Our spiritual malady never just goes away and stays away on its own, it requires a constant spiritual connectivity and effort on our parts in our programs to keep it and the subsequent alcohol and drug abuse at bay. So long as we make an active effort to address our spiritual malady every day, we will find relief from it, one day at a time. A spiritual malady, then, reduces to a sense of otherness felt by many alcoholics that prevents them from feeling at peace with themselves and the world around them. Spiritual malady can trigger feelings of irritability, restlessness, and discontentedness. The overall sensation can feel like crawling out of your own skin.
The alcoholic who evolves spiritually receives inner wisdom – an intuition and understanding – a noetic mindset that goes beyond the traditional five senses. They also experience an ineffable quality from becoming spiritual – one where their feelings go beyond mere words. On page 62 the text explains that “Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.” This “SELFISHNESS-self-centeredness” (or the “ego”, as some people refer to it) drives us to respond to life situations with the above “symptoms” as well as disorders and addictions other than alcoholism. For a long time I thought my life was unmanageable because of all the crazy insane things I did while drinking — like the car accidents, hurting people when I didn’t mean to, failed relationships, loss of jobs, family dysfunction, jails, asylums, etc. I am not a representative of AA and I do not speak on behalf of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
What can the idea of a spiritual illness mean to an agnostic?
Eventually, they lose executive control — they are compelled to drink and are unable to stop themselves. The idea is to look for a spiritual solution to an addiction problem, as this type of issue affects more than someone physically. Alcoholics Anonymous bases the 12-step program on 12 affirmations, or what they call 12 traditions. These expressions that help people recovering from addiction regain a spiritual footing once again.
There are many persons in recovery who are not interested in discussing or even hearing about spirituality. In fact, they may tense up when they hear words like “God” and “spirituality.” This reaction may cause them to remember a past negative experience – an episode in their life that may cause them to recall a traumatic event they’d sooner rather forget. Is spiritual malady describing, essentially is referring to a stark void in our lives that we constantly attempt to fill with outside things such as drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, or anything we can think to try to feel better. It is the emptiness we feel on such a deep level that we turn to self-medication in order to alleviate the sadness and despair that go hand in hand with.
The spiritual malady and addiction
To conclude, it’s not my body — my allergic reaction to alcohol — that’s going to take me back to drinking. It’s really not my mind — the mental obsession — that is the underlying root of what will take me back to drinking. 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.
- The solution to spiritual malady offered by Alcoholics Anonymous is to affect a spiritual awakening – in essence a psychic shift or attitude adjustment.
- An old medical book in the hospital library explained that bromine was used for tremors, a common manifestation of hyperthyroidism, but was replaced by barbiturates after their discovery.
- Is describing, essentially is referring to a stark void in our lives that we constantly attempt to fill with outside things such as drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, or anything we can think to try to feel better.
- A spiritual awakening in recovery is a very personal experience.
Although the idea of the spiritual malady came to me through reading about Alcoholics Anonymous, I believe it is a concept any person can connect with whether or not they suffer from addiction. However, that does not mean addicts are confronting this spiritual ailment by themselves. While an addict’s spiritual malady triggers a compulsive need to use drugs, other people’s spiritual conflicts may take the form of a gambling problem, anxiety, depression, or eating disorder.
Final Thoughts on Living the Spiritual Life and Recovery
But in our quest to fill this void with any and everything we can think of, we completely miss that the only thing that can actually fulfill us a spiritual connectedness to something greater than ourselves. When the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written and published in 1939, the times and language of those times was incredibly different than modern times. This is one of the reasons that Big Book study groups have become so popular among recovering alcoholics. Apart from dissecting the Big Book so as to have a firmer grasp on the 12 Steps and program and in general, it also is designed to help us decipher the intricate language and wording used from a different time period. Old timers and recovering people with more experience can explain in layman’s terms just what the author Bill W. Was trying to relay in a far more easily digestible fashion.
- But beware of others that sell the book marked up 400% or more.
- For a long time I thought my life was unmanageable because of all the crazy insane things I did while drinking — like the car accidents, hurting people when I didn’t mean to, failed relationships, loss of jobs, family dysfunction, jails, asylums, etc.
- Was trying to relay in a far more easily digestible fashion.
- My troubles are of my own making and arise out my living a life run on self-will.
- 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.
- To beat their addiction, people must face the reality that there is indeed a power larger than themselves.
An old medical book in the hospital library explained that bromine was used for tremors, a common manifestation of hyperthyroidism, but was replaced by barbiturates after their discovery. To recognize and to admit my weaknesses is the beginning of good spiritual health. It is a sign of spiritual health to be able to ask God every day to enlighten me, to recognize His will, and https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to have the strength to execute it. My spiritual health is excellent when I realize that the better I get, the more I discover how much help I need from others. The 164 and More book is sold on this website at the Publisher List Price of $20.00 plus postage. The book may also be sold by Intergroup/Central Offices or recovery book stores at List Price
or slightly higher.
The Missing Piece: The Spiritual Malady
But beware of others that sell the book marked up 400% or more. For the same money, you could buy 4 books and use 3 as sponsee gifts. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network.