What is a Spiritual Awakening in Recovery?

what is a spiritual awakening in recovery
what is a spiritual awakening in recovery

What is a spiritual awakening in recovery? Spirituality is one of the more misunderstood elements of addiction treatment and recovery, yet it is often one of the most important. At Anchored Tides Recovery, we encourage everyone to explore spirituality in a way that works for them, both during treatment and throughout their life.

Your spiritual journey and practice are likely to become something you rely on throughout your life, well after addiction treatment. Active addiction affects your spirit in profound ways, many of which you might not recognize immediately. Addiction keeps you from being truly present or in the moment because the influence of drugs or alcohol is always there. You might feel worthless due to your addiction, believing your only purpose is to use drugs or alcohol.

Addiction can make you lose touch with your emotions, preventing you from experiencing life fully. Recovery often goes hand-in-hand with the spiritual awakening process. This journey can be challenging because it looks different for everyone, but it is incredibly rewarding.

A spiritual awakening in recovery involves an increased sense of awareness and presence in the moment, noticing things you might have previously overlooked. We’ll explore below what we mean when we talk about a spiritual awakening in recovery and how it can happen for different people, regardless of their belief systems.

What is a Spiritual Awakening?

A spiritual awakening isn’t something you experience exclusive to addiction recovery. Awakening can happen at any time in your life, regardless of your circumstances.

You often experience something profound or on a deeper level that leads to a breakdown of your ego. You may feel a tug or call toward deeper mental awareness. The result tends to be a personal transformation along with a shift in how you see yourself and the world around you. For many of us, a spiritual awakening comes after a catalyst in our life.

If you’re going to addiction treatment or struggling with a substance use disorder, the realization that you’ve hit rock bottom or are not in control of your drug use can be that triggering event. It’s usually that initial realization about the true depths of your substance abuse that many people say is the hardest part of recovery. You have to see for yourself the impacts of your addiction on every area of your life before you reach any kind of deeper spiritual awareness. Awakening doesn’t always stem from addiction.

For some people, it’s a traumatic experience such as surviving an assault or abuse, or maybe the loss of a loved one. When you go through something traumatic, it affects you physically, mentally, and emotionally. You may go through an extended period of healing but emerge on the other side of that in a more vital place spiritually. If you have depression or a mental health disorder, it can lead you to what we call an existential crisis. You start to look more at the purpose of your life, and you may want a shift due to that assessment.

You can engage in practices through your daily life that might also activate an awareness or awakening. For example, mindfulness and meditation can be a way to transform yourself on a spiritual level, even without a major life event happening. According to Deepak Chopra, when you experience an awakening, you’re not in a dream world anymore.

Instead, based on Chopra’s framework, you are aware of yourself but only in a way that puts you within the context and connection of everything else. This period is also sometimes called enlightenment or nirvana.

Spiritual Awakening stack of pebbles on the beach

How to Start Your Spiritual Awakening

The process of how to start your spiritual awakening is deeply personal, so below are only suggestions, but you may find a path that’s entirely your own.

  • Start to observe and notice. Many of us go through our lives on autopilot. We don’t think about what we truly want, who we are at our core, or why we’re at a particular point in our lives. When you become aware and observant, you’re better able to make changes then. For example, this might be when you question your drinking or drug use and start to delve more into why you’re doing it.
  • Develop a sense of connection. Specifically, as it relates to addiction and recovery, that sense of connection can come from participation in a support group, like a 12-step program.
  • Let go of attachments. We all have extensions that aren’t relevant to our true selves. You can begin to eliminate whatever those are through your awakening.
  • Find inner peace. When you cultivate inner peace, things still go wrong in your life, but it doesn’t lead you down dark paths. Instead, you learn how to cope with things as they go wrong effectively. When you’re experiencing things that aren’t pleasant, you recognize them as a fleeting moment in time.
  • Feel more compassion and empathy. When you’re participating in an addiction treatment program, you’ll start to learn more about how your substance abuse affected the people around you. This is an excellent starting point as you begin to become more empathetic and compassionate in all areas of your life.
  • More authenticity. You’ll start to grow into someone who feels your self-worth on a deep level. That will allow you to be more authentic in who you are.

