You may think of recovery as a solely clinical process. However, to recover is to make major life changes. True recovery includes not just treatment but self-reflection and inner shifts. Recovery includes looking at each layer of your daughter’s life, including her mental, physical, and spiritual health. When people hear the words spiritual health, they may get stuck on connotations or struggles they have had in the past with religion. But spiritual strength and health come from the same inner place where self-reflection resides. Spiritual strength can incorporate any beliefs you and your daughter currently have. Regardless of your daughter’s beliefs, Clearview believes it is important to address her spiritual life during recovery.
We explore spirituality through faith and conversations with peers. However, it doesn’t always have to look like that. Spirituality is about the part of your daughter’s inner self that is yearning for more. It is about exploring her inner purpose and focusing her energy on that purpose. Working to understand spirituality can further your daughter’s place in the world and help her feel more connected to the world around her. This can inspire purpose and a greater internal drive to be healthy.
Spiritual Strength and Health
Spirituality of some form has been a part of addiction recovery for a long time. Within alcoholics Anonymous (AA), there is a focus on a higher power. Surrendering to this higher power can encourage a sense of serenity, direction, purpose, and well-being while working through the 12-Step program. This higher power is often classified and referred to as “God,” but it doesn’t have to be called that.
The 12-Step program also requires your daughter to lean on herself to make changes. Many programs that include spiritual influence use it as a means to incite internal discovery. Looking within and recognizing the problems or issues that may be there allows your daughter to “give it to God” or let go of the pain. This process of surrendering also encourages personal responsibility.
Spirituality is a part of each human, whether or not they are religious. It is important to note that spirituality can mean anything from turning to God or nature and finding a greater purpose beyond the self. These things encourage forward movement forward toward a healthier path.
Not Just Religion
As we’ve been discussing, spirituality is not just religion. It is about finding a greater need within oneself and focusing on that. To many, that inner place is a connection to God. For others, it is simply about living a better lifestyle.
Whatever your daughter’s beliefs, spirituality can help her build community and focus on that which is greater than herself. However, spirituality can also be mindfulness and appreciation of the natural world. Anything that propels your daughter to look outside of herself and into her soul can be spiritually healing. The process of looking within encourages her to become the person she needs to be and helps her seek purpose in her life.
Finding Purpose Through Spiritual Strength
If your daughter is struggling with mental health or addiction, it can feel like she has lost her way. This can lead to her relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms and people who are harmful. Many times people who struggle with addiction or mental health may feel the desire to live a better life, but they don’t know where to start. Spiritual strength provides that focus and purpose that helps us move forward. Whether that focus is religion or something within, focusing on this allows someone to have something greater to move toward.
An article published by Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly explains that having meaning and purpose “provides context that is essential to understand and successfully cope with life’s difficulties.”
When your daughter has a purpose beyond herself, this allows her to understand and cope with things that are hard to deal with in life. When her focus is on spirituality, she will have the internal strength necessary to make major changes and move past turmoil. Having a purpose propels people to do what they want to do and live the values they aspire to.
What Spirituality Can Do for Recovery
In short, spiritual strength is important for recovery. Recovery can be a difficult process that requires a lot of effort from your daughter. Knowing why she is doing something and having the motivation to follow through will allow your daughter to make the changes she needs to make. It can feel difficult for teenagers to see the other side and not feel hopeless. Spirituality can give them the extra push and motivation that they need.
Clearview Horizon Girls Academy offers a spiritual life for all girls who come and stay with us. Whether or not your daughter identifies as a Christian, these moments will allow contemplation and connection with her peers. Through our spiritual services, girls work to understand more about the world around them and gain a deeper sense of purpose. They are never forced to participate; instead, they are encouraged and welcomed as they are. This investment leads to deeper healing, and in turn, a path toward long-term recovery.
When your daughter is struggling, it is important to find her care that will approach healing from all angles. Recovery is not just treated with medical intervention; it should also encourage internal changes. Many recovery facilities use spiritual strength to facilitate these changes. Once your daughter begins looking inward, she can find purpose and meaning in her life. That purpose and meaning will encourage her to make better decisions and work toward a healthier life. Finding a care team and facility that meets all of your daughter’s various needs is important. If your daughter is struggling and could benefit from therapeutic and spiritual intervention, Clearview can help. Get in touch today at 866-584-4788.
