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He said to list all the negative emotions that I had been in the grip of and exhibiting in relation to my various misdemeanors and the resentments I had held against various people and institutions over the preceding decades. Finding out what is really going on with us emotionally is at the heart of recovery. That is why we have to constantly share how we are feeling with others so that we can find out what we are feeling. So we have two main ailments, distressed based wanting which results in the same negative emotions as being in a shame- based fear of rejection.
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. Desire obviously runs contrary to the idea of being in God’s will, in fact it is being in Self Will that seems to create distress in many people with addictive behaviours. Desiring stuff seems at the root of my fear based stuff – the exquisite torture of desire which soon loses it’s so-called relish and just becomes torturous. We can not rely on our thoughts and feelings or, in other words, our Self Will. Our self will has become impaired and is no longer in the service of our successful survival. In other words, he became dependent on others, on external means for approval and elevating his self esteem.
Big Book ASL – Foreword to First Edition
If someone hurts me, according to my step 4, my angry resentment of what they have said or done makes me ashamed. I grew up in a family that did not express emotions like the ones I had mentioned. We reacted via anger and put downs hence I have grown up to be dismissive. spiritual malady Anger responses are modeled and learned in some families. The anger response is more comfortable than feeling the shame for some individuals. Families where coercive and humiliating methods of discipline are used develop children who are shame prone.
When we say that alcoholism or drug addiction is ‘a spiritual malady’, it means that our disease in centered in these things . Powerless as we are, living on self-will is a frightening, unmanageable experience. In recovery, we have turned our will and our lives safely over to the care of the God of our understanding.
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We should be able to just put the plug in the jug and move on with our lives. They oversimplify our problem and solution and can send the wrong information. Basically, the alcoholic, once they start they cannot control the amount they take.
When the spiritual malady is overcome we straighten out mentally and physically?
As explained in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, “we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.” When men and women look inwardly, the spiritual component of the disease becomes apparent.
When left unresolved, a spiritual malady will continue to lead to restlessness, irritability, and discontentment. It can also lead to other problems, such as alcohol abuse or other addictions. If you are struggling with alcoholism or any other addiction, it is important to seek help from AA or another 12-step program.
Why Addictive Eaters Anonymous Uses Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Literature
People like us are obsessed with the thought of controlling and enjoying our drugs or alcohol. The biggest problem is that our mind buys the lie that the next time it will be different. You deserve it and the consequences are not important. We as addicts and alcoholics have the same problem. The allergy is not about the mind or our will power.
- We must live our lives selflessly and show our gratitude to a higher power for the lives that we live and the opportunity to have a second chance at life.
- It was all over and I knew that I was well and truly beaten!
- If we do not get spiritually connected with meditation or prayer with a power greater than us it will bring us closer and closer to that drink or drug.
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