by Jennifer Southern

When it comes to facing major illness - whether physical or mental - there seems to be two separate camps, each competing to gain our trust: mainstream medicine, and the world of alternative health. It can feel like no overlap is permitted between the two, let alone a sober, clear-eyed view of the possibilities which includes facets of each. Many people are drawn to alternative health because some practitioners accept the effect the metaphysical aspects of illness can have on us, and vice versa. However, this view of metaphysical illness is often reduced to vague spirituality, particularly in the instance of addiction. Even leaving aside the twelve step programs and their commitment to a higher power, there’s an astonishing number of “spiritual” addiction and recovery programs, and an even more astonishing lack of diversity. To make matters more complicated, the history of serious metaphysics has also been, at times, a history of serious drug use. For anyone searching for a metaphysical and spiritual approach to addiction and recovery, the pickings can appear very slim indeed.

Discovering The Deep Roots

In order to confront our addictions, we have to come to grips with what has brought us to this point in the first place. So many people have a skewed, love-hate view of their addictions; either they’re a best friend and a comfort when you’re in need, or they’re a demon on your back. The truth is somewhere in between, of course. While addictions can destroy our lives, they still fulfill something inside of us which we need deeply. To see this writ large, look at societal addictions like the reliance on fossil fuels. Despite the damage they’re doing to us and the environment, fossil fuels fulfil a need, and getting off of that particular sauce is more complicated than simply deciding we won’t use them anymore. The same goes for our own personal addictions; our efforts at recovery are doomed to failure if we don’t recognize and confront the needs which fuel them. Sometimes these needs are obvious, while others can be more difficult to root out - some people struggling with addiction have realized that their primary need is for a community, which addiction can appear to provide. While both alternative and mainstream medicine both recognize this view, it can be difficult to find the spiritual and emotional support needed in order to confront what we need but cannot find.

Rebuilding A Sense Of Self

One of the most promising developments in addiction recovery is the growing support for art therapy in rehabilitation centers nationwide. Art therapy works on a number of levels, including a more traditional form of analysis therapy, but one intriguing facet is its ability to help people construct a new sense of self. Addiction can become all-consuming, to the point that we forget who we are; these aren’t just empty words, but a real and terrifying occurrence. Instead of being a person who is creative and has a dry sense of humour, someone who likes roses because we have a memory of a garden from when we were small, we become a person who is an addict, full stop. Art therapy, especially in a group setting, can allow for the recognition of a new self: someone who is an addict, but who is also artistic and who feels deeply, and who can give and accept both praise and constructive criticism. This is just one way of rebuilding our sense of self, but its growing acceptance by mainstream medicine and rehabilitation clinics is a promising sign that the spiritual element of addiction is being taken more seriously than it once was.

Rebuilding A Life

Once the physical symptoms of rehabilitation have ceased, people struggling with addictions still have a mountain left to climb. Their future will be full of pitfalls and the potential for relapse, particularly if they return to the same life - friends, home, work, and hobbies - that they lived before. To truly escape addiction, it is critical to fill your life with new things; even keeping the same furniture can encourage relapse. This is the point at which spiritual and metaphysical support can prove the most important and useful, and yet is often the point where both mainstream and alternative medicine start moving away from their patients. Twelve step programs are an obvious solution, but with luck there will soon be more diversity soon.

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See also: Gabor Mate, What is Addiction?