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Mental Health, Christianity & Addiction Help

Mental Health and Christianity

What is the right viewpoint for getting help for addiction?

With so much of a focus on mental health in addiction treatment, the question is where is the place for medical help and medicinal support inside a Christian approach? As a Christian organization, we believe the issues people face are systemic. This means they cover all aspects to the human experience: body, soul (emotions, thoughts and choices), and spirit. Without understanding the relationship with these three areas, it becomes literally impossible to diagnose the root problems accurately.  Mental Health is real

If we only seize on the latest and greatest medical research, we can leave out vital parts. Medical doctors look at the physical and tangible parts of the human body. They assess the organic brain and look at the dysfunction and the damage addiction causes. There is nothing wrong with that approach but diagnosing the existence of a physical condition as a symptom, is very different then understanding why it ended up there in the first place.

Ultimately, doctors are trained to treat with medicine, to fix through surgical procedures or to somehow reverse conditions. Thus, when addiction becomes a medical issue, it will be handled in this manner.  Sadly, we are seeing more and more Christians leaning in this direction out of desperation and need. It’s not that it is totally wrong, but it discounts other vital parts.

Treating the symptom instead of the underlying cause

If a person is diagnosed with depression, for example, but has never dealt with or processed through deeply painful issues and trauma of the past, how would a person get better? Then a doctor determines that medication alone is the answer, so a pill is prescribed….  Is that wrong? Not necessarily, but what about all that stuff they are still carrying? Couldn’t it be possible that the pill is just masking and burying the pain instead of dealing with it? Mental Health

These are the areas where a balanced approach needs to be applied. People are unique, and they carry unique problems. At New Life Spirit Recovery, we get into the mess and the reality of what people are carrying inside of them. We interact with that in a variety of ways. Medical and physiological issues are assessed properly. We don’t over-medicate, or under medicate. We medicate where the real need is defined (only for co-occurring program).

But most people have emotional pain that lies behind addiction. When the substance is removed, that pain comes crashing back – and this is where people are vulnerable to relapse. We believe, that true healing is walking through that pain to eliminate the source of it, rather than medicate over it.

Going through the process of healing involves dumping the “garbage” of their condition to apply a long-term solution. This happens through grief and trauma therapy, forgiveness and finding acceptance of others and self. It is driven by the resources of God’s grace, His love and His power. This is not religion! Religion says “this is what you need to do to make God happy so He will help you.” At New Life, we believe God is saying to people, “I want you to come as you are, and give me the deepest pain, regret, shame and hurt you carry. That is where I will heal you”.  Mental Health can kill

Some ways we accomplish this:  Mental Health help

    • We help clients define the root of pain and heal it accordingly – not simply mask the pain but resolve why it is there. We use clinical protocols and spiritual tools to accomplish this. Christianity and Addiction Treatment
    • We help clients find new and better ways to overcome the hardships of life other than medicating the pain. This happens through the introduction of the tools of grief, emotional processing, forgiveness and the receiving of God’s power and His peace.  Mental Health
    • We help clients be aware of what’s broken, missing and vulnerable in life. Treatment should define areas of need and help develop plans to overcome those vulnerable places. Christianity and Addiction Treatment

Addiction is overcome through healthy connection

In totality, the most influential need in a person’s life lies in the area of connection. We are created to be in relationship with God, with ourselves (in a healthy way) and with each other. The ability to give and receive relational resources and intimacy with other people and God is what the human heart craves. We are born with an inbred need to be loved, accepted and to belong. Addiction is simply a false system to bypass that need and trick the body to bring false pleasure or numbing in a moment.  Mental Health

The Christian approach isn’t based on moral living, following rules or being good. Rather, it’s about finding the REAL CONNECTION and feeding the heart what it needs to live whole and healthy, minus substance.

Do you know what you or your family needs in a treatment program? That depends on what you think real healing means  Mental Health

Are you on the fence trying to decide what is right for your situation? If you are a spiritual creation, made in the image of God, it’s safe to say that a spiritual solution MUST be included!  Don’t believe that a medical solution and a pill are the total solution. The total solution comes through God setting hearts back to Him, healing relationships, helping the heart to process pain, forming vision and hope for the future and giving people a new beginning. It may involve medication, but more often than not it doesn’t.

