It simply means we are spiritually blocked off from the Power of God, which enables us to remain sober, happy, joyous, and free. Only once we open the spiritual channels and begin to accept a Higher Power into our lives can we hope to find a solution to our alcoholic condition. When left unresolved, a spiritual malady will continue to lead to restlessness, irritability, and discontentment.
You’re emotionally distant and tend to isolate yourself.
- This is the type of spiritually maladapted behavior that we typically exhibit in active alcoholism.
- Some predictive codes are inborn, instincts, but humans actually have very few instincts.
- It’s also important to remember that your understanding of a Higher Power can change and evolve over time.
- According to shaman and anthropologist Hank Wesselman, medication is not enough to completely eradicate spiritual illnesses.
- You might see repetitive numbers or other meaningful coincidences with deeper connections and meanings throughout the day.
Today I look further at the disease of alcoholism focusing on it as a spiritual malady. It’s been medically proven that after a few days of not drinking, alcohol is completely processed out of the body. After a period of abstinence, the substance is physically worked out of the body.
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Therapists can promote this spiritual dimension of recovery by working collaboratively with their patients to implement aspects of it into their lifestyles. This might also help to ease their misgivings about whether they are about to join a cult, or exactly what “spirituality” is. Many people are initially turned off to the idea of the program because they believe it preaches religion and God, and many addicts and alcoholics have no desire to pursue a religious answer. But the beauty of the 12-steps is that they are spiritually based as opposed to religious.
The contemplative connection between body, movement, dance and a meditation practice
If you wish to contact a specific medical detox center then find a specific treatment center using our addiction treatment locator tool. The chakras may become sluggish if tamasic energies settle down for too long. Negativity can lead to a complete shutdown of intuitive powers and subtle perception.
- This spiritual malady, or spiritual disconnection, is the driving force behind our addiction and self-destructive behaviors.
- Same thing with alcohol; some people can have a couple beers, no problem.
- The reality is we are both a spiritual and an aspiritual species.
- Finding a Higher Power is an essential part of Alcoholics Anonymous, but what if you don’t believe in God?
However, no one is required to be a Christian to attend CR. If you don’t believe in Jesus, or you’re not sure what you think about Him, that’s okay. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, you’re welcome here, and you’ll find help and acceptance. They proposed that the remedy to all obsessive states, at that time alcoholism, was primarily to become spiritually well, after which all of their mental and physical issues would be miraculously resolved. According to Alcoholics Anonymous, informally known as The Big Book, when someone with alcoholism drinks, they have an abnormal reaction likened to an allergic reaction.
If we’re serious about our recovery, if we really want to experience freedom from these behaviors that keep us in bondage, we have to be rigorously honest with our answers. But like it says in the serenity prayer; we accept hardship as a pathway to peace. We dwell on that thought spiritual malady too long, and our desire eventually gives birth to action. And once we take action and put that substance in our system – whether its alcohol, drugs, sugar, or whatever—it sets off a physical craving for more of that substance or activity and we’re caught in a cycle.
It takes rigorous honesty, and it might require a lot of digging and peeling away of layers to start uncovering things. Spending time with God and reading His word is a big part of keeping our minds healthy and grounded in truth. If we make that a daily discipline we will never regret it. So let’s take a look at the questions we can ask ourselves to help us build our spiritual inventory list. We’re going to look specifically at four areas of our lives. Here at California Detox in Laguna Beach, we can help you unpack the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of alcoholism.
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- Our angels live in safety and our devils live in threat—and we all have both.
- Spiritual malady can trigger feelings of irritability, restlessness, and discontentedness.
- You may feel drained, exhausted, and unable to be involved in spiritual practices you once enjoyed.
- I was the director in the drama of life and managing the world so I could get what I thought I needed to feel ok.
- We use everything and everyone, even when we stop using alcohol and drugs to cope with these feelings of being unsatisfied and uncomfortable in life.