Spirituality: An Important Component in Addiction Recovery

Regardless of what addiction an individual is recovering from they will find that spirituality is a very important component of the recovery. Their addiction could be alcohol, drugs, sex, food, gambling, the internet, or some other addictive behavior. Research had proven repeatedly that including spirituality in a recovery program increases the individual's chances at sustained recovery. Medical research is showing that even in medical illnesses where the treatment of the illness involves some form of behavior modification, spirituality aids recovery. Therefore spirituality is becoming an important topic in today's world.

Among the general public a new sense of spiritual freedom, openness to eastern religions, to new age approaches, to alternative therapies, and to Native American and other spiritualities has added great variety to the spiritual landscape of America (Doubleday, n.d.). Introspections, self-help movements, pursuit of the inner child, and various 12 Step approaches have also had a widespread impact (Waters & Shafer, 2005).

Within the medical profession, health care workers have noted that individuals with a strong spiritual background recuperate more quickly from their health crisis. Individuals working in the field of addiction treatment have long known the benefit of spiritual practices in the rate of sustained recovery.

What exactly does the term spirituality mean? There are many different definitions found within the professional journals. The term generally refers to the longing for a sense of meaning and fulfillment in a person's life. Although many confuse the term with religion the two terms are different. The term religion refers to organized structures that center around particular beliefs, behavioral rituals, ceremonies, and traditions. The term spirituality has more to do with the deeper questions posed by an individual's existence (Canda & Furman, 1999). In 2003 Miller reported on the findings of several committees, composed of individuals from the addiction/health fields, who attempted to develop a scientific concept of spirituality. This is the working assumptions about spirituality that he developed:

1. Spirituality is not interchangeable with religion.

2. Spirituality is best understood as a characteristic of individuals.

3. Spirituality is not a commodity that is present or absent, or one that is possessed in amount.

4. Spirituality is multidimensional and is best understood as comprised of multiple dimensions.

5. Every person can be located somewhere within the multidimensional space of spirituality.

In 2004 Cook identified thirteen conceptual components of the definitions and descriptions of spirituality which we4re concerned with: relatedness, transcendence, humanity, core/force/soul, meaning/purpose, authenticity/truth, values, non-materiality, non-religiousness, wholeness, self-knowledge, creativity, and consciousness.

This intricate web of spirituality and its influence on the recovery of individuals has spurred increasing research focusing on how issues related to spirituality, religion, and faith are incorporated into the treatment of individuals and their clinical outcomes (Josephson & Wiesner, 2004). These studies report that spiritual people are less depressed, less anxious, and less suicidal than non-spiritual people. They also cope better with traumatic events such as illness, divorce, and bereavement. Further, the more people report incorporating spiritual practices into their daily living the more frequently they report positive emotions and an overall sense of satisfaction with life (Paul, 2005). Research also found higher levels of spirituality predicted more optimistic life orientation, great perceived social support, higher resilience to stress, and lower levels of anxiety (Pardini, et.al, 2002).

The invention of modern medical equipment, particularly the Positive Emotron Tomography (PET) Scans have shown practitioners that addiction is a brain disorder and therefore the most effective treatments focus on the mind rather than the body. Some spiritual practices that have helped are: fasting, prayer and meditation, and religious and meditative practices that have in their roots the establishing and strengthening self-control. These practices to establish and strengthen self-control are focusing attention, maintaining forced silence, repetitive chanting, and contemplation; the practices that often result in dramatic epiphanies. On his website Bill Urell states that in recovery individuals work on becoming connected in four areas of life or relationships: first with self, second with your concept of a higher power/being, third with family, and lastly with community or those casual relationships, work, or social situations. He stated that there are seven actions that can help an individual accomplish this:

1. Spend quiet time in personal prayer and/or meditation.

2. Spend time in groups, any group with positive interaction and direction.

3. Spend time learning, grow your mind.

4. Spend time for yourself, quiet time by yourself away from family and work.

5. Spend time on physical fitness and proper diet.

6. Spend time in recreation, activities just for sheer fun.

7. Spend time being of service to others through volunteer work or random acts of kindness.

Therefore, even if you are not currently battling some physical illness or addiction of some sort, it will be beneficial to engage in these activities for the improvement of your physical or mental well-being. We can all utilize these practices to make ourselves healthier individuals.

Resources:

Canda, E.R., Furman, L.D., (1999). Spiritual diversity in social work practice. NY: The Free Press.

Doubleday, W. A., (n.d.,) Some thoughts on spirituality on the verge of the 21^st century. Quest, New York: Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on May 16, 2005 at http://www.mindspirit.org/psiqa22.htm.

Josephson, A., Wiesner, I. (2004). Worldview in psychiatric assessment. In Josephson, A. & Peteet, J. (eds.) Handbook on spirituality and worldview in clinical practice, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Miller, W. R. (2003). Spirituality, treatment, and recovery. In: M. Galanter, (Ed), Recent developments in alcoholism. Volume 16: Research on alcoholism treatment: Methodology/psychosocial treatment, selected treatment topics, research priorities (pp. 391-404). New York: Kluwer Academic.

Pardini, D. A., Plante, T. G., Sherman, A., & Stump, J. E. (2000). Religious faith and spirituality in substance abuse recovery: Determining the mental health benefits. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment,19, pp 347-354.

Paul, P. (January 17, 2995). The power to uplift: Religious people are less stressed and happier than nonbelievers. Time, A46-48.

Waters, P., Shafer, K. C. (2005). Spirituality in Addiction Treatment and Recovery Part I. Southern Coast Beacon Published by Southern Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available on-line at http://www.scattc.org.

Urell, B. (2009). Addiction Recovery and Spirituality. Available on-line on his website http://AddictionRecoveryBasics.com.