ABSTRACT
The stress associated with health-related crises can stretch the limits of one’s faith and personal spirituality. Health care providers can benefit their patients by recognizing the existential suffering and help them find some sense of meaning in their circumstances. It is important to mention that perceptions of illness can change during the disease trajectory. Illness, dying, and death can be likened to a roller-coaster ride with its ups and downs. The downward slide often gives rise to crises in patient’s lives. People might exhibit any of these reactions because of their struggles, and this does not necessarily indicate loss of faith, lack of faith, or dysfunctional faith. Spirituality, which helps define the ultimate meaning and purpose in life, and religion, a means by which spirituality is often expressed, do have clinical relevance. Patients often present themselves to physicians with the vulnerability of a child. Spirituality is like a river flowing through every person.
