INSPIRATION LINE'S MEANINGFUL LIFE ANSWERS & ENCOURAGEMENT BLOG BOARD

[inspiration]

Addiction: A Spiritual Journey


Sometimes living with an addiction brings us closer to God/Goddess/AllThatIs. I say this because of hearing so many stories from patients about their “awakening” or “enlightenment” as they journey their path away from substance abuse.

Through my years of counseling, I have discovered that those adults who have been traumatized in some manner in childhood make up a wide percentage of adults who are addicted to a form of substance and/or negative behavior. With this fact, my counseling career seemed to take on a life of its own as my focus surrounding childhood abuse and trauma extended to the field of addiction and recovery.

A psychospiritual component, I find, brings benefits to the healing and recovery process that no other form of counseling can. I offer and refer patients to other professionals for massage, Reiki, yoga, chakra balancing, acupuncture and suggest they start an inner search for their own Truth. This touch of inner guidance coming from the patient’s own sense of their spiritual aspect, completes a direction toward growth and change.

Addressing the field of addiction: Did you know that using cocaine and falling in love have something in common? Scientists have concluded cocaine use stimulates the same brain centers as when we have feelings of being in love. Emotional love and using coke produce very similar neuro-activity in the brain. No wonder so many find it difficult to break an addiction habit.

Statistics seem to bring us to a point of non-reality when it comes to the numbers surrounding --- and alcohol abuse. It is difficult for us to bring statistical figures into an understandable frame of reference. It might be as easy to look at our own family members or groups of close friends to grasp how close the problem of addiction is in our country.

The following figures are from the National Survey on --- Use and Health. The survey provides statistical breakdowns for many types of substances including marijuana, --- drugs, cocaine, methamphetamines, alcohol, and heroin. The 2007 survey reveals that an estimated 22.3 million persons over the age of twelve had either a substance abuse or dependency problem in that year--almost ten percent of our nation’s adults are addicted to some form of illicit substance and/or alcohol! This is a staggering fact.

Why are there so many people addicted to drugs and/or alcohol? Of course, it is a very individual choice-point; however, I believe no one takes that first pill, drink, snort, inhale, or injection thinking they will become addicted. Perhaps a trauma or pain in their life which was not addressed or nurtured guided them to this self-destructive behavior. How should we view a person with an addiction? As a low-life or as someone who is less than ourselves? That choice is yours. I choose to view those with an addiction as “missing their mark.” They have wandered off their original path of life onto a side-street called self-hatred. I believe it is our responsibility to help them envision a new pathway, a new direction filled with self-esteem, self-worth, and self-love.

The following story can help all of us check our own life-saboteurs. It is called an “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.”

Chapter 1
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk and I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It is not my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I do not see it. I fall in again. I cannot believe I am in the same place, but it is not my fault. It still takes me a long time to get out.

Chapter 3
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it. I still fall in. It is a habit, but my eyes are open and I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out quickly.

Chapter 4
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5
I walk down a different street.

What can you do to help those addicted to drugs or alcohol? Guide and direct them toward a different street.

Barbara Sinor, Ph.D. is a psychospiritual therapist and author.
Sinor’s newest book co-authored with Deborah McCloskey is
Addiction: What’s Really Going On? Inside a Heroin Treatment Program.
For more information regarding Sinor’s work and books, please visit her
web site: www.DrSinor.com and her Blog: www.drsinor.wordpress.com

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