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How Can Improving Spiritual Wellness Help in Addiction Treatment?

What is spiritual wellness? Read on to learn more about spiritual wellness, including its benefits, importance, and improvement tips.

Overview

Several treatment approaches have been employed to treat and manage addiction and mental health disorders. While treatment approaches like the use of medication and psychotherapy are well known and widely utilized, the reality is they do not cover all the bases where addiction treatment and recovery are concerned.

One thing these approaches often have in common is that they fail to take care of another aspect of human life: spiritual wellness. This, of course, means that full recovery and optimal treatment results are never quite achieved. Read on to discover what spiritual wellbeing is and why the spiritual dimension of wellness is so essential to successfully treating addiction.

What Is Spiritual Wellness?

As mentioned earlier, the concept or reality of whole and complete wellness comprises three distinct and equally important parts: physical wellness, emotional or mental health, and spiritual health.

Unfortunately, most people often pay great attention to the first two and neglect the last. This is likely because a great deal is misunderstood about spiritual health and what it entails. Before going into how the spiritual dimension of wellness can help addiction treatment, you must know what spiritual health is and isn't.1

Understanding Spiritual Health

Spiritual well being, also known as spiritual health and the spiritual dimension of wellness, refers to the ability of an individual to understand and accept their place in the world. The purpose of spirituality is to reinforce the knowledge that your life is meant for something greater than material possessions and fleeting happiness.1

Spiritual health allows people to be able to find and understand their place in the grand scheme of things. Spiritual health provides the comprehension that it's when you have found where you're supposed to be (your purpose and the meaning of life), that's when you can attain true happiness and maintain optimal physical and mental health. Many people find this experience illuminating and helpful in reducing stress and anxiety, as it accomplishes a sense of presence and groundedness.2

Example of Spiritual Wellness

It must be said that while spiritual health entails self-awareness, an individual's ability to become self-aware about the purpose and meaning of life and in relation to other people, there is no one "strict" path to coming to this realization and self-actualization.

Instances of Spiritual Wellness

For some people, exploring spirituality and wellness and discovering the purpose of spirituality involves taking the religious route. However, spirituality does not necessarily equate to religion because religion is simply one of the many routes of spirituality and wellness. 2

For others, spiritual wellness could involve a vegetarian exploring nature or devotion to nature. The road to achieving spiritual wellness goals for some other people may even involve carrying out spiritual activities such as volunteering and expressing compassion for people.3

How to Explore Your Spiritual Wellness?

Studies have shown that spiritual wellness contributes significantly to trauma healing processes and the treatment and management of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. You must always be aware of your spiritual holistic health state.4

The process of becoming aware of your spiritual holistic health state starts with exploring your current state of spiritual wellness. Doing this will require that you ask yourself questions like:5

  • Do I give myself enough alone time?
  • Am I aware that life is about more than me?
  • Do I understand the meaning of life?
  • What motivates me, and where do I draw strength to overcome tough times?
  • What fuels and sustains my hope?

Are Spirituality and Religion the Same?

People often confuse religion and spirituality, assuming they mean the same thing; however, that's not the case at all because while they both believe in the existence of a higher power, there are some distinct differences between them.

Spirituality vs. Religion

Differences between spirituality and religion include the following:6

  • There are no rules to spirituality; spirituality activities are carried out without any "real" defining restrictions, unlike religion, which is always defined as having specific rules and dogma.
  • Unlike in most religions, the basis of spirituality is love and not fear.
  • Spirituality allows you to discover the truth of your existence for yourself, unlike religion which already states what "the truth" is for you and how it affects you.

Signs of Spiritual Wellness

If your spiritual lifestyle is healthy, there are usually some tell-tale signs. These signs of spiritual wellness include the following:

  • Developing a purpose in life
  • Spending reflective time alone
  • Having a clear sense of right and wrong
  • Having the ability to express your feelings
  • Caring and acting for the welfare of others
  • Practicing forgiveness and compassion
  • Taking time to reflect on the meaning of events in life

The Importance of Spiritual Wellness

Most people downplay the importance of spiritual wellness; however, as mentioned earlier, spiritual wellness can significantly affect mental and physical wellbeing. Here are some reasons why spiritual activities are so important:

  • Spiritual wellness helps people strengthen the bonds they have with people around them
  • Helps to create an atmosphere of positivity
  • Promotes self-peace and mindfulness
  • Allows people to see that they are in control of their decisions, so they are accountable for their choices.
  • Spiritual wellness also makes it easier to make "difficult" life choices.

How Can Improving Spiritual Wellness Help in Addiction Treatment?

Because spiritual wellness focuses on the individual and helps them grow towards achieving their life's purpose, it can be a very vital addition to addiction therapy. Spiritual wellness activities will prove invaluable in helping people undergoing addiction treatment find meaning and balance in their new lives. It also allows them to develop a sense of purpose and improve mindfulness.

Spiritual Wellness

How to Improve Spiritual Wellness?

Are you interested in improving your spiritual wellness but don't know how? Here are several ways to improve spiritual health:

  • Explore your core values
  • Practice mindfulness
  • Take time to meditate
  • Try yoga
  • Travel
  • Think positively
  • Volunteer
  • Join spiritual groups
  • Express gratitude
  • Self-reflection

Types of Spiritual Recovery From Addiction

Different types or approaches to spiritual recovery can prove effective in addiction treatment and recovery. They include:

  • Meditation
  • Gratitude
  • Devotional Activities
  • Yoga

Benefits of Spiritual Recovery From Addiction

The benefits of spiritual wellness include the following:

  • Spiritual wellness increases compassion, empathy, and attention.
  • Spiritual wellness improves your sense of connectedness.
  • Attaining spiritual wellness helps create an overall healthier life.
  • Spiritual wellness helps you work through negative emotions.
  • Establishing spiritual wellness will help you overcome inevitable hardships.

Find Out More About Spiritual Wellness at Anew Treatment Center

Interested in knowing more about spiritual wellness and how to improve it, reach out to us at Anew Treatment Center to get answers to all your questions. We also offer spiritual wellness treatments, so Anew Treatment Center is the perfect place for you if you're searching for a spiritual wellness center.

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