Websites & Articles about Addiction
Useful articles thanks to Eric Johnson for these.
Talking to Your Kids About Drug and Alcohol Abuse: The Ultimate Do’s and Don’ts Guide
Intervention eBook: What to do if your child is drinking or using drugs
Promoting Mental Health at Home
How to Apply for Disability Benefits with Drug Addiction
Substance Abuse in the Workplace: What to Do When an Employee Returns from Rehab
Home After Rehab: The Guide to Finding the Right Place for Recovery
Cuts to Addiction Services by Paul Harrold an addiction worker at an alcohol rehab in London known as Cassiobury Court. Paul has created an infographic is titled ‘Cuts
to Addiction Services in England and Wales since 2012’. Addiction is stigmatised
and cutting this budget has thus been relatively easy for those bent on
austerity. The infographic aims to inform the public about these cuts and help remove the stigma surrounding addiction. The cuts started
to take hold following the Health and Social Care Act 2012 when the administration of addiction services was moved from
local NHS Trusts to local councils. Sadly, this has resulted in a reversal of year-on-year decreases in drug-related deaths. In fact in 2016, drug-related deaths were
at an all-time high and even higher than in 1993 when the Office of National
Statistics first began collecting this type of data. Link to the infographic:http://www.cassioburycourt.com/article/102/cuts-to-addiction-services-since-2010-[infographic]
Conquering Addiction with Spirituality
Researchers have found that turning to spirituality can be a powerful tool for treating and conquering addiction. ‘The topic of spirituality is becoming increasingly interesting to clinicians, psychiatrists, and researchers seeking more ways for people to deal with the temptations of addiction. There are all kinds of addictions, from drugs to cigarettes, to alcohol, to over-eating, and even sex. Although modern counselling, support groups, and psychiatry have made great strides in the treatment of addiction and dependency, the patient must want to change before the treatment can be successful, because addiction is tied to a person’s inner self. And that inner self is where spirituality resides.’
Website: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/11-5-2005-80655.asp
Erinpavlina.com Extract from blog:
In school I had some friends who used to take LSD, mushrooms, and various other things I didn’t know much about. One guy told me he had a conversation with Satan while tripping. Another guy told me he was flying with angels. When you take drugs to have a spiritual experience you are not having the experience, the experience is having you, if you get my meaning. Being unable to “wake up” or snap out of the experience means you are not in full control of the experience. You are at the mercy of your mind or of forces beyond your control. You then risk losing yourself or of having a negative energy attach itself to you. Having a spiritual experience while on drugs is like propping open a door and being unable to close it if something is coming that you don’t want to let in. When you hallucinate an experience how do you know if it is real or not? How do you know the information you get from the experience is valid?
Website: http://www.erinpavlina.com/blog/2008/02/are-drugs-a-good-way-to-achieve-spiritual-experiences/
Emotional euphoria is a spiritual drug
Emotional euphoria is a spiritual drug, and like all drugs, it doesn't fix the cause of the problem, but gives you an apparent effect that always goes away. Like all drugs, you eventually have to come down. Coming down is painful and fearful at times. It creates a sense of distance and separation.
Website: http://www.designingonline.com/dreamsalive/summer2002/columns/idesign/
Lecture presented at Transcendance
Lecture presented at Transcendance at the Brighton Pavilion Theatre 31st May 1997. Extract: ‘Today I am going to speak about the use of psychoactive drugs for spiritual purposes which is the subject of a new book which I am currently working on. My first LSD trip, in 1966, was a profound experience which I believe changed the course of my life. At the time I was an engineering student, and I saw that my aims and very existence were insignificant on the scale of universal time and space. The immediate effect was to make me depressed by undermining my belief in myself, but it lead me to search for something more meaningful in life, and I tried out various spiritual teachings.
Website: http://csp.org/nicholas/brighton.html
Spiritual Addiction by Adyashanti Extract:
A spiritual person can become addicted to spiritual highs and miss the experience of Truth. Spiritual addiction occurs when something great happens and it feels as if you have received a hit of a great drug. As soon as you have it, you want more. There is no drug more potent than spiritual experience. The intellectual component of this addiction is the belief that if you just had enough of these experiences, you would feel great all the time. It’s like morphine.’
