By: Flaka Ismaili    August 3, 2022

In other words, he became dependent on others, on external means for approval and elevating his self esteem. It is interesting that a common definition of “spiritual” as it relates to AA, is a sense of connection with others. Unhappiness to us and others, discontent, and, frequently, mental and bodily ill health are the direct results of Sin.

I was amazed as this guy was reading his emotions, identifying verbalising/expressing them to me in a way I have never been able to do. We have to show love and tolerance for each other as we suffer spiritual malady the same illness/malady. Dismissing others like us for having what we have and acting as we do is like a form of self loathing. We have to forgive ourselves and each other for being ill.

The Spiritual Malady

I eventually accepted that the twelve steps are the spiritual tools that will help me to recover from this “hopeless condition of mind and body.” (BB There Is a Solution, p.20). I felt pretty hopeless and I had “the gift of desperation.’ As an agnostic, I surrendered to the spiritual solution offered to me by David B. For me, that simply meant letting go of my belligerence and arrogance and becoming teachable. Has been helping alcoholics recover for more than 80 years. A.A.’s program of recovery is built on the simple foundation of one alcoholic sharing with another. Due to the nature of frequent episodes of  powerlessness over our behavior,  attached to addiction and alcoholism, we often  acted in a way we would never act in sobriety. We had limited control over behaviour at times due to intoxication  and acted on occasion in a way that shames us today.

• There are many people who have been in your shoes and have found creative ways to work around this issue.
• Has helped more than two million alcoholics stop drinking.
• If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction help is available 24/7.

So we have issues with emotions and somatic/body feeling states. He then offered his definition of the word ‘spiritual’. He said, “spiritual simply refers to that which is not material. 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).

Stories to Help You Live Better

This complacency can then lead to a sense of entitlement which is extremely dangerous for people in recovery. Entitlement leads to unrealistic expectations, which often leads to disappointment and resentment. Whenever you find yourself feeling irritable discontent bored with your life or depressed it is likely that you may have skipped meditation or prayer. In these situations, I feel further from God than normal and then I wonder who moved me or God and the answer is always me.

• To do this, members must rely on their support system which includes other members, sponsors, and meetings.
• The Big Book couldn’t illustrate this point any better.
• Participating in a group helps ensure that when a person reaches out for help, A.A.
• Often people like us have some of the strongest will power that exists.
• The spiritual aspects of recovery and the ‘God word’ can be an obstacle for many new folks trying to get sober.
• I do not have to cultivate my own misery through blind reaction.

I did not realise that the engine driving this emotion dysregulation was chronic shame. When I was doing my step four inventory as part of my 12 step programme of recovery  I did it pretty much as suggested in the Big Book. I do not necessarily have to react to my feelings of negativity about myself, someone else does not need to experience the consequence of my resentments. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/10-best-alcohol-addiction-recovery-books/ As I would have had a resentment, it would have had a wolf pack of negative emotions attached. For me he was seeing the root of this spiritual malady, this emotional disease. For example there is an undercurrent in fear of things being taken away, of it being because we are not good enough, deserving enough, have failed in some way, which are shame based reactions.

The Spiritual Illness

But the beauty of the 12-steps is that they are spiritually based as opposed to religious. What that means is that all that is required is the belief in a power greater than yourself. There is no church you must attend or strict practices you must adhere to in organized worship of said higher power, it is a completely individual and personal experience.

I also impressed upon him that mostly I can manage this emotional dysfunction but often I fail to and get into a resentful anger. I also impressed upon the newcomer that what the other guy was experiencing and was reacting is also how he, the newcomer, reacts and how I react too. Attempting to live according to God’s Will (which is a state of Love) also helps me not react but to act with Grace. This love and tolerance for the newcomer evolves the displaying of virtues (the opposite of defects are virtues). The guy was probably in guilt too as he could been working on his recovery more.

Flaka Ismaili

More Posts