Spiritual wellness as a tool against the effects of a pandemic : experiences of some Australian families in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Based on the mixed feelings as to whether spirituality offers wellness during trouble times, this study explored how families used spiritual wellness as a tool against the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to understand the participant’sspiritual wellness in order to find out the impact of the pandemic on their specific aspects of spiritual wellness and then to determine the spiritual pathways they used to manage their challenges during COVID-19, as well as further recommendations made by participants toward enhancing spiritual wellness in the future especially during crisis situations, such as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The aftermath effect of the pandemic still lingers among many lives today. Therefore, knowing how some used spiritual wellness as a dimension of wellness to overcome the chaos will be a lesson for many to consider. The study followed a qualitative approach (interviews), involving 12 families based in Melbourne, Australia, to examine how the pandemic impacted their spiritual wellness, the pathways of wellness they used as they transitioned through the pandemic, as well as recommendations made by families going forward.. The findings revealed that spiritual wellness was maintained through engaging in virtual spiritual activities, keeping a positive spirit, and being motivation, while practicing yoga and meditation offered optimism, hope, and confidence as well as positive feelings about the future. This attests to the fact that, spirituality can serve as a great source of power that can transcend beyond all situations to generate wellness