When does sobriety become a realistic alternative to using drugs and alcohol? How do executives and managers know when social drinking becomes heavy drinking, and then becomes impossible to stop? If we have sunk so low how can recognize a deep spiritual crisis?
Spiritual crises happen to us every day. Most of them are sufficiently low grade, devoid of enduring consequences, so we pay no attention and keep on rolling. A spiritual crisis occurs when our identity, our roles, our values, or our road map are substantially called into question, prove ineffective, or are overwhelmed by experience that cannot be contained by our understandings of self and world.
What Matters Most: Living a More Considered Life by James Hollis
In the throes of addiction we lose our identity. We pretend to be whom and what we believe will protect our addiction. Protecting our addiction, our supply, our freedom to use, becomes our overarching consideration.
We hide our use from coworkers and friends because we are afraid they will ask questions about our behavior. More difficult is hiding our use from family. We will suffer any indignity or embarrassment if it means our habit is protected. We may not want to use anymore, but we cannot imagine stopping our habit.
As we sink further into this progressive disease, we no longer fulfill our roles at work or at home, nor do we maintain the values we believe in. Our plan for our life becomes a delusion, and we begin to believe fantasies which any objective person will see are becoming impossible.
It is not necessary to hit complete bottom before getting help. When we have the first stirrings that are problem has become too big for us to handle by ourselves, we can ask for help.
Asking for help is not as difficult as it seems!
Let me know if you have asked for help, or if you need help? Are you ready?