The final step in an awakening of your spirit is that you’ll be happier and healthier. You’ll be able to thrive in your life rather than just survive in your recovery process.

Spirituality in Recovery

In many ways, having a successful long-term recovery from addiction relies on spiritual growth taking place. You have to change your perspective to be in recovery. As part of treatment for substance abuse, you can begin to identify and reconnect with the aspects of your life that are most important to you.

Spiritual power can become your most incredible tool for healing, personal growth, and having a thriving life. You can develop a sense of purpose, and at the same time, learn that you’re not alone.

Spirituality Is Not Religion

We often hear from people who worry spirituality is about God or religion. However, it’s important to note that you do not need religion or a belief in God to have a spiritual experience, although you certainly can get your spiritual power from God. A true awakening in the spiritual sense is about having your own beliefs and developing your sense of self that connects you to everything else in the world in your everyday life. You can give credit to whatever force or power you choose.

Are you ready to begin learning how to start your spiritual journey? We encourage you to reach out and learn more about our addiction treatment programs. We prioritize spirituality in whatever terms work for you. Your spiritual life is very personal, which is how Anchored Tides Recovery develops our addiction treatment programs as well, call 866-329-6639 to learn more.

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The Relationship Between ADHD and Substance Abuse

ADHD

 

There is commonly a relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with substance abuse disorder. According to the National Institutes of Mental Illness, when someone has a mental health disorder along with a substance use disorder, it’s called a co-occurring disorder. Co-occurring disorders can begin simultaneously, but more commonly, one might appear before the other.

In the case of ADD/ADHD, it’s usually present before someone develops a substance use disorder.

 

What Are ADD and ADHD?

ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder, and ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; both disorders are considered subtypes of one condition. 

The term ADD is somewhat outdated, and you’ll most often hear these conditions referred to generally as ADHD.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are around 6.4 million children with ADHD diagnosed with it in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making this condition one of the most common childhood mental disorders. 

 

Types of ADHD

Some variations of the disorder are:

  • Inattentive 
  • Hyperactive
  • Impulsive
  • Combined
  • Adult

 

Inattentive

With the inattentive type, a child may specifically have problems focusing; symptoms for this particular subtype include:

  • Distracted easily
  • Forgetful
  • Not able to pay attention to details
  • Trouble staying on-task
  • Doesn’t follow instructions
  • Disorganized

 

Hyperactive/Impulsive

Symptoms of this type of ADHD can include:

  • Excessive talking
  • Squirms or fidgets
  • Moves around in inappropriate situations
  • Has a hard time staying quiet
  • Interrupts others
  • Experiences difficulties waiting their turn

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Combined

The combined subtype of ADHD symptoms includes both inattention as well as hyperactivity/impulsivity.

Adult

Most adults who have ADHD had it since childhood, but it might not have been diagnosed until they were older. Symptoms of ADHD in adults can include:

  • Being easily distracted
  • Not paying attention to details
  • Some may have hyperfocus, meaning they delve so much into a project that they lose awareness of what’s happening around them
  • Disorganization
  • Problems with time management, such as often showing up late
  • Forgetfulness
  • Impulsivity
  • Shifts in mood
  • Negative self-image
  • Lack of motivation
  • Anxiety
  • Restlessness
  • Fatigue
  • Problems in relationships

Along with the symptoms above, adults with attention deficit disorder are also more likely to experience substance abuse, including alcohol and tobacco, and other illegal drugs.

 

What Are the Symptoms of Substance Abuse?

