MALADY in Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions

But when it comes to alcohol and drugs, there is no will power. The reason is that our reaction to alcohol and drugs is physical, it’s not mental. In the case of the addict, alcohol (or some other substance or activity) is used as a medication to treat the spiritual malady. Drinking alcohol is found to provide relief, and turned to with increasing frequency. Though alcohol starts to have health consequences, cause problems with relationships, and decrease productivity, the user is unwilling to give it up.

The daily taking of Step 3 prayer cannot be overemphasized to protect us from a Spiritual Malady. It assures us, that a Higher Power is in charge over our life every single morning. When we take Step 3 every day it is very hard to fall into that worldly Spiritual Malady. The disease of alcohol and drug addiction is not just mental and physical but also spiritual. The spiritual malady, however, can be seen as an inward unmanageability.

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I was the director in the drama of life and managing the world so I could  get what I thought I needed to feel ok. Fear and resentment dominated my thoughts and I made decisions based on self which caused me harm and harmed others. 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.

I am aware that there are many paths to recovery- my path has been the 12-Steps. While this may not be for everybody, the principles contained within the steps and the program are applicable and useful to anyone seeking sobriety and recovery. If you have found yourself or a loved one suffering from alcoholism or addiction, you are not alone!

Understanding What a Spiritual Malady Is

Today I look further at the disease of alcoholism focusing on it as a https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/best-way-to-flush-alcohol-out-of-your-system/. It is emotionally healthy to live in the day … in the here and now. Professional therapists teach people to live in the present. AA encourages members to share their experience, strength and hope with other members. It is emotionally healthy to accept our past experiences, however painful, as past events and move on to a richer, more fulfilling future. So we have issues with emotions and somatic/body feeling states.

Often, before ever using a substance, they were bright students, picked up hobbies that they were able to develop into amazing talents or ambitious employees that were able to vertically ascend with ease. The motivation that drove most of these positive outcomes, however, was typically relief from their low self-esteem or otherwise painful thinking. Once turning to substances many of these people struggle to maintain the same focus on the other priorities they had. The “spiritual malady” of the Oxford group seems enhanced in me, I believe I sin more than normal people because of my emotional immaturity and reactivity. My “loss of control” over drinking is also linked to emotion processing difficulties as it prompted  impulsive, uninhibited drinking. This spiritual malady, or spiritual disconnection, is the driving force behind our addiction and self-destructive behaviors.

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Once you’ve found something that you can believe in, it’s important to remember that your Higher Power is there for you when you need it. When things get tough, take a moment to pray, meditate, or just sit quietly and think about your Higher Power and what it means to you. Allow yourself to feel the strength and support that comes from knowing that there is something bigger than yourself out there rooting for your success. One of the most important things in AA is finding a sponsor – someone who has been through the program and can help guide you through it.

• Keep in mind that this is separate from the physical craving.
• If you are struggling with alcoholism or any other addiction, it is important to seek help from AA or another 12-step program.
• No one is perfect at first when attempting to live a spiritual life, especially when we are coming back from a long spiritual hiatus.
• Being spiritually maladapted can come from a lack of gratitude.
• If you wish to contact a specific medical detox center then find a specific treatment center using our addiction treatment locator tool.
• We are making flipped decisions for our life that had requirement and seeking consent from God.
• The first of these is that individuals that are seeking to better themselves in one way or another are often eager to learn and thus open to the experience.

It affects every aspect of our lives and must be overcome if we wish to fix ourselves mentally and physically. The way humans think is on a spectrum of self-centeredness and god-centeredness. When dealing with the disease of alcoholism we are selfish and self-centered beings. We use everything and everyone, even when we stop using alcohol and drugs to cope with thesefeelings of being unsatisfied and uncomfortable in life. The more we focus less on ourselves we allow a god of our understanding to enter our minds and work in our lives. Many people are initially turned off to the idea of the program because they believe it preaches religion and God, and many addicts and alcoholics have no desire to pursue a religious answer.

We will try to fill this god-sized hole with anything we can. The thoughts we have as alcoholics are often insidious in such a way that we can’t tell what is true or false.The AA Big Booktalks about this delusion we develop in active addiction. Thoughts like we can eventually manage spiritual malady our lives while in active addiction. If I could control my alcoholism without the help and support of a recovery community, I would have done it long ago. Although alcoholism isn’t my fault, how I respond to the disease and take charge of my recovery is my responsibility.

• To do this, members must rely on their support system which includes other members, sponsors, and meetings.
• Finally, self-reliance can be dangerous because it can lead to complacency.
• The struggle for anyone with a substance use disorder is that the focus, outside of treatment and 12-Step meetings, is typically on the substance.
• I want to make clear to members that these thoughts are not definitive treatise on the subjects.
• The biggest problem is that our mind buys the lie that the next time it will be different.

The bottom line, a true alcoholic or addict has no power to stop, avoid, or control their drinking. People like us are obsessed with the thought of controlling and enjoying our drugs or alcohol. The biggest problem is that our mind buys the lie that the next time it will be different. 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.