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Spiritual Malady: A spiritual unmanageability

For others, it may manifest as anger, anxiety, or depression. Almost disappointingly I found some of my sins were quite tame when compared to other people I have spoken to in recovery. Most active ingredients accounting for AA’s benefit are social in nature, such as attending meetings, and the 12 steps mention “we” 6 times but not “I” once.

What is the meaning of spiritual malady?

This means those things that are not solid- such as our thoughts, our beliefs, our emotions- are what is spiritual. When we say that alcoholism or drug addiction is 'a spiritual malady', it means that our disease in centered in these things (thoughts, beliefs, emotions).

It shows the areas of behaviour and attitudes that can be treated by working the steps. It shows us how our approach to life can possibly be transformed for the better. I am not advocating changing anything, I hope AA recovery remains as it is for 80 more years and much more years. I would not change one word in the first 164 pages of the BB. I have for several years wondered if the spiritual malady described in the Big Book adequate or accurate enough in describing what I suffer from. For example, false pride, intolerance, impatience, arrogance, shame, lust, gluttony, greed.

Understanding What a Spiritual Malady Is

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 great things about AA is that it’s flexible – you can make it work for you, even if you don’t believe in God. So, instead of fixating on the parts of the program that don’t work for you, focus on the things that do.

what is spiritual malady

Sometimes others expel the same negative emotions on to us. I have found this a fairly common trait among male alcoholics in recovery settings and meetings. But when the alcoholic is not working on the maintenance and growth of their spiritual condition, the thought of a drink returns; they drink again, and to drink is to die. As alcoholics and addicts, our Higher Power is what keeps us sober.

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When anticipation of the future consumes potentially healthy actions of the addict, this is simply another way that the addiction is dominating the healthy self. The worried or rebellious anticipation of the future is a cue to bring the focus back to seeking physical abstinence and motivations for doing so. Many people who are in need of recovery resist it knowing that the solution is spiritual. The desire to avoid connection with the spiritual aspects of the self are embedded in the nature of addiction. The avoidance of spirituality keeps the addict in addiction long after the desire to return to whole and healthy living is sparked.

We can not rely on our thoughts and feelings or, in other words, our Self Will. Our self will has become impaired and is no longer in the service of our successful survival. We have difficulties in our relationships with others, these relationships are often unhealthy and ill. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network. For instance, when breaking free of their negative thoughts, they may come to realize a newfound appreciation of things before unseen – such as the beauty of a sunset or the feeling of freshness of a morning spring rain.

thoughts on “The Spiritual Malady”

These defects are related to me being an alcoholic, they are intrinsic to my condition. I sin so naturally, effortlessly  and usually https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/does-alcohol-weaken-our-immune-system/ without even trying. I believe my so-called defects of character are linked to my underlying emotional disorder of alcoholism.

Many of our previous attempts to achieve sobriety failed because we did not address anything other than the physical and mental aspects of addiction. We felt that breaking physical dependence would work, or focused on a psychiatric solution. However, when we entered into a recovery model that included the spiritual, we found a solution. The Big Book explains, “If, when spiritual malady you honestly want to, you find that you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably an alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.” We embark upon a journey of recovery that allows us to develop a deep spiritual connection.

I related and all my negative emotions retreated to source like a evening tide on a beach. Sometimes the shame persists for some time and I try to relieve it by behavioral addictions, too much shopping, too much eating, too much objectification of the opposite sex. However, there seems to be a problem specifically with a patterned mesh of negative emotions which are activated when someone upsets me. My emotions became wedded in time to being undifferentiated arousal states that prompted me to seek an external way to deal with these troubling emotional/arousal states. The mature way to to access, identfiy and label how one is feeling and use this information to reasonably express how one is feeling. They are suppose the tell the fronts of our brains to find words for our feelings.