Some of the symptoms of substance abuse can overlap with ADHD symptoms. That can make a diagnosis of one or both conditions more challenging. Symptoms of addiction can include:

  • Urges or cravings to use a substance
  • A single-minded focus on getting and using the substance
  • Developing a tolerance and needing higher doses to get the same effects
  • Regularly taking more of a substance than intended
  • Financial difficulties that arise because of spending on drugs or alcohol
  • Continual use of the substance despite adverse side effects and outcomes
  • Engaging in risky behaviors while on the drug, or to get more of it
  • Not being able to stop using the substance
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms if cutting back or trying to quit

 

If someone is dealing with addiction, the people around them may see more outward manifestations. These can include:

  • Problems at work or school
  • Failing to meet obligations in daily life
  • Physical health issues such as weight loss
  • Not caring about grooming or physical appearance
  • Changes in behavior
  • Being secretive
  • Problems with money

 

Why Are People with ADHD At Higher Risk of Substance Abuse and Addiction?

It’s estimated that more than 25% of adolescents with substance use disorders also fit the criteria for ADHD. Around the same percentage of adults who seek treatment for drug or alcohol abuse also have ADHD.

There are so many factors that can play a role in the links between ADHD and substance abuse, some of which are explored below.

 

Underlying Vulnerability

One theory as to why people with ADHD are more likely to develop substance use disorders is because both conditions are considered disinhibition disorders; when someone doesn’t have inhibitions, they are more likely to be impulsive in their behaviors. Impulsivity leads to risky behaviors, and that can include using substances.

Children, throughout their lifetime, are significantly more likely to try different substances than people without ADHD.

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The brain of someone with ADHD can be wired to seek out new experiences because of their impulsivity. That means that not only could they be more likely to use substances, but their brain could move toward full-blown addiction more quickly.

 

Dealing with the Effects of ADHD

When a child or adult struggles with ADHD, it can have profound effects on their life, including overall quality of life. Someone with ADHD may struggle with relationships and in situations like school or work. It may be overwhelming for them to keep up with the demands of their daily responsibilities.

They may feel like they’re different from other people, or they may feel like they aren’t achieving what they’d like to because of ADHD. These negative feelings can impact self-esteem and can make someone more likely to use substances.

 

Self-Medication

In some ways, self-medication was touched on above, but it can also be talked about on its own. When someone is dealing with ADHD symptoms, they may find that it’s hard for them to calm down or relax, which can lead to self-medication with substances.

For example, if someone with ADHD often feels restless or as if their mind is racing, they might use a depressant like marijuana or alcohol to deal with the symptoms.  Someone with ADHD could also self-medicate to improve anxiety, sleep, focus, or depression.

 

Do ADHD Medicines Contribute to Substance Abuse Problems?

There are some theories that the use of ADHD medicines like Adderall and Ritalin could themselves create an addiction risk. While amphetamine and methylphenidate are potentially addictive, most people with ADHD who take these drugs as prescribed are less likely to abuse them than people without ADHD.

When someone has ADHD symptoms and takes their medicine as prescribed, it doesn’t create that same high as it does in someone who’s recreationally abusing the drug. Research is increasingly showing that it may lower their risk of substance abuse when someone takes their ADHD medicine as prescribed.

 

Substance Abuse Treatment with Co-Occurring Disorders

For someone who has both ADHD and a substance abuse disorder, they may require long term treatment for both co-occurring disorders. When someone has a co-occurring disorder, dual diagnosis treatment is critical. If a person isn’t treated for both conditions, then there’s a higher likelihood of relapse. Once a dual diagnosis has been established, co-occurring disorders require specialized treatment that tends to be more in-depth.

Dual diagnosis treatment addresses the mental, physical and social factors of addiction and the mental health disorder. Dual diagnosis treatment may include a combination of behavioral therapies in both individual and group settings. The therapist might use medication as well.

The big takeaway is that while people with ADHD are more likely to have substance use disorders, treatment can work when it deals with both issues separately and their relationship to one another.

Anchored Tides Recovery is a safe place for women with co-occurring mental health issues, along with addiction issues, can heal. Call us today, find comfort and start to build your support group, one woman at a time.