The BB study offered a supportive atmosphere in the safety of a group. Unless we can experience and entire psychic change there is very little hope of our recovery (p. xxix) . The good news—there is a solution (p. 25). The first principle I let go of was unselfish work with other addicts. Intensive work with other addicts was too strenuous. I was too busy to carry the message to other suffering addicts, so I stopped working with newcomers and having fellowship with other recovered addicts.
The Spiritual Malady: Bane of the Alcoholic and Addict
We know our friend is like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits. Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He will presently try the old game again, for he isn’t happy about his sobriety. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it.
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The specific directions in the first 102 pages of the book Alcoholic Anonymous. The journey of recovery is deeply personal, and the role of a higher power can vary for each individual. Whether it involves prayer, meditation, or simply a belief in something greater, maintaining conscious contact with this higher power is essential for fostering spiritual growth and overcoming addiction.
Take Your First Step To Recovery
Many of us say that we have the right to do whatever we want to our own bodies. We somehow think this is freedom, but we’re really becoming a slave to our own desires. And—as many of us here in this room know—it’s not long until those desires are running our lives. Am I regularly seeking out the truth in God’s Word? 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.
- Then he will know loneliness such as few do.
- One of the things that I had to finally discover was I do not have the power to be what it is I’d like to be.
- I assumed this type of step workshop helped demystify the twelve steps for some members who found the steps too religious.
- If we make that a daily discipline we will never regret it.
- Conversely, does a belief in God necessarily facilitate a spiritual awakening?
No matter how much I might wish to be that way, I don’t have the power. And the conflict that arises as a result of having the grandest intentions but not having the power to live up to those intentions creates more discomfort than I can bear. And so the alcoholic has no choice but when you get into spiritual malady that conflict, ultimately you have to drink. If my life is lived in such a way that I can’t stand it & I don’t like the truth about who I am, then I have to have some kind of solution for that, & the solution was simply to drink.
The Allergy of the Body and the Obession of the Mind
- Taking responsibility means more than admitting I have a problem; it means taking consistent action by working the 12 Steps with honesty, open mindedness, and willingness.
- Like me, the majority of them were on medication.
- Fear and selfishness are replaced with gratitude and purpose.
- What the book says is that the only thing that will solve our drink problem is a spiritual awakening, spiritual experience, attitude adjustment, or psychic change.
Reassure the newcomer that our program of recovery will relieve their alcoholism/addiction. Show the newcomer that the process is simple, straightforward and that it really works. I found the above description in a psychology magazine a few years ago. I can’t remember where it’s from specifically but what struck Sober living house me was that this is the exact same inner experience of an alcoholic (drinking or not) before finding and growing toward a spiritual solution.
The fact is, we have a spiritual problem, and the only cure is God. There is no doubt that when I first got sober, psychiatrists and psychologists were very helpful. I doubt I would have survived without their support. Professional intervention was only a temporary solution.
Am I Responsible For My Alcoholism
To conclude, it’s not my body — my allergic reaction to alcohol — that’s going to take me back to drinking. It’s really not my mind — the mental obsession — that is the underlying root of what will take me back to drinking. It’s the “spiritual malady”, as manifested by my EGO (selfishness-self-centeredness), that can eventually lead me back to drinking or sometimes even suicide.
How Oceanfront Recovery Can Help
- By focusing on spiritual healing, we can begin to alleviate this mental compulsion and find peace.
- Started working with other alcoholics as soon as he finished his last treatment which was a 5 to 7 day stay in the hospital back in the 1930s.
- When I’m filled with self, there’s nothing but suffering.
It has to do with ‘our spirit’…that force which animates, motivates and propels us. There are aspects of alcoholism that are mental, psychological and spiritual, which need to be healed with more than just not drinking. That’s why there are TWELVE Steps, not just the first one. In the 1940’s, if you were an alcoholic, you could go to a hospital and safely detox, however you were required to pay a bill for your stay, which was approximately 5 to 7 days. There was no money in the procedure of “drying out” drunks and addicts.
Spirituality is the aspect of recovery that I think most often gets overlooked. Some of us are very comfortable embracing spirituality, but for others, it feels weird or uncomfortable. Suppose we fall short of the chosen ideal and stumble? Does this mean we are going to get https://ecosoberhouse.com/ drunk.