to positively impact the healing process,\u201d said Dr. Michael Seidman, medical director of the Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the Henry Ford Health System. \u201cIt matters not what you believe. It matters that you believe.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n
This year, a Wayne State University study found that if traumatic brain injury victims feel close to a higher power, it can help them rehabilitate. The study of 88 patients at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan in Detroit was published in the February issue of Rehabilitation Psychology.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeeling connected to a higher power positively impacted not only their feelings, but their functional outcomes, what they were able to do. So they didn\u2019t just feel better, there was evidence they functioned better in their ability to do daily tasks,\u201d said lead investigator Brigid Waldron-Perrine, who\u2019s now at the University of Michigan doing postdoctoral work in neuropsychology.<\/p>\n
The study used various questionnaires to assess patients\u2019 spiritual practices and beliefs and their physical and psychological well-being. Researchers also interviewed the patients as well as significant others about how well the patient handled daily tasks, such as managing their own finances and going out in the community alone\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a connection to a higher power was predictive of positive rehabilitation outcomes,\u201d Waldron-Perrine said.<\/p>\n
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant allowed University of South Carolina researcher Jane Teas to interview 135 people who believed God had a role in healing them. The study was published last year and resulted in a book titled \u201cFaith That Heals: Stories of God\u2019s Love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur stories give testimony to a supreme presence and power of God; but not as passive, hidden in people\u2019s souls or sitting aloof on a throne in heaven. God in these stories is active, transforming the ordinary wounds of sickness and adversity to well-being and joy, using visions, dreams and whispers heard in the heart,\u201d Teas writes in the book\u2019s introduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not saying throw out your medicine,\u201d Teas said in an interview. \u201cWe are saying there is something powerful that goes with believing. I can\u2019t say it\u2019s not real. I can say there is a force in our world that we don\u2019t know enough about to discount. I suppose one day we\u2019ll have a nasal spray for the peace that surpasses all understanding.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Cassandra Spratling: She is recognized as one of metro Detroit\u2019s best doctors, but when it comes to healing, Dr. Earlexia Norwood is fueled by faith. \u201cI believe in the ability of God to work within people,\u201d said Norwood, who works with the Henry Ford Medical Center in Troy. \u201cMy practice could not exist without […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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