Is Your Spiritual Life Affecting Your Body? The Overlooked Link Between Faith and Your Health S2E1 cover art

Is Your Spiritual Life Affecting Your Body? The Overlooked Link Between Faith and Your Health S2E1

Is Your Spiritual Life Affecting Your Body? The Overlooked Link Between Faith and Your Health S2E1

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 In this powerful episode of The Christian Clinician, Dr. Tanya Paynter, a former police officer turned naturopathic doctor, shares her deeply personal story of trauma, PTSD, and spiritual healing. After surviving a deadly officer-involved shooting, she battled severe anxiety, insomnia, and even physical health struggles like hormone imbalance and miscarriage. But healing didn’t come from medicine alone—it came through Scripture, prayer, and a return to faith.This episode is a must-listen for Christian moms navigating anxiety, chronic stress, or spiritual disconnection. You’ll learn why spiritual health is essential to emotional and physical well-being, how doubt can manifest as disease, and practical steps to begin aligning your health journey with God’s design.By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how your spiritual life might be the missing piece in your healing journey—and know what to do next.Timestamps01:30 – Dr. Tanya’s personal story: PTSD, miscarriage, and hormone imbalance04:23 – Reaching for the Bible and the start of spiritual healing 05:31 – The science behind spiritual health and physical symptoms08:10 – Broken heart syndrome as evidence for the soul-body link 11:56 – The importance of confronting doubts for health and faith 14:53 – Reflective questions for personal spiritual assessment 19:38 – How spiritual doubts or unresolved issues can drive physical symptoms 20:50 – Practical application: Track your symptoms, reflect spiritually 23:32 – Gospel message: Jesus as our healer and comforter 24:28 – Recap and Invitation Action StepsToday's Action Steps· Track both your physical symptoms and spiritual challenges daily to identify potential connections between the two.· Set aside intentional, quality time for prayer or connection with God, especially when facing emotional or physical struggles.· Reflect on your current coping mechanisms and consider whether you are turning to faith or other sources for comfort.· Journal about your doubts, questions, or struggles related to faith, and seek answers rather than suppressing them.· Review key scriptures to reinforce the link between your spiritual well-being and overall health.Link to the Symptom and Faith Tracking Worksheethttps://www.psalmmedical.com/CCsignup-season2Citations and ResourcesResources Mentioned in Today's EpisodeBaetz, Marilyn, and Rudy Bowen. “Chronic Pain and Fatigue: Associations with Religion and Spirituality.” Pain Research & Management : The Journal of the Canadian Pain Society 13, no. 5 (2008): 383–388. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2799261/.Francesco Pelliccia et al., “Pathophysiology of Takotsubo Syndrome,” Circulation 135, no. 24 (June 13, 2017): 2426–2441, accessed May 15, 2025, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.027121. Koenig, Harold G. (Harold George). Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2012.Koenig, H. G., L. K. George, J. C. Hays, D. B. Larson, H. J. Cohen, and D. G. Blazer. “The Relationship between Religious Activities and Blood Pressure in Older Adults.” International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 28, no. 2 (1998): 189–213.Schnell, Tatjana, Dietmar Fuchs, and René Hefti. “Worldview Under Stress: Preliminary Findings on Cardiovascular and Cortisol Stress Responses Predicted by Secularity, Religiosity, Spirituality, and Existential Search.” Journal of Religion and Health 59, no. 6 (2020): 2969–2989. Accessed April 6, 2025. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10943-020-01008-5.Bible VersesGenesis 1:27“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”Genesis 2:7“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”1 Corinthians 15:44“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”Job 19:25–26“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”Ecclesiastes 12:7“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”Philippians 3:20–21“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”Hebrews 4:15–16“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”Matthew 11:28...
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