by Jim Seckman, MAC, CACII, CCS
Clinical Director, Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences

Spirituality is an aspect of our humanity that is innate. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are spiritual creatures. Gerald May, in the book Addiction and Grace, discusses spirituality in terms of a “longing” that we have as humans. A longing for something more, something deeper, something more than who we are. So spirituality could be viewed as the process of growth into a deeper connection with God, others, ourselves and the world around us. While the “longing” may not be comfortable at times, it is healthy and dynamic.

Addiction tries to make a spiritual experience static. That is, when we are in an addictive process we want to hold onto the moment, not feeling the discomfort of the longing but attempting to maintain what we feel in an instant. Our spirituality becomes stagnate and the addiction leads us into a deep bondage with a substance or process.

While we know that addiction is a disease that is primary, chronic, progressive and fatal with a describable and predictable course and common symptoms, addiction affects all aspects of the person. When we think about the disease of addiction from the perspective of our spirituality we can see that addiction is a disease that is born out of the human condition. There is deep hopelessness, meaninglessness and longing that the addict is trying to suppress with some substance or process, rather than find healing through the grace of God. The addict is seeking a greater depth of peace and fulfillment but only finds greater emptiness and pain. The separation from God and from healthy spirituality is intensified by an increasing pattern of actions that could be considered evil or sinful.

While ancient writers didn’t understand addiction in the same way we do, they certainly understood the nature of addiction. The Biblical writers saw the patterns of addiction and discussed it more as bondage, temptation, and sin. Indeed, addiction is a disease that will drive us/lead us into wrongful acts. However, if we look at sin from a perspective of separation from God and God’s grace then we come closer to understanding the spiritual dilemma of addiction. In the book of Genesis, we see from the beginning humans being caught up in an addictive process. The “original” temptation in the Garden of Eden was:

• Good for food – it addressed a need
• Pleasing to the eye – it was attractive in some way
• Desired to make one wise – a promise of something beyond ourselves, something we think would make us complete

Addiction sets up a trap for us: while appearing to address a deep need, we are drawn to its attractiveness and the promise of feeling complete in some way, an alternate “god” is introduced to rob us of true spirituality. Addiction is like a spiritual malnutrition; believing we have found peace, abundance and fulfillment in the very thing that will rob us of it. In addiction, we mistake:

• Numbness for peace
• Indulgence for abundance
• Gratification for fulfillment
• Intensity for intimacy
• Control for safety
• Perfection for competency

But, fortunately, that is not the whole story. While we humans are experts at finding ways to place ourselves into spiritual bondage, it is this very spiritual “woundedness” that becomes the path to our healing and recovery. While addiction is slavery to a cruel god, it can also be the pathway to a deeper spirituality than is experienced without it. What religion labels “sin,” what therapy calls “sickness,” are precisely what bring us closer to God. Addiction reveals this bondage and brokenness so starkly to the addict. When we are wounded we understand our weakness, our need for a “savior” (“those who are well don’t need a doctor”) and become willing to let God in. It is through our wounds that we can allow God and others to enter our lives and help make us whole.

In the 12-Step programs, in treatment and recovery, the person confronts their own brokenness and bondage, shares in others’ brokenness and comes to accept it both in others and themselves. This honesty, once reached, forms the basis for the development of a healthy spirituality. As the person works through the 12 Steps, they discover the process of growth in understanding themselves, God, others and the world around them. One of the most beautiful aspects of the 12 Steps is that it very carefully walks us through exactly what we need, when we need it, to support a long lasting recovery and a healthy and dynamic spirituality. Finally, when we reach Step 12 we find the “spiritual awakening” that is promised is supported by actively working to help others. It is in the action of reaching out to each other and helping others that the spirituality of recovery is truly found. Dr. Bob (Smith) one of the founders of AA, who went into the Oxford Group to attempt to quit drinking (and couldn’t) stated that “The spiritual approach was as useless as any other if you soaked it up like a sponge and kept it to yourself.”

Spirituality is not something we can capture. “We have to live it.” (Bill W.)

References

Addiction and Grace – Gerald May

The Spirituality of Imperfection - Ernest Kurt and Katherine Ketcham