Attachment, Resilience & Spirituality: Contexts for Recovery from Addictive Disease

Catalog description

Addiction can be difficult to understand. It is often thought of as simply the result of bad choices, subjecting its sufferers to blame and shame. Its consequences are severe and unintended and the road to recovery is rarely smooth. Most diseases reap love and support from family and friends. These connections provide a sense of future and hope while building the sufferer’s confidence in their ability to overcome the challenge. For those struggling with addiction, however, connectionis supplanted by alienation, hope is lost, and an already fragile sense of self is further ravaged by shame and guilt. The work of recovery requires re-constructing a sense of self and finding meaning and purpose in one’s life. This course will examine the centrality of this process in sustained recovery. Themes of attachment, spirituality, and resilience will be explored as contexts for recovery.