The Missing Piece: The Spiritual Malady Residential Recovery Program & Addiction Transitional Sober Living Home

People like us are obsessed with the thought of controlling and enjoying our drugs or alcohol. The biggest problem is that our mind buys the lie that the next time it will be different. You deserve it and the consequences are not important. The reason we cannot just quit is that our mind constantly has us believe that we can control and enjoy our drinking. No matter what the consequences were in the past, our mind will be obsessed with the thought of drinking. Basically, the alcoholic, once they start they cannot control the amount they take. Recovered means free from the obsession and constant struggle to stay sober. That will be lifted if you correctly follow the twelve steps in the book.

There is a physical allergy, a mental obsession, and a spiritual malady that all must be addressed for successful, long-term recovery. No methodology that we are aware of addresses and relieves all three areas at once like the 12-Step program. In fact, this method is so effective that it has been adapted to provide recovery from a large number of other diseases and ailments. I read quite a lot of Spiritual Books from people such as Eckart Tolle, Anthony De Mello, Wayne Dyer amongst other more Eastern Spiritual teachers & they all point towards the same Human dysfunctionality born out of the Ego. We have this sense of separation not long after Birth thus our Ego is constantly living in Fear & fighting for survival. We fear not getting what we believe we deserve, we fear not been seen how we think we should be seen, we fear losing the things we have, we fear Death & our default setting is self will run riot. Fear creates anger & resentments that block us off from our true self & God. Unless we have a Spiritual awakening a complete physic change we operate from the Ego & all our behaviours are often from a selfish self seeking nature. So I truly believe that almost all Humans are spiritually sick to some degree & us Alcoholics treat this sickness, this sense of separation, sense of wanting & needing but never satisfied with booze.

How can I overcome spiritual malady?

When others are able to forgive us for our mistakes and transgressions, we are set free. It’s important that we too are able to forgive others for their transgressions against us, even when they don’t ask. Freeing one’s self from resentments and doing ongoing work to stay free of resentments is a key component of the AA 12-Steps program. Our experienced team of experts has helped people with all mental health problems for many years now. Get in touch with us today to speak about how we can help you or someone you know. Perhaps this is because anything is easier to understand if we can see it or measure it in some way. Maybe this is why – along with the rise of science and the development of new medications – so much of modern mental health treatment pays attention overwhelmingly to the mind. These illustrate how the 12 step programme can help with an emotion dysregulation disorder. I have suggested clearly in previous blogs how I think AA’s 12 recovery programme helps specifically with problems of emotion dysregulation.

Someone in recovery doesnt always realize that they can relish their life again without the use of alcohol. I have been going through the 3rd and 4th step again. I can’t believe how much I missed the others times I have worked the steps or read the Big Book. I realizing more powerlessness and the need for a Higher Power in my life. I can’t overcome my powerlessness and restore myself to sanity without conceding that I have to stop playing God and turn my will and life over to God.

What is a “Spiritual Malady”?

So, if you consider that, it’s a fair assumption when made from afar. The three must be addressed to find healing, recovery, and to live life sober. If you are seeking drug and alcohol related addiction rehab for yourself or a loved one, the YourFirstStep.org hotline is a confidential and convenient solution. A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values. These terms might seem strange, mystical, or outdated.

We practice unity in meetings, in our 12-Step work, and with our vibrant recovery community. This blends perfectly with service, where we strive to help each other and come together as a community of recovered men to help the larger Colorado community. Yes, we work the 12-Steps, but we also engage in group and individual therapy, physical activity, and other healthy practices. Recovery is found by working the 12-Steps, but it’s about recovering, healing, and getting well in every aspect of our life. These are the lifelong habits that are started and taught at Jaywalker Lodge as a comprehensive initiation into a life of recovery. I did not realize how it drove and controlled me until now. And the fear of my higher power and of ever having that craving again is exactly why I don’t want to drink. I have experienced an entirely different life after it was lifted. Honestly I didn’t believe it was possible until it happened. That’s why it’s so important to tell and help others by our experience.

Did they change the Preamble of AA?

That path is always right, and there are no wrong turns – just different experiences. It means being disconnected from God’s vision and will by living instead in an unconscious trance, allowing Something horrible to take control. But of the few who kept up with the God-consciousness proposal, improving it through prayer and meditation, life was amazingly productive and full of peace. They developed mastery over resentment, became free of anger and gained courage through the defeat of fear. Those of us coming to AEA from other fellowships needed to approach the programme as newcomers. It is only from this position of humility that we become teachable. At the 71st General Service Conference annual meeting, held online over April 17 to April 25, 2021, a revision to the AA Preamble was approved through advisory action. The change replaced the words men and women with the word people in the first sentence of the Preamble. Review suggested gender-neutral language options for changes to the AA Preamble.

For many who have completed the 12-Steps, these two steps are where the darkness of addiction finally began to lift. “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference” is the Serenity Prayer used at every AA meeting. The Serenity Prayer is the greatest exercise in prioritisation. I end, however, with some words from a doctor who seems to be suggesting that AA works because it makes us more emotionally healthy. For me she is saying how AA treats emotional illness. Here we have an abnormal reaction to alcohol and for some alcoholics a maladjustment to life. One can see how this concept of sin disease or in other words spiritual malady could be and was applied to early AA and incorporated into the Big Book of AA. I sin so naturally, effortlessly and usually without even trying.

