Checking yourself into a drug and alcohol rehab doesn’t guarantee that you’ll successfully break your addiction, but it does greatly improve your chances.
If you’ve tried this in the past and failed, it’s quite understandable why you might be hesitant to try again, but you never know when it will finally be your time.
In fact, did any of your previous attempts to get clean and sober involve a faith-based recovery program? If not, this might be your key to finally breaking your addiction.
Some faith based recovery programs have success rates as high as 87.5%, and statistics show that people who complete faith-based programs generally stay clean and sober for longer periods of time than people who used other types of programs.
Does this interest you? Are you ready to learn more about how these programs work? If so, keep reading as I explain some of the key parts of a faith-based recovery program.
Faith-Based Recovery Programs Use Traditional Recovery Methods
When you enter a faith-based program, you will have an emphasis on faith in God but this is not the only strategy and method used in a program like this.
These programs utilize most of the basic principles and methods used by other types of treatment facilities.
Here are some of the methods used by almost all types of treatment centers, including faith-based ones:
Detoxification
Just about any drug and alcohol rehab you go to will offer assistance through the detoxification program as it’s a necessary step in breaking free from addiction.
Detoxification is often one of the hardest steps in recovery, primarily because of the withdrawal symptoms you’ll likely experience during it. Once you’re through it, though, you won’t have to go through it again.
Therapy
All types of recovery centers also use therapy as a vital part of breaking an addiction. This may include both individual therapy sessions and group sessions.
Therapy helps you learn more about why you formed the addiction and why the substance is such a controlling factor in your brain.
Therapy also helps you work through issues from your past that may be traumatic in nature. Events like this often lead to addictions and therapy is quite helpful in healing from wounds like this.
Coping Mechanisms and Skills
Learning coping mechanisms and skills is another integral part of most recovery programs – whether they are faith-based or not. By learning how to cope with triggers and desires for drugs or alcohol, you can have a way out.
Putting the skills you learn into practice when you leave the treatment center and enter back into real life can improve your chances of staying clean.
Faith-Based Centers Also Incorporate Faith Into Recovery
The key difference you’ll find with faith-based recovery is the addition of faith into the equation. You’ll still have access to all the common treatment methods used but you’ll also incorporate faith into your addiction recovery.
Faith in a “higher power” is something used with Alcoholics Anonymous and many other recovery groups, and this is the same principle with a faith-based program.
The higher power with a faith-based program is God.
Utilizing God and faith in God can make a huge difference with your treatment. When you realize that living life without God is what has caused a major void in your heart and life, you can slowly build a relationship with Him to fill that void.
As you do this, you might start seeing life as a bigger picture. You might start viewing yourself with more dignity. You might also start seeing that you have a purpose here on this earth.
It’s also common for people to realize that the reason they turned to drugs or alcohol is because they were living a life without God and without faith. They realize they went after substances to fill this void yet felt even emptier as a result.
Through a faith-based program, you can learn a variety of coping strategies, too, that could truly make a difference in your ability to stay clean and sober after leaving.
Here are some of the key strategies you can learn and use:
Meditation and Prayer
Learning how to meditate and pray to God is a practice that is calming and soothing. It helps you slow down and think things through. It helps you clear your mind. It helps you seek wisdom, guidance, and help from God.
The best part about these things is that you can do them no matter where you are.
Living a Selfless Life
Secondly, faith-based programs are great for teaching you how to live a selfless life. This basically means that you learn to take your eyes off yourself and put them on others.
Utilizing this principle may involve donating your time to serving others. When you focus on serving others, you can find more fulfillment than living a life that is all about serving your self and your own needs.
Trusting That God Has a Plan for Your Life
You can also learn how to trust God and why this is so vital for your recovery. When you feel the sense that God is real and is working for you, you can have more confidence that He also has a plan and purpose for your life.
Putting your faith and your recovery in a higher power can make a huge difference in your life both now and in the future.
Help Is Vital for Breaking an Addiction
There’s no doubt about it – breaking an addiction is hard. But, it is also worth it for so many reasons.
You should consider checking out faith-based recovery programs if you’re looking for a different approach to recovery.
If you’d like to learn more about this approach and others, check out our blog for more helpful and insightful articles on this subject.
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