Can You Believe in God and Be Addicted to Drugs?

One of the saddest consequences of drug addiction is isolation. When people realize that recreational drug use or dependence on painkillers is getting the best of them, they withdraw from their families, friends, and coworkers. They lose interest in hobbies. They stop working out at the gym. They quit attending church.

If you’re struggling with substance abuse, don’t buy into the myth that spirituality no longer has a place in your life. There’s no better time than now to welcome the embrace of a loving, healing God.

Addiction doesn’t discriminate. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, and civic leaders are just as vulnerable as poor, under-educated souls from rough parts of town. People of faith who have certain risk factors are no safer than nonbelievers.

Yes, you can believe in God and be addicted to drugs.

Addiction might be the most misunderstood disease in existence. Perceptions are improving, but drug abuse is still widely associated with moral failure. Nothing could be further from the truth. Would you attempt to withdraw from God if you developed diabetes, asthma or cancer?

It’s true that poor decisions may have contributed to your addiction, but millions of people make poor decisions every day and do not become addicted. You were born with a predisposition, most likely hereditary, to this disease. An unstable home environment, early drug use or traumatic life events might have factored in as well.

As the body builds tolerance to drugs and alcohol, higher doses and more frequent use are required for the same level of pleasure. Before you know it, life is spiraling out of control.

That’s the nature of the beast that is addiction. None of it has anything to do with moral weakness.

Stop beating yourself up for being human. God doesn’t want to punish you. He wants to mend you and get you fit for all the wonderful things he has in store.

People of all faiths, as well as nonbelievers, enter our program every day. You needn’t be Catholic or even religious to participate. However, the Bible is a valuable resource for hope, encouragement and positivity.

Christ said in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second-greatest commandment, he said, is to love your neighbor as yourself.

How is belief in God relevant to recovery?

First, your emotions, will, intellect, physical body and spirit, to paraphrase, are all important parts of you. They were created to work in harmony. They need equal attention and nourishment.

Second, in mentioning your neighbor, Jesus expressed his desire for you to live in society. He sees you as a valuable member of the community. He wants you to enjoy others and wants others to enjoy you. Again, addiction is isolating. It’s marked by loneliness. God never wanted that for you.

Finally, Christ tells you to love yourself. That’s hard to do when you’re filled with misplaced guilt, self-loathing or feelings of unworthiness.

For people of any religion or none at all, this is sound teaching for rehab. If you let us help you, you’ll get caring, individualized treatment that targets every aspect of wellness. It will equip you with coping skills for reentering society. It will highlight your worth rather than your flaws. You’ll learn to love yourself again.

Drug abuse is hard on the body, so we’ll meet your physical needs first. Detox takes place in a serene, restful environment with medical supervision and lots of emotional support. Our experienced caregivers are committed to stabilizing your body so that you can fully focus on your treatment.

Next, we’ll tackle whatever ails your mind and emotions. Drug abuse goes hand in hand with other mental issues like anxiety and depression. There may be underlying factors like sexual abuse or other traumatic events. It’s crucial to diagnose and treat all problems together. If we merely focus on getting you sober, we’re just treating a symptom. That never works.

Your treatment will combine several tried-and-true methods, such as behavioral therapy, with innovative new approaches. We keep things flexible. If you tell us that one method isn’t working for you, we’ll try another.

We offer individual and family counseling. In peer group meetings, you can speak freely with others who are on the same journey. It’s a community of neighbors, to recall our Bible verse, who never stop rooting for one another. A strong network of support is vital to staying clean and sober long term. Groups members enjoy social outings, fitness activities and movie nights.

You’ll have plenty of personal time to care for your spirit. You may choose to read, pray, keep a journal or meditate. If you believe in God and want to learn how to depend on him through recovery, we can arrange spiritual counseling and point you to excellent resources.

Rest assured that God loves you and longs to set you free from addiction. He doesn’t just want to help you reclaim your life; he wants to give you a new one.

You can believe in God and be addicted to drugs, but addiction needn’t have power over you. You shouldn’t allow it to isolate you from the people in your life who love you.

Call St. Gregory Recovery Center now to find out more about our program or the role of faith in recovery.