As the sun crests over the Wasatch Mountains, a young man sits quietly in his dark apartment, battling with the demons of last night and longing to reconnect with the light that is beginning to touch his surroundings. Having lost his feeling of purpose months ago, this young man is afraid his addictions are stealing his soul. As the weight of his addiction starts to pull him down, a moment of hope appears when he hears of a residential addiction treatment center that integrates spirituality into the recovery process.
For many individuals struggling with addiction, rehab is more than getting sober. It is about reclaiming their life, their identity, and their purpose. With the right support, individuals can reconnect with something much greater than themselves. Through a religious belief system, faith, or quiet spiritual reflection, healing the spirit happens in unison with healing the mind and body.
In this article, we will examine the difference between spirituality and religion and how these practices can be woven into residential addiction treatment programs, five specific ways treatment programs promote spiritual growth, and how they build strength, resilience, and hope for those who are ready to heal completely. You’ll not only learn how residential programs integrate spirituality into their treatment, but we will also provide you with ideas for activities you can pursue on your own to reconnect with yourself and find your purpose for a more meaningful, sober life.
Understanding Spirituality, Faith, and Religion
These three words often intersect and are linked together by many commonalities. However, spirituality and religion, although connected, are distinctly different. Let’s take a look at what each means.
- Spirituality: We all have an inner self that connects to the world around us. This sense of meaning, purpose, or connection to something greater than oneself helps develop our values and sustains our inner peace. Not necessarily tied to an organized religion, spirituality is something most of us recognize.
- Religion (Faith): Like spirituality, religion is also tied to a Higher Power, which is God. Religion is an organized system of structured beliefs tied to specific practices and a community of like-minded people. Faith is the deep personal belief that the practices, values, and doctrine of a religious entity are true.
Both spirituality and religion can play a major role in a person’s recovery. By providing hope, developing resilience, and building a community, individuals are more likely to recover and sustain it into the future. Studies show that approximately 84% of individuals in recovery report a positive impact on their recovery by implementing spiritual or religious practices. Sometimes, when it feels like all hope is lost, spiritual practices can reconnect us to a Higher power and reestablish our purpose in life when we aren’t able to do it on our own. In the Christian community, they like to say, “But God…” because for Christians, God can change everything.
Next, let’s learn how residential addiction treatment centers in Salt Lake City integrate these holistic elements to support recovery and restore hope to those they treat.
How Treatment Programs Integrate Spirituality
Addiction can steal joy and leave people feeling spiritually empty, disconnected, and without purpose. Holistic treatments in residential addiction programs play a key role in healing the complete person, body, mind, and spirit. By helping to develop emotional strength through activities like equine therapy or developing resilience through difficult physical challenges like ropes courses, individuals can heal both physically and psychologically.
Addiction treatment programs can tailor spiritual components to each individual’s beliefs because they know that not all people connect the same spiritually. Some folks may prefer the traditional path tied to their religious organization, such as attending church meetings, prayer, and bible study groups. Others, who are not tied to religion, may find it more helpful to connect to their spirituality through mindfulness activities like meditation or spending time in nature. No matter a person’s preference, treatment programs can weave these spiritual and religious activities into the daily schedule.
However a treatment program decides to incorporate spirituality in recovery, the benefits are obvious. By healing the spirit, people can experience less stress, improve how they regulate their emotions, and lower their risk of relapse. With its beautiful and unique landscape, along with the diverse faith communities we have in our region, Salt Lake City is the ideal place to integrate spirituality into your recovery. Let’s take a look at five specific ways residential addiction treatment programs implement spiritual growth into their treatment plans.
5 Ways Treatment Programs Support Spiritual Growth
Addiction treatment programs are designed to offer a highly structured and supportive environment. While each residential facility will have its own unique approach to addressing spirituality, the structured schedule you’ll find in most rehabs is quite similar. With a standard structure for the schedule, programs can customize individual treatment plans for spiritual and faith-based activities. Using these five different approaches to addressing spirituality in recovery, treatment programs can help nurture an individual’s spirit back to health.
- Counseling: When it comes to addiction treatment, it’s a given that counseling will be involved. However, counseling can be led by therapists who are educated in spirituality, faith, and religion. This combination of faith and therapy addresses both the spirit and the mind.
- Faith-Based Support Groups: Most don’t realize it, but AA is one of the most widely used faith-based support groups around. Incorporating group sessions like these into rehab provides a structured and community-driven environment where people can discuss their spiritual self and reliance on a Higher Power. This helps develop a sense of belonging, community, accountability, hope, and aid in sobriety.
- Spiritual Time: An addiction rehab facility that prioritizes spiritual growth will provide many opportunities to integrate spirituality into a daily schedule. By setting aside time for activities like prayer and meditation, and providing opportunities to attend worship services, residential treatment centers can help their clients focus on what matters most.
- Holistic Healing: Treating an individual for addiction is much more complex than eliminating substance abuse. Treatment must focus on healing the body, mind, and soul. Holistic activities heal by addressing the entire person, helping to develop emotional resilience and a spiritual connection to the world around them. Participating in things like hiking in the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, playing a game of softball, or attending a cooking workshop are all holistic activities that can be facilitated by residential addiction treatment facilities.
- Faith-Education: A good treatment schedule during addiction rehab will have time set aside for a person to explore and study on their own. They may also provide workshops that can help explore personal beliefs, purpose, and a connection to God. Gaining perspective on personal beliefs will help the individual in recovery align their recovery goals with their spiritual goals.
As you can see, residential treatment programs are designed to incorporate many different faith-based and holistic activities into a person’s daily schedule to help them heal wholly. And while these programs do a fantastic job at offering opportunities for spiritual growth, there are many activities people can participate in (on their own) to help nurture and grow in their spirituality.
Self-Guided Spiritual Activities for Sustained Sobriety
Taking the first step towards sobriety and getting into a residential rehab is the best possible way to find yourself again. Too often, addiction steals the things that matter the most to us, including our spirit. Participating in as many holistic activities as possible will help you find yourself again and gain your purpose back. Engaging in any of the following activities during your free time will help you develop healthy habits that will help you maintain sobriety long after you have left rehab.
- Daily prayer or meditation.
- Yoga or Tai Chi.
- Devotional activities like reading scripture or bible study.
- Journal.
- Practice Gratitude.
- Listen to inspirational podcasts or sermons.
- Go to church and attend church gatherings.
- Volunteer.
- Attend spiritual retreats.
- Spend time in nature.
- Participate in creative arts (music, writing, painting).
It’s important to remember that sobriety is a journey and not a destination. It will be something to constantly strive for and work towards. Spiritual growth is uniquely different for all of us and does not happen overnight. It’s important to be kind to yourself and stay motivated. Slowly but surely, you’ll start to see your life change in small but meaningful ways.
The Spirit of Recovery
Healing the spirit is the foundation for lasting recovery. Integrating spirituality into addiction treatment offers people a path to reconnect with themselves, their purpose, and their faith. By embracing the opportunities in residential treatment to participate in holistic activities and faith-based support groups, those in treatment can nurture their spirit and their body back to health for a more meaningful and sober life. Participating in self-guided practices in your free time and leaning on the guidance and support of faith-based counselors can help you reclaim your identity and balance your emotions. If you or your loved one is just beginning this journey, finding a treatment program that honors spiritual beliefs is a step in the right direction, where sobriety and souls are found.
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