Call us today for a free assessment. We will give you a specific protocol for you or your loved one it, personalize it, and introduce tangible solutions. You or your family will gain more than sobriety – but inner peace, freedom and wholeness.  Christianity helps

Don’t wait – call today! Mental Health Assistance

Our clinical directors are well known published authors whose materials are used throughout the country and even the world.  New Life Spirit Recovery was established in 2005 and has been recognized by many credible ministries such a Focus on the Family and Calvary Chapel.  Christianity is real

We’re Here to Help  Mental Health

Are you or a friend in need of help? Please contact us or give us a call today: (866) 543-3361  for Christianity

For additional resources, click here   Mental Health

For Family resources, click here

Mental Health Christianity 

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Addiction’s well hidden “cause”

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The “cause” can be well hidden!

Addiction is a manifestation of something going on much deeper within, an expression of a problem that becomes an additional part of the problem, taking on a life of its own, when the initial problem is not properly dealt with.

Addiction knows no bounds.  It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, employed or jobless, a pastor or prisoner, homeowner or homeless, he’ll take whoever he can get.  The real culprit has everyone playing the “blame game” while he lurks in the shadows preying on God’s creation.

Everyone involved (the addict, family members, employer, etc.) are literal victims in this battle, whether they realize it or not, and are all part of the enemy’s agenda.  Hope appears only when we’re able to see the problem for what it really is and begin to understand there is a solution.

Brokenness is fertile ground for an addiction to thrive, comes in various forms, always has a cause, and manifests in a variety of unpredictable ways. One thing is consistent, the instigator, the underlying culprit is always the same.  He comes to steal, kill and destroy lives. Unfortunately, he works through people, places and things as he influences all sorts of ungodly behavior, and in most cases, remains hidden.

Spiritual battles are never won with physical weapons alone. Humans are three-part beings consisting of a body, a soul (life within) and a spirit. Since all three are part of, all are involved, all are affected, and all three areas require proper attention if wholeness in healing is expected.

If you are struggling or someone you know is struggling in the grips of an addiction, we can help!  Call 866.543.3361 today or visit us at www.newlifespiritrecovery.com for supportive resources and treatment options, including a free intervention book. We are leaders in Christ centered, clinically based addiction treatment for men and women since 2005.

www.newlifespiritrecovery.com

#NewLifeSpiritRecovery #HopeDealer #FocusOnTheFamily #FindRecovery #OpioidCrisis #OpioidEpidemic #FindHope #AddictionHelp #FindFreedom #ChristianRehab #ChristianDrugRehab #CelebrateRecovery

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Uprooting old systems

Looking at rooted issues in life may seem backwards but the roots drive what is happening in the here and now.

“Most of us are unaware of how deep our methods of self-protection and survival run. We often developed unhealthy roots that have dug down and formed internal mindsets that dictated the way we see life, relationships, and our identity. As we grow, life experiences drive these roots deeper and produce wrongful fruits: fear, anger, discord, bitterness, drinking, drugs, codependency, love addiction, anxiety, inferiority, depression, people pleasing are merely fruits. As we are driven further away from our ordained purpose by harmful behaviors and emotions, we lose touch with the nature of God’s redemptive heart, and the perspective He houses toward us.

Many times, we want to change our “fruit” without the comprehension of how deep that fruit links with the rooted system. We, in essence, want to plant over areas in our lives with the “good stuff” we hope to attain, only to continually experience failure. Not understanding that we can’t plant something new where deeper rooted systems were already formed, we wrongly conclude that healthy growth is impossible or that we are stuck in our circumstances with no way out. Misunderstanding the nature of God’s love and the power He claims on our behalf, we do not walk with the authority to overcome; but we live as though we are spiritual paupers – having a Heavenly Father, but being unable to live under His promises.

