Spiritual Recovery from Addiction | California Treatment Center

Far too often, we think of addiction as little more than a brain disease. Although it’s true that this most certainly meets the clinical definition, it doesn’t cover the whole problem. Substance abuse affects the whole person including your health, emotions, mental state, and spirituality. For this reason, it’s vital not to overlook spiritual recovery from addiction during rehab.

At Soledad House, we provide spiritual addiction treatment, employing a spiritual approach to addiction recovery. Through this treatment, you can truly recover from your drug or alcohol use. To learn more about our addiction treatment center, contact Soledad House today.

Spirituality is Different from Religion

Far too often, people hear discussions about spirituality and automatically equate it with religion. This assumption is incorrect. You don’t have to be religious to be spiritual. Moreover, you can follow any religion and still benefit from a nondenominational approach to spiritual recovery.

At the heart of a spiritual perspective is the suggestion that there’s a higher power. It’s something that’s bigger than you, and you can call it whatever you like. Even if you don’t necessarily believe in a traditional god, you can still benefit from this suggestion. In your case, the higher power could be the universe or something that’s relevant to your frame of reference.

How Spiritual Recovery from Addiction Works

Any 12-Step program starts with the acknowledgment of a higher power but it’s not a crutch. Instead, it’s a tool that empowers you to discover your inner strengths and draw on them. Self-discovery is a goal that talk therapy frequently seeks to reach via different approaches.

In spiritual recovery, you learn techniques that can help you deal with stress. They can affect the ways you approach situations in your life that you can’t change. Typically, these refer to personal relationships as well as choices you’ve made that come with far-reaching consequences. Whereas in the past you’ve reached for a substance to help you deal with life, you now have a spiritual tool kit.

Examples might include meditation, mindfulness training, the practice of gratitude, and prayer. Some women have had excellent success with Metta meditation, which focuses on loving others in spite of their character flaws. For others, writing and painting have been spiritual outlets that greatly aided in self-discovery as well as self-expression. Finding a voice during your recovery is of vital importance.

How Does Spirituality Tie in with Other Treatments?

Recovery is not an either-or proposition. You don’t have to decide to go all out seeking spirituality in recovery or restrict your healing to scientific methods only. Rather, it’s healthy to have a mixture of approaches that recognize you as a whole person.

Examples of concurrent treatments include:

Exercise therapy, which becomes a vital component of feeling good, getting stronger, and valuing yourself
Talk therapy in one-on-one
Group Therapy
Off-site trips that help you interact with others in everyday situations, which is crucial for relapse prevention
Parties that emphasize how to have fun without using
Experiential therapies, which can help you express thoughts or emotions that may be difficult to put into words

If you’re struggling with an addiction to alcohol or drugs, Soledad House wants to help you. It’s never too late for a fresh start. We show you how to combine the spiritual aspects of recovery with other methods of healing. Furthermore, we provide a wide range of addiction treatment programs to give you the tools you need to recover fully, regardless of what type of addiction you struggle with. Our treatment programs include: