(ThyBlackMan.com) Dealing with substance abuse is a terror, not only for the person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, it represents a social problem that affects the entire community. This is the main reason why people seek professional help in order to free themselves from the clutches of addiction. However, full recovery is not easy to achieve, as many addicts fail to keep up with their treatments, or simply lose their motivation when the results are not satisfying.
A growing number of addicts turn to religion for solace and strength to fight the illness. This is not a new trend, throughout the entire history, people were looking for spiritual treatments, often mixed with scientific solutions. The power of prayer, combined with medicinal and psychological approach can help addicts find the 
strength to carry out their rehabilitation program until the very end, a full recovery to be exact. Depending on the person in the case, spiritual rehabilitation can focus only on prayer and firm belief in God. Is faith alone enough to help fight off the addiction? What does it mean to undergo a spiritual rehabilitation program? Let’s take a closer look at some facts and see the answers for ourselves.
Faith as both motivation and tool
It’s not easy to face yourself and admit that you’re an addict and in dire need of help. This is the first step towards healing and once we cross that bridge a new challenge awaits. According to some studies, the number of people in need of rehabilitation is growing each year, however, the number of people that actually receive treatment is below 2 percent with each age group. There are many reasons why people decline professional help even though they admit to having a drug or alcohol abuse problem. One of the main reasons is the fear of relapse after the hardships of the detox process and withdrawal. Faith-based drug rehabilitation programs allow addicts to reinvent their hope and belief that they are a part of something much larger than themselves, so all the pain and challenges that they face throughout the rehab makes even more sense and provides added motivation instead of chasing the person away from getting much-needed assistance.
Instead of focusing entirely on medicinal issues, these types of institutions allow their patients to find a deeper meaning within themselves and provide more than just health benefits of rehab. For most people, this is a journey that allows them to be closer to their Creator and find the strength to carry out the entire treatment. It’s common for people that undergo drug abuse rehabilitation programs to feel guilt, shame, and self-blame. This can cause additional stress which can make the entire recovery process much more difficult to accomplish. A recent study on this topic showed that highly spiritual addicts observe faith-based rehab as a form of partnership with God, where the addict and the God work together in order to battle the addiction. The message is clear, the patients feel they are not alone in the fight. Through prayer and faith, people are able to let go of their guilt and shame, making the recovery process much easier and serene.
The success of spiritual rehabilitation
The main advantage of faith-based drug treatment centers is that the people who gather there, aren’t connected only through their addiction, they are all deeply spiritual and strong in their faith. This connection is an unbreakable thread that keeps the group together, allowing the participants to comfort and support each other with a profound understanding and care. Basically, people that attend such institutions rely on God and the people around them for support. It helps them find the inner strength to carry on with the medical treatment, which is an important aspect of the entire program.
However, facing the addiction using simply medicinal approach can lead to more problems than solutions. The largest risk is using medications often prescribed during rehabilitation, which can change one addiction for a completely new one. Statistics and research show that more than 54 million Americans abuse prescription drugs, and the number is growing. One of the reasons for this type of situation lies in the fact that rehab costs a lot of money, so government funded Arizona drug rehab centers measure their success rate simply by taking into account the number of people that finish their program. This kind of statistics doesn’t reveal the true picture regarding the number of successfully rehabilitated patients. Many people bounce back after the rehab or switch one addiction for a new one.
On the other hand, there is a number of free faith-based rehab centers that seek to help their patients spiritually, focusing their attention on the psychological approach and healing through faith. A research conducted at New York School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry confirmed that spiritual rehabilitation that, as opposed to various other rehabilitation methods, engages recruits in a “social system that promotes new and transcendent meaning in their lives” allows the possibility to define the diagnosis of addiction and the criteria for recovery in spiritually oriented terms.
Conclusion
Drug and alcohol addiction is a vicious disease that knows no age, sex, or race. It is a sinister enemy that overtakes our lives and brings sorrow not only to the afflicted person, but to everyone around, and the entire society. It’s both a medicinal and social issue that can only be prevented by a firm belief in yourself and strong faith in God. Christian rehabilitation centers offer the healing of both body and soul through a sincere belief in the omnipotence of the Creator and the power of our faith.
Staff Writer; Larry Day