The topic is spiritual addiction, or perhaps more accurately stated, addiction to “spiritual” experiences. I’ve personally witnessed this phenomenon in a large number of people, including of course, myself. It can manifest in a number of ways, although in every case it boils down to the same thing as every other addiction, the need for the next fix. Once you have one or more fantastic spiritual experiences, it is very easy to get sucked into the cycle of seeking the next one, and the next one, and so on down the line.
Website: http://www.silentmusings.com/2007/07/getting-past-spiritual-addiction/
For years as I've battled alcohol abuse to varying degrees
Blog Extract: For years as I've battled alcohol abuse to varying degrees, there's always been this feeling/euphoria I've associated with drinking. I've always been a spiritual person (sometimes not living what I preach), not religious but spiritual. I've had plenty of mystic/paranormal/supernatural experiences in my life, some sparked by tragedy and some by my insatiable need to seek for Truth.
Websites: http://www.mywayout.org/community/f43/alcohol-spiritual-component-35866.html
Every addiction begins at essentially the same place and time
Blog Extract: Every addiction begins at essentially the same place and time. At some point the soul begins to feel lost and detached from the place of peace and love that it remembers having experienced inside, even if that sense was felt only as a tiny child. When the person tries to return to that place of comfort and finds the way blocked, the soul is damaged by the longing not being fulfilled. An empty heart can become disconsolate and so sad that it gives up on trying to return to inner peace and instead turns to other means by which to feel fulfilled. These are the conditions under which addictive processes are born and take hold of a person’s inner reality. So, in essence, the growth of addiction begins with a spiritual act-searching for fulfilment.
Website: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/addiction-and-spirituality.html
Addiction and spirituality – the way home
Website: http://ezinearticles.com/?Addiction-and-Spirituality---The-Way-Home&id=589620
Website: http://ezinearticles.com/?Drug-Addiction-and-Spirituality&id=4379625
Spirituality and Addiction
You Don't Have to Believe in God to be Spiritually Aware…’ ‘Why Is Spirituality a Problem for People With Addictions? Many people with addictions are put off getting help, because they have heard that there is a spiritual element to recovery, and they do not feel that they can function within a spiritual framework’….read more of this interesting article by Elizabeth Hartney on this website.
Website: http://addictions.about.com/od/overcomingaddiction/a/spiritualityandaddiction.htm
Self Growth.com
The online self improvement community. Lots to find on this site, encourages people to comment and discuss their concerns with others.
Website: http://www.selfgrowth.com/addict.html
Spirituality enhances chronic pain blog
A really interesting blog – ‘Chronic pain is often misunderstood and untreated. In addition to the biopsychosocial impact of chronic pain frequently, a spiritual crisis accompanies the condition. This is a body mind spirit problem that needs a multifaceted solution including addressing the spiritual component of pain. Spiritual healing can be an effective complementary and alternative approach’..read more on this website.
Website: http://www.addiction-free.com/blog/spirituality-enhances-chronic-pain-management
The Spirituality of Addiction and Recovery
Download and listen to podcasts here. Resources, books, music and podcasts. ‘Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson once said that the program he helped create is, "utter simplicity which encases a complete mystery." Our guests reflect on the Twelve Steps and how they resonate in their personal stories and in Buddhist and Christian teachings.’
Website: http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/recovery/
Dry blog
Great blog with resources, poetry and lots more. Very dry indeed with some humour, pictures and videos. Also - Quips & Quotes - Updated one day at a time. Recovery blogs, websites, and info about substance abuse, health, spirituality, music, shops and diversions.
Website: http://dryblog.blogspot.com/
The Sacred and the Space in Between
Some interesting posts here on depression, addiction and spirituality.
Website: http://sirojs.wordpress.com/2007/08/04/depression-addiction-and-spirituality/
Stress and Spirituality
Exploring the connection of stress and spirituality. Links to drug addiction, binge drinking and depression.