The Role of Spirituality in Addiction Recovery

Carl Jung viewed addiction as a spiritual malady and addicts as frustrated spiritual seekers. He believed the craving for altered states of consciousness reflected a spiritual thirst for wholeness, and that only those who have a spiritual awakening could successfully overcome addiction. Jung’s position was ultimately incorporated into twelve-step recovery, specifically Step Twelve.

Participants and Procedures

• For example, one can engage in psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
• For example, positive religious coping in the presence of struggle may moderate the impact of struggle on PTSD symptoms (e.g., Bjorck & Thurman, 2007), but in the absence of positive religious coping, may reflect a true absence of spiritual supports.

In contrast, reappraisal of the event to evil forces was unrelated to PTSD symptoms. It may be that attributing the event to evil forces provides an unsettling but satisfactory explanation for some trauma survivors, perhaps because it distributes blame away from self or God to a being already understood as malevolent (e.g., Pargament et al., 2004). This finding suggests that aspects of spiritual struggle are related but distinct constructs that should be assessed separately in future research.

Exploring the Causes and Symptoms of Spiritual Malady

First, the final sample represented only a small proportion of the population of first-year students from which it was drawn, limiting the generalizability of our results. The nature of this study required casting a wide net to assess the impact of two low base rate phenomena (trauma exposure and spiritual struggle), and by approaching the entire population of first-year students, we risked a low response rate. Further, while many studies are forced spiritual malady to recruit by advertising the purpose of the study, which may lead to patterns of participant self-selection, this study was able to approach the entire first-year class with a study of students’ “first year experience,” which likely limited self-selection. Finally, enrollment in the study in no way influenced whether a student experienced trauma during the study, ensuring that the choice of being in the study did not interact with the manipulation.

• This includes 12-Step communities that offer meetings that can help people discover what spirituality means to them.
• When we have the first sip of a drink, or whiff of a drug, it is then controlling our bodies.
• However, given the times we are in, I find myself compelled to vault forward to the spiritual.

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The analyses control for pre-event PTSD symptoms to allow for examination of change in PTSD symptoms in response to the index event. Parallels between spiritual struggle and established (secular) negative cognitive responses to potentially traumatic events clearly exist, as does a small body of literature associating spiritual struggle with greater PTSD symptoms. However, research elucidating the character and directionality of the relationship between struggle and PTSD symptoms is needed. Prior studies have not assessed subscales of spiritual struggle separately to isolate possible differences in relationships with PTSD symptoms, and subtle differences exist among expressions of spiritual struggle, which may result in unique relationships with PTSD symptoms.

thoughts on “The Spiritual Malady”

Spiritual maladies can leave individuals feeling lost, confused, or trapped in a cycle of negative emotions, thoughts, or behaviors. In our quest for understanding and meaning, we often encounter obstacles along our spiritual journey. These hindrances or disturbances of the spirit are commonly referred to as spiritual maladies. While the concept of a spiritual malady may vary for each individual, it generally refers to a state of imbalance, disharmony, or disconnection in one’s spiritual well-being.

Exploring Different Philosophies on the Causes and Treatment of Spiritual Maladies

• Spiritual maladies can manifest in numerous ways and affect various aspects of our lives, including mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
• The good news is that spirituality and religion do not have to overlap in recovery.
• In cases where mental health concerns are significant, seeking the guidance of a mental health professional is crucial.
• We assessed exposure to trauma and non-trauma events during the first year of college, spiritual struggle due to the most stressful event, and PTSD symptoms resulting from the index event.
• The development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms have been shown to relate to particular negative cognitions after trauma exposure, including negative appraisals of the trauma and its implications (Dunmore, Clark, & Ehlers, 2001; Ehlers, Mayou, & Bryant, 1998).
• For a long time I thought my life was unmanageable because of all the crazy insane things I did while drinking — like the car accidents, hurting people when I didn’t mean to, failed relationships, loss of jobs, family dysfunction, jails, asylums, etc.

Ways to Address the Spiritual Malady and Heal in Glenwood Springs

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