Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? Are you practicing any religion? If so, you do not need to consider spirituality a distraction during recovery from addiction. Quite the contrary, spirituality can be highly beneficial to recovering individuals. Furthermore, since recovery is a journey of self-exploration, your spiritual practices may support you in this area of personal growth.
Benefit #1. Spirituality and Faith Guide You Toward Positive Growth
Most religious beliefs and spiritual traditions encourage people to explore and grow for better ways of living. These sources of inspiration are not in opposition to evidence-based treatment. For example, Laguna Shores Recovery Center’s 12-Step program is the best example of spirituality becoming integrated with evidence-based addiction treatment.
Spirituality provides a profound understanding of human nature and our common tendencies toward self-destructive behavior. By looking beyond oneself and trusting in the wisdom of a “higher power,” a person gains humility and honesty, which are foundational to positive personal growth. Without honesty and humility, recovering individuals tend to become complacent or self-deceiving about where they are on the journey.
Benefit #2. Spirituality and Faith Connect You With Meaningfulness in Nature
Many people use substances and develop addictive habits because they enter into a phase of loss and purposelessness. This can be true even for religious believers. But recovery gives many people a chance to re-anchor themselves by using the power of nature. When human beings connect with nature, nature always responds with its mysterious revelations about purpose and meaning.
Addiction tends to make people lose sight of minor beauties in nature. Whether through adventure therapy or animal-assisted therapy, nature speaks to recovering individuals through its many created beings. You will begin to see your harmonious place in the universe. Spirituality and faith connect you even deeper with these lasting truths about creativity, harmony, and beauty. When you combine spiritual practices with nature-related therapy, there can be comforting and uplifting health benefits.
Benefit #3. Spirituality and Faith Bring Deeper Healing
Recovery is a challenging process where your body and mind go through healing. How deep this healing process goes depends on your journey. Practicing spirituality can provide an extra resource for the healing to go deeper. For example, if you struggle with anxious thoughts and negative self-talk, psychotherapy can help. But in a deeper sense, you may need forgiveness, which is deep-rooted in spirituality.
To harvest deep and lasting healing from the negative impact of substances, you can combine spirituality with effective self-care methods. Take journaling, for example. This is a private and safe space to express emotions and explore doubts. Maybe you can journal a prayer entry each day. Or use it as a space to count your daily blessings. Spiritual practices are the best to help you learn a gratitude mindset.
Benefit #4. Spirituality and Faith Build Resilience During Crises
Life does not stop after you achieve sobriety. Many recovering individuals experience crises after maintaining years of sobriety, and then it becomes challenging again. Spirituality helps you cope with tough questions like death, loss, pain, and suffering. Many religious faiths offer structured understandings around these themes.
When it comes to hardships, nothing brings more comfort than actively practicing a religious belief. It supports you to grow beyond the limitations of circumstances. You can read memoirs or devotions written by spiritual people who have been through a similar painful loss. Spirituality can open up a wide world of emotional support resources.
Benefit #5. Spirituality and Faith Connect You With Others
If you are involved with a spiritual practice, you can participate in many community activities. For example, a faith-based group may provide companionship and alleviate loneliness. It is also where people practice acceptance and forgiveness toward each other. Spirituality helps you anchor around inner peace and then extend that peace to others.
With support from a faith community, recovering individuals will experience a higher quality of life. Reconciling with past mistakes, finding inner peace, and building connections with others may also yield health benefits. It is best to channel your spiritual practices into positive reinforcement of effective recovery methods.
How to Begin Practicing Spirituality?
If you are a beginner to spirituality, there are easy ways to get started. For example, setting a time every day to practice meditation is a good first step. You may find and use music with religious teachings. Or you may integrate meditation with your personal devotion and prayer time.
If you are looking for a treatment program that encourages spiritual elements, the good news is that many addiction treatment facilities have spirituality-based programs. However, you may still need to explore whether they embrace a holistic or integrated approach to recovery. Laguna Shores Recovery Center is the best place you can find.
Spirituality and faith support a person who needs the strength to work through treatment and manage stress. Humility and honesty in front of a higher power make good guiding principles for recovery. Unlike other resources, spirituality has the power to bring deeper healing in people. It encourages the exploration of the mind, body, and spirit connection. It also easily integrates with adventure therapy, experiential therapy, and other holistic methods. If you are looking for a team of experts who integrates spiritual practices, you do not need to look beyond Laguna Shores Recovery Center. Here, our health experts strongly believe that recovery is based on strengthening the connection with oneself and others. They can help you. Call today at 954-688-5806.