It’s not that God can’t emerge us into our design, but rather that we need to uproot sometimes before that positive growth can occur. Looking at the rooted issues in our life may seem backwards, but it drives what is happening in the here and now. You can chop the fruit off a tree, but until it’s roots are eliminated, it will continue to grow back. So it is with the “fruit” we eliminated in our own lives.

While looking at roots is imperative, it’s not enough. God calls us out of bondage by speaking vision, destiny, and purpose into our lives. He gives us a picture of our potential; much like viewing the eventual fruit meant to be harvested from a tiny seed. So just as God comes to uproot, He comes to plant you into your original design. God never paints a picture of our future with doom and gloom; He has a redemptive scope on our life. God may not immediately change or fix what’s wrong; but He places His grace on to our situation and somehow, someway, He can resurrect life and goodness in the very places of pain and destruction. “
Thrive, Spirit of Life Recovery

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Goal setting: Where the practical meets the miraculous.

Most all of the work that needs to be accomplished in our lives happens in the messy and ordinary routines of life.

 

Sometimes we need God to perform something miraculous in our life; things are that are utterly impossible for us to change without His intervention. God specializes in the field of miracles and absolutely will bypass our natural circumstances in Divine ways. What we can fail to understand is that while God has His part, we have our part. More often, God uses our normal, everyday situation to initiate change. Change typically starts in small increments that increases to larger things. God may inject Himself supernaturally along the way with breakthrough moments to encourage us – but we will not stay there. Most of all the work that needs to be accomplished in our lives happens in the messy and ordinary routines of life.

Think of the Israelites. They had to have the Red Sea parted and all sorts of signs and wonders performed by God before they accessed the pathway of freedom. God opened that pathway, they needed to choose to walk in it. But when they got to the other side of the miracle, there was more work to be done. A journey unfolded in the desert that tested, tried them and prepared them for a new destiny. Through that voyage, there were more choices, and at times a sinking desire to return to comfort of the familiar. The desert even made them doubt God’s direction. God was not surprised, however. He knew that would happen and expected more work needed to be done.
Rest assured when you set out to change you will experience set-backs and will discover the contents of your heart may need cleansing. By writing down some goals, you are staking a claim in an area of your life and saying you are willing to let God orchestrate redemption. If God needs to part your “Red Sea” wait for Him to do that. But in the midst of relying on the miracle, don’t forget the step you need to take right now, today.

-Thrive, Live by Goals

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Breakdown of the Natural and Spiritual life:

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When we seek spiritual solutions to life’s problems, we need to understand how to navigate between the earthly realities we face, and the heavenly perspective God offers. This is typically where things break down. We are in fact human beings, living in a human world and subjected to the cruel realities of life’s imperfections and pain. We can know what the Bible says, but feel unable to make that into a way of life. Thus, there is a dramatic separation between the natural circumstances of our lives, and the spiritual realities of the Word of God. When we are unable to tap into the spiritual resources of God’s power, the natural circumstances are dominant, and our natural coping mechanisms quickly follow suit. Not only that, we begin to seek the cultural ideas of a true solution, negating and invalidating the power God offers to us as His children. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to have a deeper understanding of our problems, and use resources that address our needs as human beings. We want to remain relevant and real. But at the end of the day, the natural, what we see with our eyes, was created from the spiritual, God’s Kingdom. Jesus is the Creator of all life, and because He possesses authorship, He is the ONLY one qualified to change us. We find this is in Colossians 1:15-17:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see-such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

The essence of our being is spiritual because we were created by a spiritual God with a spiritual purpose. We are not trying to take our human experiences and add God to it. Quite the contrary, we need to unravel our human experience and give it spiritual dominion. From there we can begin to place remedies that are both practical and spiritual according to God’s designs.

In the natural realm, there is very little we can do to change our circumstances, much less our hearts. Despite our best efforts, we do not possess the rightful ingredients to take us into our God prescribed destiny. Not to mention that we are at war with our own flesh, the corrupt world system and a demonic agenda set to destroy God’s purposes. This is why natural weapons won’t work. Even education in and of itself won’t be enough. The outcome of our lives rests completely on the choices we make moment to moment to walk with God or rely on our own resources. Our actions will either be a reaction in our natural, or a response to the Spirit of God living inside us.