Spirituality as an Addiction Treatment Intervention

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I worked for a national LGBTQ organization, and one of my main jobs was helping to organize recruitment events for new members.

The events were always held in bars and other venues across the United States and served as a way to attract new members.

Once, when we secured a new market venue outside of a bar, I was called in to meet with the then chairman of the organisation.

He told me I had to find a new spot at the bar.

The location was perfect for our event and they were going to give us great conditions, but we couldn’t have our event anywhere other than a “gay bar.”

He told me, “Bars are for gay people just like churches are for straight people.”

At first glance, this comment seems problematic, but when one examines the history of the LGBTQ community and the church, his comments are a valid assessment.

For years, certain religions have been unable to embrace LGBTQ people, so the LGBTQ community has had to create alternative spaces to gather, connect, celebrate, and essentially worship.

After nine years of sobriety and 11 years working in popular gay bars in Los Angeles, the experience I want to share with others is that what people do in bars and what they do in church ultimately are the same thing. Seeking a connection with something beyond the realm of this world. There are only sustainable and unsustainable sources.

The bar itself isn’t bad, it’s all about awareness – the bar and the reasons for going there.

Seeking gratification through substances without a strong enough foundation to support oneself can lead to addiction.

I have always viewed the elevated rates of drug and alcohol use in the LGBTQ community through the lens of identity shame, but to see the bigger picture, it is important to view substance use as a coping mechanism to numb the pain of trauma.

When most of us think of trauma, we think of rape, murder, death, war, or catastrophic events or natural disasters. While these are undoubtedly traumatic, trauma can also be experienced as everyday microaggressions, such as anti-LGBTQ bias or time spent in the closet.

Anyone who has been in the closet knows shame, and the shame of one’s identity that accumulates over time is traumatic in itself.

Spirituality as an Effective Intervention

The goal of spirituality and daily spiritual practice is to live life with a constant awareness of who we are. Really teeth.

Developing a spiritual connection and a daily spiritual practice gives us something to fall back on during life’s most difficult moments. While a daily practice won’t change our external circumstances, a daily spiritual practice is like having a first aid kit ready to go.

The most important tip I often give to my clients about developing a daily spiritual practice is that a spiritual practice is something we have to do. Practice.

It is something we must participate in consistently. do.

The second most important tip I want to share about developing a daily spiritual practice is to incorporate what I call the three “S’s.”Surrender, service, and Self-connected.

Surrender

Just as there are requirements to pass each grade in school, we cannot skip the lessons we need to learn in life. When we surrender, we allow the lessons we need to learn to naturally emerge.

A colleague of mine was recently telling me that before he does anything he always tells himself, “This will turn out better than I imagined it would.”

Not only do I like the sound of it, but I also use it to remind myself to take action and accept the consequences.

service

Because acts of service can change our mood immediately. The quickest way we can go from feeling hopeless to hope is to get out of ourselves and do something for someone else.

Not just apples, One day of service You will literally not need a doctor.

Self-connect

Because the more deeply you connect with yourself, the stronger and more positive your impact on the world will be.

If you want to see the most beautiful, colorful, and unique looking fish, you have to go to the deepest part of the ocean. The same can be said about life. The deeper you look inside yourself, the more beautiful treasures you will find.

So what is spirituality?

I once heard someone describe spirituality as “the direct experience of our own true nature.”

I have since come to understand what it means and see it as more than just a description of spirituality — it’s why spirituality and daily spiritual practice are effective interventions in the treatment of addiction.

Members of the LGBTQ community so often grow up without coming out and experience shame and trauma around their identity, so connecting with their own authentic experience can be deeply healing.

The more individuals facing substance use issues can make meaningful spiritual connections based on their own understanding, the more likely they are to recover and experience repair.

References