Religion and Spirituality in Recovery

1. What is Resilience?
2. Optimism
3. Facing Fear
4. Moral Compass
5. Religion and Spirituality
6. Social Support
7. Role Models
8. Physical Fitness
9. Brain Fitness
10. Cognitive & Emotional Flexibility
11. Meaning, Purpose, Growth
12. Practicing Resilience
13. Resilience During COVID-19

Accompanying Worksheets:

There are lessons accompanying each video that you can access through our recovery portal, Swell.

Medically-reviewed articles:

• Cultivating Patience in Recovery
• What Can Improve the Success Rate of Addiction Recovery?

Professional webinars:

• Relapse Prevention: “Doing” Recovery in this Changing World
• Our Staff’s Stories of Recovery

Religion & Spirituality

Religion is defined as a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs and practices. It is the service and worship of God or the supernatural.

Spirituality is an experience of connection to something larger than you. It is about living one’s life in a reverent or sacred manner. It is a way of experiencing one’s connection to self and others.

Both religion and spirituality help build resilience and improve physical and mental health. For religious people, regularly attending religious worship tends to build a sense of optimism and meaning. This also creates a sense of community and tends to guard people against acting in more self-destructive ways. There is a sense of feeling protected and guided. Spiritual practices can have the same impact.

Many find the practice of prayer or meditation helps to quiet or calm the mind which can lead to less emotional reactivity during tough times.

There are many ways to develop a religious or spiritual connection if you desire to do so.

• You may decide you want to find a place of worship to attend or simply read books or writings about religion.
• You may decide to do a daily prayer or meditation practice.
• You might develop a more physical practice of spirituality such as yoga, taking mindful walks, tai chi or a martial art.
• You may decide to join a group that worships or practices spiritual principles together.

What is important is that you choose something that you feel works for you. There is no “right” answer about religion or spirituality. You can build your resilience by choosing your own path.

Questions:

1. Do you have a religious or spiritual practice?
2. Would you like to develop one or become more deeply involved in what you already have?
3. Which of the above ideas on how to develop a religious/spiritual connection might work for you?
4. How can you get started?