Addiction is a spiritual disease because it represents an individual’s attempt to disconnect from reality and any sense of spirituality. Simply put, they feel a terrible loneliness at their very soul or center of being. However, this does not mean, necessarily, they’ve abandoned their faith. On page 62 the text explains that “Selfishness-self-centeredness! This well is the place where you get your spiritual nourishment from. Whenever you feel thirsty, dry, or empty, your spirit is drinking from this well.
- Unless, we let Go and Let God and ask God to remove these negative emotions/sins/defects of character we end up in a futile increasingly distressed spiral of negative emotions.
- It was one more thing that my disease used to separate me from other folks in the rooms of recovery, another way to feel unique.
- However, you choose to interact with that higher power is also up to you.
- These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘malady.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
- There is no strict rule that could be followed to answer them nor is it possible to reject any of the three definitions.
To conclude, it’s not my body — my allergic reaction to alcohol — that’s going to take me back to drinking. It’s really not my mind — the mental obsession — that is the underlying root of what will take me back to drinking. It’s the “spiritual malady”, as manifested by my EGO (selfishness-self-centeredness), that can eventually lead me back to drinking or sometimes even suicide. Personal experiences from alcoholics will tell you that the spiritual malady of alcoholism is the driving force in their lives. It creates bedevilments such as, fear, emotional insecurity and instability, trouble in personal relationships, an inability to manage life, misery and pain.
What Does It Mean to Suffer from a Spiritual Malady?
I’ve specialized in pain management, pediatrics, and cardiovascular care, ensuring that each patient receives the best possible care. Once you’ve found something that you can believe in, it’s important to remember that your Higher Power is there for you when you need it. When things get tough, take a moment to pray, meditate, or just sit quietly https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and think about your Higher Power and what it means to you. Allow yourself to feel the strength and support that comes from knowing that there is something bigger than yourself out there rooting for your success. One of the great things about AA is that it’s flexible – you can make it work for you, even if you don’t believe in God.
Despite still having the occasional struggles with mental health, Bryan strives to be a little bit better a person each day. With the support and love from a loyal family, and kind-hearted and generous friends, Bryan tries to help people vanquish their own personal spiritual malady demons as he did and bring more love and beauty into a pessimistic world. If you’re struggling to find a Higher Power in AA, know that you’re not alone. There are many people who have been in your shoes and have found creative ways to work around this issue.
More from Merriam-Webster on malady
The alcoholic who evolves spiritually receives inner wisdom – an intuition and understanding – a noetic mindset that goes beyond the traditional five senses. They also experience an ineffable quality from becoming spiritual – one where their feelings go beyond mere words. Once the spiritual malady of alcoholism has a solution other than alcohol such as spiritual principles etc., there will be no need to drink anymore. The word illness is used to describe what persons feel about themselves.