While spirituality might mean many different things to different people, drug addiction usually means the same thing for everyone. This includes a complete feeling of powerlessness over drugs that leave many addicts feeling like they are completely without hope. It is only when they begin to work a program of recovery that they realize the deep connection between spirituality and maintaining a lifelong recovery program. In fact, many people in recovery who have relapsed state that it was the loss of their spirituality that led to their eventual temporary downfall. But because the lines between religion and spirituality are often blurred, it's important to understand just what this means to the average person in recovery.
Contrary to popular belief, religion and spirituality are two different things. Spirituality is a group of ideas and belief practices that a person can carry with them and use throughout their daily lives, with or without any type of routine. Religion on the other hand is a strictly regiment, organized group of people who believe in a very set group of higher ideals, usually focusing on the group and individual relationship with God of the bible. While religion insists on the belief in this God in order to achieve salvation and eternal life, spirituality has no such rules. Instead, a spiritual person is one who recognizes that there is a power greater than themselves, and that that power can be relied upon for inner strength and understanding. Spirituality does not require books, churches, incantations or any other trappings of religion – it is all about the individual, and it doesn't even need to be shared with anyone else, although some choose to do so.
Many drug addiction programs teach that it is important to believe in a higher power, and often this can deter people from wanting to take part in this practice – primarily because it sounds too much like religion. However, a higher power can be anything – anything that a person loves that is greater than them – this can be the power of nature, the passion of art, of the belief that there is an actual being who is watching over all of us. Whatever the case may be, this spiritual component is a critical part of an addiction recovery program. In fact, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "Addiction is rooted in a physical, mental and spiritual imbalance. There is a necessity for a substance abuse treatment model that gives credence to the mind-body-spirit connection."
Because addicts and alcoholics cannot return to their old ways after treatment for addiction, they are often left without a social support group because their previous friends and associates were involved in drugs. Spirituality can help to correct this imbalance by lessening the need to rely on others for self fulfillment, and bringing about a sense of fellowship when spiritual ideas and practices are shared. Additionally, the denial that is usually associated with drug use and addiction can be ceased considering that it is impossible to lie to the spiritual nature of one's own mind and heart.
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RJ Hudson is a highly trained and versatile professional writer and editor.