Monday, April 25, 2011

Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Disease

The disease of alcoholism and drug addiction are not like any other disease. It is what is called a three fold disease. For many of us, we lost our morals, spirit, and values first and then we started having physical problems. Hangovers, liver problems, just to name a few. When we get sober, the three components of the disease come back in the opposite order.

After a short period of time we start to feel physically better. We can fall asleep and wake up for work. We don't have hangovers anymore. Often times this can be dangerous if that is all we were looking for because the chemicals we were putting into our bodies will tell our minds that it wasn't that bad. It tells us that we can now work, and be part of life. As the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" tells us, "alcohol is a subtle foe." What that is telling us is that there is more than just the physical aspect of sobriety. What that is also telling us is that we have to get to the root of the problem. Why did we drink in the first place? Why would we destroy our lives? The good news is that the answer is in the 12 steps of the fellowships of AA/NA. If practiced as a way of life, we can expel the obsession to use drugs and alcohol.

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