Individuals with drug addiction might get defensive when counselors urge them to seek a spiritual path to recover from their addictions. Many people confuse the concepts of spirituality and religion, then reject the prospect of exposing themselves to religious proselytizing. Spirituality and religion do have overlaps, but spiritual healing from addiction recovery speaks to a different part of an individual’s psyche than religious beliefs. Spirituality seeks to teach an individual that they are a part of something larger and that they can achieve peace and contentment. When healing from addiction, those in recovery can free themselves from the bonds of drug addiction by finding their own higher power that gives them the strength to help live along spiritual guidelines.
Many individuals in recovery automatically turn to their substances when they confront certain triggers in their lives. This happens because of the way the abusive use of drugs has changed the brain. Chemically, the brain has been wired to respond to stress with cravings for drugs and alcohol. Those triggers can be things like job-related stress, relationship issues, social situations, low self-esteem, or a general sense of dissatisfaction with a person’s station in his or her life. Spiritual healing teaches individuals to accept and then let go of that pain and discomfort through reliance on one’s own concept of a higher power.
Each person’s concept of spirituality will be unique to that person. Of greater importance are the elements that spirituality can help a person to achieve. A spiritual perspective can give a person heightened awareness of his or her circumstances and the triggers that lead him or her to drug abuse or alcoholism. Spirituality can lead to acute clarity, feelings of understanding and empathy, a greater sense of authenticity that rejects the lies and distortions that one might have developed to cover their drug abuse, and an increased sense of meaning and purpose. All of these elements help to build self-esteem and give them the tools they need to recover from drug addiction and achieve long-term and lasting sobriety.
Some people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol are able to put their substance abuse behind them, but they still retain the negative emotions and anger that inevitably grew and festered while they were addicted. These individuals are more prone to relapses, even several months or years after they last consumed any substances. Spiritual healing is particularly effective at addressing this problem because it helps individuals to regain a greater sense of perspective and to reject any negativity that might drive him back to drug or alcohol use. Addiction is inevitably a self-centered activity that forces someone to fulfill his own need for drugs ahead of everything else in his or her life. A spiritual response to addiction recovery teaches the individual to look outside of themselves and to find beauty and peace in areas that were obscured by their constant efforts to feed a drug habit. This process builds on itself to erase the negativity that is characteristic of drug addiction.
Design For Change is a 12-step guided treatment program, offering the refuge of recovery to those struggling with addiction. There is freedom and hope waiting for you on the other side of this struggle. You can and you will be victorious. Call us today for information Design for Change’s long term and customizable treatment programs. We’re changing lives, one step at a time. (877) 267-3646