For example, one variable I believe is slightly different in alcoholism to other affective disorders is distress based impulsivity which leads to maladaptive decision making, it leads to always wanting more of that…that anything. For many recovering alcoholics this may be another unpalatable truth, that they have issues with emotional responding, with being emotionally mature. If further validation is required I suggest a frank conversation with a loved one, wife, husband, child, parent, etc. 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. Alcoholics and children of alcoholics have a tendency to avoid emotions in fact and to use emotional reasoning when arguing a point. The hook in their presentation was an answer to their alcohol problem, of course. Virtually all their problems were resolved via spiritual awakening and they predicted that the fortune would continue as they experienced subsequent growth going forward in life.

It’s the “spiritual malady”, as manifested by my EGO (selfishness-self-centeredness), that can eventually lead me back to drinking or sometimes even suicide. For most diseases that exist, there are multiple treatment options. There are very few monopolies on methodology when it comes to getting well, no matter what ails you. This holds true for alcoholism and addiction as well. There is no “one right way” to cure them, just as there is no one best antibiotic for an infection. But there are certain things that work better than others.

These defects are related to me being an alcoholic, they are intrinsic to my condition. A person will receive a gold chip for sixty days of sobriety . The emerald chip will be given once an individual is sober for ninety days . There is a purple chip given to those who have remained sober for four months. The AA Preamble Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. We begin to obsess and buy the lie because we want to feel the ease and comfort of the first drink. We drink and set off the craving and the cycle of addiction starts all over again. Our spiritual malady causes us to be restless, irritable, and discontented.

What is normal in terms of a Human Being think this is why it’s good to follow things such as the Four Absolutes from the Oxford Group to for determining appropriate behavior as measured through God’s eyes. Buddhists believe that forgiveness one’s oneself and others along with atonement help one on the path to enlightenment. when the spiritual malady is overcome Atonement, or making reparations for a wrong, is much like making amends in AA’s Step 9. Our team is here to guide you through your path to recovery. In fact, it is extremely hard to describe because much of what is spiritual is that which transcends thought. So to put it into words that describe it is very difficult.

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the Circle & Triangle that we can always carry with us. I lost my son, my wife, my job, my home, my car, my friends my retirement acct and all my other money too. 1) I had to understand that my resentments, at least my major ones, truly were valid resentments. My problem was NOT that I had made mountains out of molehills, My problem was that I took the WRONG response to truly valid resentments.

• If you are an alcoholic, then you know you cannot just put the plug in the jug and quit.
• The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous pragmatically talks about spirituality.
• In fact, we believe that the open-mindedness that our clients foster through a spiritual approach actually enables them to receive the care they need.

They proposed that the remedy to all obsessive states, at that time alcoholism, was primarily to become spiritually well, after which all of their mental and physical issues would be miraculously resolved. This can seem a little confusing to newcomers, who believe that they only have a problem with food. They do not understand why it is being suggested they read a book they believe to be for alcoholics. It is our experience that the problem is not the substance; Sober House the problem is the disease of addiction. We have also found that the disease of addiction is not limited to any one substance and that to be sober we need to be free from all mind-altering substances. It is important that when we embark upon this quest to alleviate our spiritual malady that we are not too harsh on ourselves. No one is perfect at first when attempting to live a spiritual life, especially when we are coming back from a long spiritual hiatus.

For many struggling with alcohol use disorder or alcohol addiction, the only way to overcome these feelings is to embark upon a spiritual program of action fearlessly. Frequently, individuals who struggle with alcohol addiction are also experiencing a mental health issue like an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder. Abusing alcohol is a form of self-medicating that, at first and superficially, seems to help. However, it quickly becomes apparent that doing so is only masking the underlying issues.

For some people, there are outrageous crimes that have been committed against them—actions they themselves would never do. In these cases, it’s good to work with an appropriate mental health professional to help overcome these harder to let go of resentments. There continues to be emerging data and research into forgiveness and the health benefits. Research shows that forgiveness helps with numerous health issues such as lowering the risk of heart attack to reducing pain and helping with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. The evidence supporting the importance of forgiveness comes from many sources. Religious and spiritual teachers have long touted the important benefits that forgiveness brings—particularly peace of mind. From Buddhism to teachings in the Bible, the forgiveness of others and one’s self is essential to living a more peaceful, happy life.

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. In order to illustrate how I believe my spiritual malady is the consequence of my emotional disorder, called alcoholism/addiction first let’s go back to where this idea of spiritual malady came from. That is not to say that normal people cannot be full of sin – a cursory look around the work and it’s events will soon confirm this is the case. What I am saying is that they do not have the emotion dysregulation or fear based responding that I seem to have which often prompts “sin”. They were spawned eighty years ago among a bunch of awakened, God-conscious, ex-problem drinkers who discovered a way to recover from what they termed as spiritual disease, subsequently losing their obsession with alcohol. What the book says is that the only thing that will solve our drink problem is a spiritual awakening, spiritual experience, attitude adjustment, or psychic change. But when it comes to alcohol and drugs, there is no will power. The reason is that our reaction to alcohol and drugs is physical, it’s not mental. The reason for this struggle is the spiritual malady that they face and on a larger scale, it is also the reason for all human suffering.