Does Spirituality Matter in Mental Health Conversations

Disclaimer: This blog is written by Jasmina Sabi, inspired by her book Am I Thinking Correctly? While it’s being shared under a different name, these words come directly from Jasmina herself.

Have you ever sat in silence, not because you were meditating, but because your body simply couldn’t take any more noise from your thoughts, your emotions, or your life? I remember thinking I had done enough “work.” I had read the books, gone to therapy, practiced self-awareness, and tried to “fix” my mind. But something still felt broken, or at least… incomplete.

I started asking questions I’d never asked before:

• “What is the role of spirituality in mental health recovery?”
• “Does my soul matter just as much as my psyche?”
• “Can peace come from within, even if nothing outside of me changes?”

Before I wrote Am I Thinking Correctly?, I was stuck in a cycle of emotional survival. I kept looking for the next solution, the next insight, the next diagnosis. But what I was really searching for was relief from pain, confusion, and hopelessness. That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t just mentally drained. I was spiritually empty.

I needed something deeper than understanding. I needed restoration. I needed to reconnect with a part of myself I didn’t know how to name at the time. And that’s where spirituality quietly stepped in.

I’ve come to understand that mental health and spirituality are not separate conversations. In fact, they’re often the same conversation, just in different languages. I used to ask myself, “Can mental health be cured?”

But now I ask, “Can I be whole?” Because healing isn’t about fixing what’s wrong. It’s about remembering what’s always been right inside of me. I began to recognize that mental health and wellness aren’t just about managing symptoms. It’s about restoring connection to self, to others, and to something higher. Whether that’s God, the Universe, love, or the spirit within you, it’s that connection that helps you feel safe enough to let go of survival mode.

One thing I know for sure: What is the intersection of spirituality and mental health?

It’s the place where trauma meets meaning. Where science meets surrender. Where I stopped trying to “figure everything out” and started trusting that I didn’t have to know everything to heal. I was raised in a culture that didn’t openly talk about emotions. But deep inside, I knew there had to be more than just breathing exercises and coping strategies. I knew I needed hope. And for me, hope came through spirituality, not as a set of rules or rituals, but as a quiet voice inside reminding me I was never alone, even in my darkest thoughts.

So now, when someone asks, “Can spirituality be a protective factor in mental health?” I don’t hesitate to say yes. It doesn’t mean it replaces therapy or medicine, but it offers something that neither of those can always provide: meaning.

I remember someone once told me that healing requires safety. But safety isn’t just physical or emotional. It’s spiritual. It’s feeling held by something bigger than your trauma. It’s feeling guided when your mind is confused. It’s knowing there’s light, even if you can’t see it yet.

And here’s the thing we often forget: how mental health affects physical health is not just about stress or burnout. It’s about carrying emotional burdens that we were never meant to carry alone. When the spirit is crushed, the body breaks down. When the soul is ignored, the mind screams louder. It’s all connected.

You can’t truly heal one without tending to the others. That’s why, for me, healing didn’t begin in the brain. It began in the heart. It began the moment I said, “I don’t want to just survive. I want to feel whole.”

If you’ve ever wondered why nothing seems to work long-term… why you still feel disconnected even after years of effort… I want you to know: It might not be a lack of insight. It might be a lack of soul-nourishment.

This isn’t about religion. It’s about relationship, to the part of you that still believes in beauty, in grace, in something greater. So ask yourself, not from fear, but from love, “Are you only healing your mind, or are you also treating your spirit?”

Because when you do both, that’s where true peace lives. And if you’re ready to go there, I invite you to read Am I Thinking Correctly? Not just with your eyes, but with your soul.