Updated: Mar 20, 2023
Arranging your life in accordance with the will of our Creator is a key to overcoming mental health issues associated with depression, anxiety, and addiction. Through alternative methods which encourage wellness and spiritual obedience, you can successfully navigate your struggles. Seek these changes to be at peace in your new, clean lifestyle.
Treat your Whole Being
We often think of depression and addiction as a physical or mental failing. Rather, it’s a sickness of one’s whole being. It is a gradual erosion, with the person becoming increasingly dependent on negative thoughts, worry, or even a substance to attempt to fill a void. Therefore, recovery requires that a person treat the whole being and not neglect any aspect thereof. By learning a new, complete and full lifestyle, those suffering from a variety of mental issues can successfully recover and navigate future challenges.
Refocus Your Mind
Some scientific research indicates immersing oneself in consistent pursuit of spiritual enlightenment is essential to successful recovery, and relying on the Higher Power provides structure and focus to one’s days. Prayer is shown to help navigate stress, promote a more optimistic outlook, increase hopefulness, and add to one’s feelings of well-being and security.
Some suggest that through meditation and seeking God’s Will, your perception clears and your understanding of generosity and love, including the forgiveness of oneself, are enhanced. Through spiritual engagement, you can receive a physical response. You experience the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain, which can help recover from the negativity posed by depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Work is Important
From the book of Genesis, the Bible has treated work as a gift from God. Work holds us accountable and allows us to give back to our fellow man. When working a traditional job isn’t feasible due to time constraints, home-based businesses are an excellent alternative. These “gig jobs” allow for flexibility and less stress, so that recovery can move forward and healing can begin.
Refocus Your Body
Pursuing a lifestyle of obedience means avoiding overindulgence. By training our bodies toward healthy pursuits instead of making decadent decisions is in accordance with God’s Will. For instance, the American Holistic Health Association notes that addicts benefit from embracing a healthy nutrition and physical fitness program, and that can be just as beneficial to those struggling with depression. God can use your consumption of nutritious foods to strengthen your body’s immune system, improve your outlook and mood, restore the body’s balance and function, and augment the natural process of detoxification during recovery. It’s possible to get one-on-one counseling to learn how your diet can affect your recovery.
Through exercise, God can improve recovery in several important ways. Exercise can enhance one’s mood, improve the quality of sleep, add to one’s energy level, and reduce stress. Since exercise teaches patience and motivation, it can encourage one to look at one’s life in new, positive ways.With regular exercise, you also provide a healthy outlet for negative emotions. Dance, kickboxing, and yoga are great ways of releasing pent-up feelings. Remember that if you work out at home, it’s important to keep your exercise space free of clutter. Believe it or not, clutter can actually cause a spike in your anxiety levels, which can work against both your exercise routine and your addiction recovery.
Ask For Help
It’s important for recovering addicts to engage professional assistance in designing a recovery program. Start by going online and researching nearby treatment services. It’s also wise to speak with your doctor before embarking on your search. While treating the whole person and relying on our Creator are keys, the guidance of a counselor or behavioral therapist are necessary for establishing your new path. Avoid attempting treatments and recovery on your own. Instead, let someone teach you and lead you through the journey.
Trust God
Treating an addiction must be a whole-person experience. For success, one must treat the mind, body, and soul. With the help of our Creator and a well-planned recovery program, you can find balance in your life.
If you’re searching for a beacon of hope and a place of love, joy, and acceptance, visit Our Lady and St John the Baptist today. Thank you to our guest speaker Camille Johnson at Bereaver
Updated: Mar 20, 2023
Prayer is a powerful practice. Perhaps you’ve always felt a little better after praying, but you couldn’t quite figure out what made it so soothing. As it turns out, you’re not imagining things – prayer really does have significant physical and psychological effects.
Here’s why prayer can benefit your overall well-being, as well as tips on how to pray more often, presented below by Our Lady and St John the Baptist.
Physical Benefits
The idea that prayer benefits your physical health might seem surprising - but it’s true! Research indicates that praying regularly does support your physical health. Everyday Health states that people with serious conditions such as congestive heart failure who prayed frequently often lived longer than those with the same condition, and people who pray are also less likely to relapse if they are recovering from substance abuse.
Improved Mental Health
Prayer can also have a positive impact on your mental health. Southern Living states that when you pray, you may notice your stress levels dropping. Prayer can also help people struggling with their mental health, as well. Those who are suffering from depression or anxiety can often find some relief through prayer. Overall, prayer can help you tackle difficult life events and challenges.
Healthy Habits
As you pray regularly, the improvements you notice in regard to your physical health might motivate you to make some lifestyle changes. For instance, you may want to start going to bed earlier, take daily walks, or incorporate more exercise into your usual schedule. But what if you’re pressed for time because you’ve been extra busy at work lately? Try to stay active throughout the day - you can take the stairs rather than the elevator, walk during your lunch breaks, or do gentle yoga before bed.
Structured Routine
What if you only pray sporadically? Or what if you haven’t prayed in months or years because you were struggling with your faith – but now, you want to deepen your faith through prayer? Part of you might feel like you no longer know “how” to pray, or like you won’t know what to say when you do put your hands together in prayer. Having a prayer routine can help you simply make prayer a part of your daily life, and it will start to feel natural again.
How can you go about creating a prayer routine? Prayer Coach recommends creating a cue, like your morning alarm, establishing a specific habit, like writing in a prayer journal, and then focusing on the emotional reward. If you’re busy, it might seem challenging – but remember, you can pray at any time! You don’t have to engage in formal prayers. You can share anything on your mind when you pray.
Community Connections
If you’ve continued to develop your prayer life, you might find yourself craving the company of a faith community. Sometimes, prayer can bring you closer to other people who share your faith and shows you that you’re part of a bigger purpose. Maybe you want to pray for others you know, or maybe you want to pray alongside other people. Either way, getting involved with a church or a spiritual group could be a great way to grow in your faith. You may want to go to services at different churches in your area to find a congregation that suits you.
Prayer can be transformative. Even if you’re not praying for anything in particular, it can still be very comforting in the midst of a dark time. When you see how prayer benefits both your mental and physical health, you’ll feel even more motivated to keep up with your prayer life.
By our guest speaker Camille Johnson at www.bereaver.com
Updated: Feb 14, 2023
