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For me this is saying that out of my emotion dysregulation “stem all forms of spiritual disease”. What we used once to regulate negative emotions and a sense of self has eventually come to regulate our emotions to such an extent that any distress leads to the compulsive response of drinking. Alcoholics had become a compulsive disorder to relief distress not to induce pleasure.
That will be lifted if you correctly follow the twelve steps in the book. AA provides many ways of becoming more emotionally well, which ultimately means more emotionally mature.
Addiction Treatment Options
The desire to avoid connection with the spiritual aspects of the self are embedded in the nature of addiction. The avoidance of spirituality keeps the addict in addiction long after the desire to return to whole and healthy living is sparked. It is in this essence of anticipation of the future, and what it is imagined spiritual malady to hold, that stops so many from living the purpose they were born to live. The other part is that this guy, if an alcoholic like me, has real difficulties accessing in his heart and mind how he actually “feels” at any particular time. Or rather what emotions he is experiencing at any particular time.
Our alcoholic life is really the symptom of a spiritual malady. One of the earliest studies on AA members concluded that they were linked in commonality by two variables, emotional immaturity and grandiosity! I would contend that grandiosity is a part of emotional immaturity. I also contend that our “maladjustment to life” is based on emotional immaturity which is in itself a function of emotion regulation and processing deficits. Anyone can be spiritually maladapted, but as an alcoholic, we use alcohol to deal with having a spiritual malady.
How Far Have We Come In Understanding this “Spiritual Malady” of Alcoholism?
If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values. Exposing abuse under the guise of BDSM & related reflections on self-recovery. Steps 4 -7 and the amends to those people wronged in steps of 8 and 9 allow us to be completely free and in a sense reborn. Most of us were determined to take these secrets, these “sins” to the grave. Shameful secrets can fester in the dark recesses of our minds and inflame our hearts with recrimination and resentment. It chains us to the past and endangers recovery because we drank on shame and guilt. The spirituality of AA is exemplified in helping others, it creates a feeling of wholeness and connectedness with others.
- The newcomer gave me an example of a resentment he was experiencing after this guy at a meeting said “get off your pink cloud” a phrase that refers to the sometimes mildly ecstatic feelings of early recovery.
- Our alcoholic life is really the symptom of a spiritual malady.
- But first, it’s crucial that you understand the difference between a spiritual experience and a religious one.
- Being spiritually maladapted can come from a lack of gratitude.
- If further validation is required I suggest a frank conversation with a loved one, wife, husband, child, parent, etc.
- Also we need to be aware what we project on to other alcoholics is the same thing as they project on to use and sometimes we project if back.