These are our thought suppressions and emotional repressions that also bias the system towards threat physiology. We also house traumatic memories in the threat centers of our brains that are slightly different than predictive codes as they may bubble up to awareness or into nightmarish dreams. Doing so will give you a better idea of how a spiritual malady affects an alcoholic.

This study also isolated components of spiritual struggle and their individual relationships with trauma and PTSD symptoms. Reappraisals to a punishing God, reappraisals of God’s powers, and expressions of spiritual discontent partially mediated the relationship between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. In contrast, reappraisal of the event to evil forces was unrelated to PTSD symptoms. It may be that attributing the event to evil forces provides an unsettling but satisfactory explanation for some trauma survivors, perhaps because it distributes blame away from self or God to a being already understood as malevolent (e.g., Pargament et al., 2004). This finding suggests that aspects of spiritual struggle are related but distinct constructs that should be assessed separately in future research. At Time 2, participants indicated whether they had experienced any stressful events since coming to college.

Participants and Procedures

However, research elucidating the character and directionality of the relationship between struggle and PTSD symptoms is needed. Prior studies have not assessed subscales of spiritual struggle separately to isolate possible differences in relationships with PTSD symptoms, and subtle differences exist among expressions of spiritual struggle, which may result in unique relationships with PTSD symptoms. Moreover, studies of spiritual struggle and PTSD to date have been cross sectional, precluding the inference of causal direction in the relationships among trauma, PTSD symptoms, and spiritual struggle (e.g., .Bradley, Schwartz, & Kaslow, 2005). The subscales of spiritual struggle parallel not only negatively-valenced cognitive content, but also cognitive processes for reducing distress after trauma. Differences in the success of the process may explain the differences among subscales in their relations with PTSD symptoms. Negative religious reappraisals may represent over-accommodation (e.g., God is no longer powerful), assimilation (e.g., God is punishing me for something I did), or accommodation (e.g., evil forces cause negative events, but God and most others are benevolent).

Some clients may benefit from treatments designed for spiritual struggles (e.g., Cole & Pargament, 1999; Murray-Swank & Pargament, 2005). Effectiveness of such treatments may lie in allowing victims to alter the meaning of their trauma in order to view the world, themselves, and a higher power in more benevolent and flexible ways. At Time 1, participants reported their history of trauma exposure using the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ; Kubany et al., 2000) in order to anchor the baseline PTSD symptoms (see below) to an event. The TLEQ assesses the occurrence of 22 potentially traumatic events (e.g., life-threatening illness) and asks participants to indicate whether they experienced fear, helplessness, or horror in response to the event, in accordance with diagnostic criteria for PTSD (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Like negative post-traumatic cognitions about the self, others, and the world, the construct of spiritual struggle represents negative religious cognitions about the self, God, and the world, and may thereby lead to PTSD symptoms. Spiritual struggle consists of maladaptive religious cognitions about the cause of, responsibility for, and future implications of stressful events, paralleling secular cognitions known to be factors in the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms (e.g., Brewin & Holmes, 2003).

malady

Thankfully, the “spiritual malady” is no longer a “missing piece” of Step One for me. It is a reality of my powerlessness and unmanageability and enables me to see why I so desperately need to seek a Power Greater than myself. And unless this malady is recognized, and a course of action (the Twelve Steps) is taken to enable God to remove it, the root of our alcoholic illness can lie dormant and burn us when we least expect it.

David Roger Clawson, M.D., is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician with an interest in natural prevention and healing strategies for health and wellness. Foundational to this practice is the understanding of threat and defensive physiology versus safety and restorative physiology. Most of us hate to deal with negative thoughts or emotions—it just doesn’t feel good.

The Spiritual Malady

Until trauma-related information is reconciled with prior beliefs, symptoms of PTSD persist while the trauma remains in active memory (Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979). In their book, not only do they talk about alcoholism, they also touch upon Depression, Anxiety, Suicidal Ideation, PTSD, fatal illness, poor health, business failures, TOP 10 BEST Sober Living Homes in Boston, MA January 2024 non-working/dead personal relationships – a whole array of issues still bedeviling folks today. Undoubtedly, the shadow network is reflected in our threat physiology—from our DNA to our predictive codes to our traumatic memories to our suppressions and repressions—and plays a large part in behavior, illness, disease, and aging.

The practice of compassion is a spiritual experience with a spillover benefit—compassion breeds more compassion. Scientific research provides evidence that the experience of compassion toward a single https://g-markets.net/sober-living/oxford-house-recovery-homes-characteristics-and/ individual facilitates compassion toward others. Empirical data also demonstrates that our sense of compassion increases measurably when we can find commonality and connection with others.

Each of these fundamental states is reflected in our molecular makeup and mitochondrial, cellular, and metabolic functions, and reflected in our intercellular, hormonal, neural, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, immunologic, endocrinologic, psychologic, sociologic networks, as well as, in our spiritual network. All treatment calls are accepted by drug and alcohol centers advertising with the Call Affiliate LLC network. Alcoholics Anonymous often makes reference to the publication of WIlliam James, “The Varieties of Religious Experiences,” which was published in 1902.