Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction

When we usually think of spirituality, our minds instantly go to people wearing beaded necklaces, sitting around and meditating or monks chanting over a gong or even people sitting around a Buddha statue talking about enlightenment. But spirituality is increasingly being used in the context of mental health care and especially in the treatment of addiction. But that seems so strange. Because to most people, addiction is seen as one of the very maladaptive behaviours based majorly on more basal drives of human beings. Surely a person who is addicted would not be the most eligible candidate to be introduced to spirituality which seems to require a great deal of work and patience? Well, that notion might not be completely true.

Spiritual practices have been a part of treatment for addiction since decades. In fact, the widely successful Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) which began in 1935 is based on seeking help from a higher power to overcome powerlessness over alcohol. Many people are benefitted from this program to this day, however there is no one style fits all when it comes to recovery. The twelve steps of A.A. do talk about character defects and focus on making right one\’s moral wrongs. However, to some, that may seem a bit puritanical and the heavy influence of seeing things in polarity as \’right\’s or \’wrong\’s may actually cause more issues to some people, lowering their self-esteem and producing more guilt.

In the field of psychotherapy, Mindfulness made its entry into western psychology in the 1960s, a Buddhist concept originally; and started essentially the fourth wave of therapies which were focused on using spiritual practices and meditation for the treatment of mental illness. Mindfulness referred to being aware, moment to moment, focusing on internal and external experience with acceptance and non-judgment. This has opened a whole new worldview, especially for recovery in addiction. Can\’t a different approach of spirituality be applied to de-addiction, one that connects the person to his inner sense of being without the constriction of judging his or her actions as negative and having to be a moral police to themselves all the time? Can they use this connection to their sense of being to guide them through recovery?

Well, tailoring the road to recovery by use of appropriate and need based therapeutic and spiritual approaches may just be the answer. From a spiritual standpoint, addiction is simply the compulsive nature of humankind. Some maybe addicted to more socially unacceptable things like drugs but almost everyone is addicted to something, be it money, success, relationships, vacations or, going further into spiritual realms, addiction to the mind itself. What this means is that everyone lives out a life, wherein they\’re addicted to their patterns of thoughts and emotions, their behaviours, and essentially their ‘self’: the history, future goals, beliefs, character traits, etc that one identifies with. Now, you’d say but without all of that, what remains? That\’s who we are! But is that really true? Since ancient times, philosophers, world leaders, literature, religious teachings have pointed toward the illusory nature of this self and finding the ‘true’ self and existential crisis in not just a millennial thing but has been around since eons. More and more people each day are connecting to different spiritual practices which actually spare them a moment\’s freedom from this addiction to the self, their thoughts and emotions. And if not spiritual then other activities which make them present and remove them from their state of mind (Adventure Sports, art, dance, music and so on). This state of presence not only becomes a ground for identifying one’s true nature of self- our consciousness itself, but also propels the person in all spheres of life (professional, interpersonal, etc) with more energy and creativity as well as not being overly attached or compulsively seeking something in those spheres.

By connecting a person to their real sense of self, their sense of being or we can call it their consciousness, spiritual essence, etc (they\’re experientially one thing), we can help them disidentify with their compulsive nature. (So, if they give up doing drugs, they may not go on another addictive adventure like gambling or sex.) And they find a deeper sense of being, acceptance about life, instead of resisting the normal flow and finally making sure their truest connection is within them. This can unlock their potential and it is important to understand that every person is capable of this transformation, everyone has the potential. Not just to be seen as a long road to an abstract goal like how many people view an awakening, but as something that is tangible and can be reached. The trick would be just to present it to them in a safe environment, in a way that is the best approach for that person\’s individual psychology. It is seeing mental health as not to just be treated at a symptom, thought or behaviour level but at the level of a deeper dimension of existence. Some may take a while getting there, some may not and may require another approach and some may be a whole new person in a week, but this is working at the root cause and it\’s worth making it a cornerstone in mental healthcare.

Zorba is one of the initiatives which is striving towards this ideal of integrating spirituality into treatment in order to come up with a radical approach in mental healthcare. Through the process using various therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Mindfulness training and many others, and combining them with spiritual and meditative practices; this rehabilitation centre provides carefully tailormade therapy according to the client’s goals and needs.

Author: Aashna Namle