Spirituality and religion have been coping mechanisms for a lot of individuals for multiple reasons for thousands of years.
A lot of people seek help from this “outside worldly experiences” narrative to get out of worldly struggles, including mental illnesses such as substance abuse and addiction.
What is Religion or Spirituality?
Religion constitutes a specific set of beliefs and practices, that are usually dictated by a specific school of thought. These beliefs and practices are uniformly followed by a community or group. It often involves worshiping a God or other supernatural beings.
On the contrary, spirituality is more personalized. It’s about an individual’s journey of self-discovery and finding purpose. It defines the experience an individual has connecting to something bigger than themselves.
Role of Spirituality and Religion in Addiction Recovery?
A study in Washington claimed that people having a strong set of spiritual and religious beliefs have higher levels of optimism and resilience against stress. Such people have a higher rate of positive outcomes in terms of recovery from addiction and substance abuse.
Quoting the study directly: “recovering individuals tend to report high levels of religious faith and religious affiliation, but choose to rate themselves as being more spiritual than religious, and that spirituality and religiosity may have different therapeutic benefits to people recovering from substance abuse.”
This statement further proves the positive association between religion, spirituality and addiction recovery.
Spirituality vs Religion: Similarities and Differences
Spirituality Religion
● Spirituality is about getting in touch with your moral compass and discovering what’s wrong or right. In terms of addiction, it’s realizing how this addiction is affecting you and the people around you.
● There are no defined right or wrongs when it comes to spirituality. When recovering from addiction, spirituality helps you get better based on why you believe it’s important to recover.
● Spirituality is personal to each individual. Some people might struggle with finding spirituality since you really need to search within the core of your being. In recovery, it might be harder since a lot of people might not have any prior concept of it.
● Spirituality makes it easier for individuals to believe in themselves and their power to recover from addiction.
● Religion is about dictating your life based on the guidelines provided to you by a book or scholar. Most religions condemn substance use because of its impact on a person’s physical and mental health.
● Since religions out rightly say no to drugs and other substances, wanting to quit comes from a place of wanting to comply with what your religion teaches.
● Religious beliefs are universal to everyone. It’s about reconnecting with your faith and the reasons why one believes in God or whatever supernatural being they worship. In recovery, connecting to religion might be difficult with inner thoughts of shame and wrong-doings.
● Religion offers people the comfort of knowing there is a higher power up there looking out for them.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Both religion and spirituality do the same thing, they help individuals see the light at the end of the tunnel they might be struggling to see otherwise.
Often sober coaches or recovery coaches encourage people in drug rehab to take that time of isolation to do some self-reflection and reconnect with their beliefs on religion and spirituality.
They’re both precious recovery tools providing much-needed support to those in recovery. This is especially important for individuals who have little to no other support. Often, religion and spirituality can also provide help for families that are dealing with someone suffering from addiction.
I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. It’s not something you can force yourself into. Just know that there are always endless help options for those suffering from addiction and none of them are right or wrong.
Here to Help!
Michael Herbert, The Recovery Guide, has more than 30 years of experience working closely with individuals and families dealing with addiction and recovery issues. He is a seasoned Coach and can help you and your family establish long-term goals and access the tools you need for continued abstinence and recovery for the entire family. Get in touch with Michael today at 561-221-7677 to schedule an appointment.
