Addicts and alcoholics are often highly spiritualized individuals who lack the faith apparatus to make a healthy connection with their spiritual drive. As such, they turn to negative behavior patterns to fulfill that hunger: alcohol, drugs, food, sex, gambling, pornography, social media, and dysfunctional relationships. This book offers a series of insights and methods whereby faith may be restored and positively channeled into life-sustaining behaviors. It is addressed to addicts, their families and friends, as well as interested laypeople, government policymakers, and treatment professionals. The authors include instruction in yoga and breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness, as well as case studies and medical guidance for detoxification.
Spirituality and Chemical Dependency shares current thinking on how spirituality is used in recovery from alcoholism and other forms of chemical dependency. The 12-Step programs have been the most successful form of treatment thus far; you will find the insight in this book to be revealing as to why. Each of the contributors has devoted a significant part of his or her life to help those suffering from chemical addiction. In each chapter, the author gives ideas on specific aspects of spirituality in the 12-Step context and answers the ever-important question “So what?!” to provide guidelines for healthy spirituality in the addicted person.
"The feeling was electric-energy humming through my body. I felt like blood was pouring into areas of my tissues that it had not been able to reach for some time. It was relieving and healing, subtler than the feeling from getting off on drugs, but it was detectable and lovely, and of course, there was no hangover, just a feeling of more ease than I could remember. I felt a warmth come over me similar to what I felt when I had done heroin, but far from the darkness of that insanity, this was pure light-a way through." - Tommy Rosen, on his first yoga experience Most of us deal with addiction in some form. While you may not be a fall-down drunk, anorexic, or a gambling addict, you likely struggle with addiction in other ways. Workaholism, overeating, and compulsively engaging with technology like video games, texting, and Facebook are also highly common examples. And if you don't suffer from addiction, chances are you know someone who does. Through more than 20 years of recovery and in working professionally with others, Tommy Rosen has uncovered core elements of recovery and healing, what he refers to as Recovery 2.0. In the book, he shares his own past struggles with addiction, and powerful, tested tools for breaking free from the obstacles that stand in the way of a holistic and lasting recovery. Building off the key tenets of the 12-Step program, he has developed an innovative approach that includes • Looking at the roots of addiction; your family history and "Addiction Story" • Daily breathing practices, meditation, yoga, and body awareness • A healthy, alkaline-based diet to aid with detox, boost immunity, increase vitality, support your entire recovery, and help prevent relapse • Discovering your mission, living on purpose, and being of service to others Recovery 2.0 will help readers not only release their addictions, but thrive in their recovery.
Discusses the causes and characteristics of addiction, examines its psychological, neurological, and theological aspects, and explains how grace can can help overcome addiction.
In this deceptively simple little book, Ms. England has made accessible for both professionals and the general public the theory linking neurochemical science to the behaviors and relational patterns observed in persons with addictions and those who love them. As a professional working with families ravaged by addiction, and as a member of Al-Anon seeking to grow and be a good steward of the life experiences that are mine, I am challenged by this book to seek ways to apply its techniques with clients and my own life...Ms. England's book reminds me in the particularly memorable way of any good story...that there is both danger and delight in this activity of living.
The roots of the modern disease theory of addiction can be traced back to the archaic medical philosophies of the eighteenth century. This popular theory is based primarily on the assumption that so-called addicts are physically unable to resist the call of addictive chemicals. They are presumably stricken from birth with this unlucky condition and all but helpless in the fight against the unhealthy symptoms of the so-called disease. The problem is that contemporary addiction research shows that substance abusers are not genetically or biologically different from anyone else. In fact, a growing group of physicians and researchers contend that addicts are simply guilty of making self-destructive choices in response to the commonplace stresses of everyday life. When addicts begin to take responsibility for their calculated chemical choices, they ultimately come to view their abusive behaviors in terms of not sickness but sin. They can then learn how to achieve forgiveness of their sins and deliverance from their addictions by offering their hearts, minds, and bodies to Jesus Christ. This is a skillfully written and powerful book about addiction and recovery. Having seen the devastating effects of addiction first hand, Mr. Mason was able to use his own personal experiences to develop a one of a kind text that dispels the myths about addiction and beautifully outlines the connection between the Spirit and recovery. After 14 years of working in the field of chemical dependency, I have never found a more complete and insightful view of addiction, recovery, and spirituality. Cindy Tidwell, MS, LPC Professional Addiction Counselor
When Religion is an Addiction first asks us to change our understanding of the radical religious right, to consider it in a new light, so that we can do something that will first of all ensure the health of those outside the addiction, and secondly, end our own activities that are part of the dynamics that further the religious right-wing. Chapters two through seven set out the new understanding of many in the religious right-wing and how it explains what we've been seeing in social issues and politics.The ultimate goal is not only to set forth a way to understand the problem but also to point to solutions. Chapter one sets the tone for that by calling us to stop arguing about religion in general.The recent spate of books that defend atheism — what Time magazine has labelled “an atheist literary wave” — are a welcome alternative voice in American religious dialogue. They also encourage such arguments and soothe the atheist choir, while providing further opportunities for the right-wing to use religion for its accompanying feeling of righteousness.Chapter eight discusses practical guidelines for dealing with people who use religion as their addiction. People in Dr. Minor's workshops have already found these guidelines helpful, reassuring, and empowering.
The newest addition to the popular Quick-Reference Guide collection, The Quick-Reference Guide to Addictions and Recovery Counseling focuses on the widespread problem of addictions of all kinds. It is an A-Z guide for assisting pastors, professional counselors, and everyday believers to easily access a full array of information to aid them in formal and informal counseling situations. Each of the forty topics covered follows a helpful eight-part outline and identifies (1) typical symptoms and patterns, (2) definitions and key thoughts, (3) questions to ask, (4) directions for the conversation, (5) action steps, (6) biblical insights, (7) prayer starters, and (8) recommended resources.
