Relationship Between Alcohol Use, Spirituality, and Coping
At Yahlight, we know spirituality is powerful and has the potential to be incredibly healing, especially for those in addiction recovery. More specifically, if you are facing struggles with alcohol use, you can benefit from the influence of spirituality. Developing a strong connection to spirituality can also shape healthier coping skills, which further proves that spirituality is powerful.
The Influence of Spirituality on Healthy Coping
When you accept spirituality into your life, you are beginning a journey with The Lord and yourself. This journey will allow you to establish an ongoing relationship with God and a connection to your inner self. These are crucial connections to create as they can help you explore new and healthy coping skills. Yahlight believes that spirituality and its connection to the Bible will help you to see clearly how to cope with addiction like alcohol use in healthy ways.
The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction discusses studies that found connections between alcohol use and coping. The discussed findings of the studies showed that the spiritual participants were less likely to use alcohol. These individuals were also more likely to utilize healthy coping skills. The article also states the following:
It is possible that presence of higher spirituality provides ways of living life that are less compatible with alcohol consumption. For example, it is possible, although not tested in this research, that for these individuals, rich spiritual life brings positive sensations, such as a sense of joy, comfort, safety, strength, and inner peace (Underwood 2006), reducing their need to find the same sensations in alcoholic beverages.
This information means that individuals who had a spiritual connection were typically less likely to have alcohol consumption. They were also generally happier than those who did not have a spiritual connection. These findings support the treatment modalities of Yahlight.
Facing Alcohol Use With Spirituality
When facing addiction, you are likely lacking a strong connection with spirituality. There are many different ways you can combat alcohol use. Yahlight can support you in your recovery by helping you come into spiritual practices. The Lord wants a relationship with you. Furthermore, He can help you heal from addiction and wants to know who you are, too. You can connect with God through different practices. Some examples include prayers, meditation, and devotions. Please visit our Christ-Centered Devotional Chant & Music page for available devotions.
Alcohol use, when met with spirituality, can help you to discover the light you need to get sober. We understand that sobriety may seem intimidating. You may worry about the emotional work you will face in recovery. It is important to remember that you will not be alone in your recovery, as God will always be beside you. He will not give you more than you can handle, and He will guide you on your path to discovering your full potential in recovery.
The Journal of Religion and Health discussed spirituality and addiction and found a positive connection between spirituality and recovery. The article concluded that faith protects both men and women from addiction and even stated the following:
For example, Koenig and Vaillant (2009) found that frequent religious attendance at midlife (ages 45–47) was protective against alcoholism and predicted a significant increase in subjective well-being by the age of 70, independent of other predictors and baseline well-being.
These findings show how powerful and healing spirituality can be.
Positive Changes and Self-Awareness
Coming into your spiritual practices has the potential to create positive changes for recovery and your relationship with your inner self. These positive changes are closely connected to your self-awareness. An important piece of recovery is how you form a relationship with your ability to be self-aware. When you notice your thoughts, feelings, and desires, your ability to pause and respond to your needs in healthy ways becomes a crucial skill. Like any other skill, this can take time and patience to master. Practice kindness and give yourself grace as you work to make positive changes to become more self-aware.
Self-awareness is a key part of recovery from any addiction. Practices such as Christ-centered meditations can help you to learn how to tune in and listen. Our Christ-Centered Meditation and Prayer page could be a great place for you to begin your journey. Self-awareness may be challenging at first. Try to remember that growth will feel uncomfortable, but when you choose recovery, the outcome will be worth the temporary discomfort.
Coping Skills and Alcohol Consumption
Spirituality can be considered a coping skill as it is something you can tend to and work on strengthening over time. Looking to the Bible and listening to God is what Yahlight believes will ultimately give you the clarity you need to heal from alcohol consumption. Other coping skills we support include holistic approaches such as yoga and breathwork. Coping with spiritual practices has the power to not only establish and strengthen your lifelong relationship with God but will help you heal from addiction, too.
Opening your heart and taking time to listen to The Lord through your spiritual practices will give you the opportunity to feel empowered. When you feel empowered through Christ, you can leave your addiction behind and live a fulfilling, healthy life with Him by your side. You deserve to recover from alcohol abuse.
Evidence shows that the connection between spiritual practices and healthy coping skills is significant in healing from addiction. Work with me to explore how these practices can support your recovery journey.