Understanding Spirituality in Recovery

Individuals who battle addiction are said to be spiritually bankrupt. You hear the expression quite frequently in the rooms of 12 Step recovery. Since programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are spiritual programs, one of the primary goals is to embrace spirituality.

Unfortunately, the word spirituality – the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things – is one that many people get hung up on in early recovery. One could even argue that the term is intimidating for some as it smacks of the pulpit.

Many people in the grips of addiction do not have fond memories of their time with organized religion. Each person has their reasons, but it's essential to distinguish the difference between religion and spirituality; the latter is often referred to as the glue that holds one's recovery together.

Religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices shared by a community that worships a common God. Spirituality is an individual practice involving a connection to something more substantial or greater than you (a Higher Power).

"Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred," says Christina Puchalski, MD.

At Celebrate Hope, we help clients reconnect with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as they forge a path toward long-term recovery. It's a spiritual process that combines the principles of the 12 Steps with the teachings of Jesus. Many people find it helpful to follow the example of Jesus as they work to maintain a program of recovery.

Spiritual Solvency in Recovery

We should point out that religion is spiritual, but there isn't religion in spirituality. It is for that reason that newcomers shouldn't be intimidated by the higher power business of recovery. While millions of Christians work a program, countless other people believe in a different higher power.

There are no mandates on who or what you must connect with as you trudge the road of happy destiny. Find what works for you and go with it, whether it be Jesus, Buddha, or Nature. The lesson to be learned is that in recovery, you no longer maintain a delusion that you are calling the shots. Those who believe they are in complete control of every aspect of life are usually the people with the least control over their own life.

Working a program is an opportunity to break free from self-will and accepting that you cannot carry the load of life alone. People succeed in 12 Step recovery because they work together in selfless ways to achieve the goal of lasting sobriety. Each person's program is strengthened when they form a relationship with the spiritual realm.

Each person has the right to pray to whichever God they choose, and that is between them and their higher power. However, there are a significant number of people seeking recovery who once had a connection with Jesus and would like to have His guidance once more. Such individuals can benefit significantly from choosing a faith-based addiction treatment center. Such programs were designed to utilize evidence-based therapies in conjunction with Christian teaching to promote lasting recovery.

Christian Faith-Based Addiction Treatment

Please contact Celebrate Hope to learn more about our faith-based addiction treatment center. We are available around the clock to answer your questions about our program features and services. You can speak to a faith-based recovery specialist today by calling (866) 751-2028.

Addiction Recovery: A Commitment for Change

People who attempt addiction recovery without assistance experience disappointment relatively quickly. Alcohol and substance use disorders take tremendous effort to overcome and require a lifelong commitment to going against one’s programming. Simply put, recovering from addiction is not something accomplished on your own. If you have been unable to break the cycle of self-defeating behavior using nothing but will, there is a good reason for the outcome you found. Recovery requires support, a network of lifelines, one can turn to when the going gets tough.

Use disorders develop over time, and the disease is progressive. What starts off as recreation transmogrifies into addiction; once that happens, it’s impossible to reverse the change. You can turn a cucumber into a pickle, you can’t (try as you might) make a pickle a cucumber. Those who try to stop using experience fleeting results. Many people have managed to avoid using for short periods of time, but use recommences sooner rather than later because there isn’t a program to rely upon for coping with all things Life. As a result, people convince themselves that they are doomed to the fate of addiction.

Fortunately, such a conclusion is flawed because it's derived from going about recovery in the same way one went about keeping the flame of their addiction afire—on one’s own. With the help of others and the practice of constant spiritual maintenance, we can and do recover.

 

Seeking Assistance is Required

Individuals battling use disorders know that their condition will likely be their demise if they are unable to stop. Attempts made to free one's self from bondage rarely result in success. Again, we cannot find recovery by the ways and means that we found addiction. A different course of action is required, and one that should begin with alcohol and substance use disorder treatment; to be followed by a continued program of recovery, i.e., 12 Steps or SMART Recovery.

If you are still in the grips, you might ask yourself, ‘why can’t I skip treatment and just join a program? After all, there are meetings in my neighborhood.' Well, you can do that, and that's worked for many people. However, if you are in the late stages of use disorder or dependent on a particular substance — there’s a good chance that the symptoms of acute withdrawal and the people, places and things that trigger you to use will derail your efforts. The pain of withdrawal typically leads to a relapse before one has even contemplated what it means to be powerless over alcohol or drugs.

Medical detox and treatment, on the other hand, are safe environments staffed by people who can help you get through the earliest stages of recovery. This is the time period when the risk of relapse is at its highest. Various medications will dull the symptoms of withdrawal reducing the urge to quit abstinence and return to active use. Treatment centers offer clients 30, 60, or 90-days of trigger-free living. The elements that are known to precipitate substance use don't exist in recovery centers.

 

Treatment: A Commitment that Pays for Itself

Deciding to seek help via treatment should be made as carefully as possible. You are going to be away from your family and be unable to bring home a paycheck (in most cases) for an extended period. When you check into treatment, you are in effect checking out of your previous sphere of existence. It’s a move that gives one the opportunity to shut down, make necessary adjustments conducive to recovery, and reboot. It is a time-consuming and significant commitment.

Some people, have concerns that the financial investment they will have to make by deciding to go to an addiction treatment center may not be worth it—it’s only natural. It is a considerable investment in oneself. Although, the returns will be far higher than the initial investment; especially when you consider the fact that one has no future without recovery. Active addiction always has the same outcome: jails, institutions, and death.

Have you tried to get clean and sober on your own, to no avail? If so, please consider taking a different approach. You will not regret it in the long-run. Please contact Celebrate Drug Rehab today, to begin the life-saving journey of recovery. We have helped a significant number of people achieve what they once thought was impossible—a life without drugs and alcohol.