PERSONAL VIEWS ON RECOVERY

PERSONAL VIEWS ON RECOVERY Personal Views Page

(This page will carry from time to time the personal views of some of our members on issues which they believe are important in the recovery process. Our present policy is that these authors will remain anonymous and will be limited to members of the Washington, D.C. Area SMART groups. They do not necessarily reflect positions either of the Washington, D.C. Area SMART groups, nor its National Headquarters. Comments are welcomed.)

Religion and Recovery

Advocates of religion often suggest a positive connection between religious faith and abstention from drugs and alcohol. This connection has been raised again recently by some seemingly objective new scientific studies suggesting a positive correlation between religious beliefs and church, synagogue or mosque attendance and less addiction. (Note, incidentally, that a higher rate of abstention from drug/alcohol use is not the same as a higher recovery rate. Recovery rates obviously refer to a much smaller population, i.e., people who have experienced addiction and later were no longer addicted; they may also include persons using alcohol non-addictively.)

What should be the attitude toward such assertions by those of us in SMART Recovery, who emphasize individual effort and responsibility, using rational means, rather than a Higher Power or other outside forces as an alternative solution to the problem of addiction?

Part of the answer lies in understanding that the Rational/Emotive Behavior Therapy principles we use in SMART Recovery emphasize a particular use of the word "rational" in our discussions: it refers to something which promotes and enhances our individual selves, allowing us to live up to our full human potential. Beliefs which are rational in this sense are those which are "self-helping", and not always necessarily "rational" in common parlance. Irrational beliefs, by contrast, are self-defeating or self-hindering beliefs. Clearly, beliefs which encourage recovery from addiction fall into the "self-helping" category.

It seems to me that this distinction can be helpful in trying to understand what our attitude should be toward religion as a part of recovery. I myself am not a believer, and preach---if I can use that word---in the groups I attend the need for self-awareness, acceptance of responsibility and the power of the individual to change, rather than dependence on a Higher Power. My personal belief is that outside forces neither caused my earlier addiction, nor could they free me from it.

But I recognize that for some---including some in our SMART Recovery groups, not just in AA or other faith-based recovery groups---religion continues to be a powerful force in their lives and can be a positive agent in promoting freedom from addiction. Faith-based religion is by common understanding in its very nature "irrational," but it can be regarded in some instances as "rational" in the REBT sense mentioned above. I don't mean in the narrow sense of preaching hellfire and damnation to discourage users and abusers of alcohol (which sometimes can actually produce more rather than less addiction!), but as part of developing a positive lifestyle where drinking/drugging is not present.

Obviously this positive religiously-oriented lifestyle is something which the person has to choose for her- or himself. No one is suggesting that such beliefs have to be forced on people, even if it were proven that a change in beliefs would result in less addiction. But if people are inclined toward religion, this should not be discouraged as a part of the solution to the problem of their addictions. I would add further a cautionary note here that SMART Recovery as I understand it is very much in the business of changing beliefs, however, and I don't consider any area taboo in terms of getting people to re-examine their beliefs, including religion, where this can promote recovery.

Furthermore, the debate about individual responsibility vs. environmental determinism, i.e., "nature" vs. "nurture," has some relevance to this discussion. We can probably all agree that a decision a person can make which would improve her/his recovery prospects would be to stop going to bars and/or drug scenes. This decision is self-determined, but at the same time it recognizes that environment can have a trigger effect on urges the person may have, and thus seeks to avoid this effect. The same is true about getting a job, having a steady and committed partner, having children, going to church, etc., and other stabilizing elements in one's life. If it is demonstrated through objective scientific studies that these factors correlate with recovery from addiction, then I think it is worthwhile for individuals interested in recovery to examine them as possibilities in their own lives. SMART Recovery in fact bases much of its pragmatic program on the results of such objective scientific studies.

When a person's belief systems clash with these actions, other solutions must be sought. Since I am not a theist, I am interested in the notion that there are other life-organizing structures which can provide the same sort of stability which religion can and frequently does. I refer here not just to humanism or non-religious philosophical groups, but secular organizations devoted to causes in which the individual deeply believes and provide a focus for one's life. Whether one wishes to define this stability as "a sense of meaning in one's life," or simply the feeling of being alive, is up to the individual. The critical factor for recovery from addiction is its "rationality", i.e., does it further the person's long-term goals, prominent among which will be the desire to be free from addiction.

This is Essay No. 11, issued September, 1999.

Previous Essays

July, 1999--Can People Who Are Not Committed to Abstinence Attend SMART Meetings?

March, 1999--Recovery Is Not a Four-Day Course

January, 1999--SMART Recovery in a Nutshell

November, 1998--Other Roads to Recovery

September, 1998--How I Re-Thought My Beliefs on My "Alcoholism"

July, 1998--Why Do People Join SMART Recovery?

May, 1998--A Critique of PBS' Bill Moyers on Addiction

March, 1998--Should People With Gambling or Overeating Disorders Be Welcome At SMART Meetings?

January, 1998--Differences Between SMART and AA

November, 1997--Fifty Ways to Recover

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