As an approved nursing diagnosis, spiritual distress is defined as "a disruption in the life principle that pervades a person's entire being and that integrates and transcends one's biological and psychological nature.
"[1] Authors in the field of nursing who contributed to the definition of the characteristics of spiritual distress used indicators to validate diagnoses.
The indicators (pain, alienation, anxiety, guilt, loss, and despair) must or may be present in defining the characteristics of spiritual distress.
Wilfred McSherry, a senior lecturer in the School of Care Sciences at the University of Glamorgan, published an article on the Journal of Advanced Nursing about potential dilemmas in conducting a spiritual assessment.
Such consideration may prevent the construction and subsequent use of inappropriate assessment tools within practice."