Addiction & Grace Book Review Gerald May’s book Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions is a wonderful book that addresses grace, freewill, and forgiveness around addictions. The reader should keep in mind that the book is written from May’s personal views and experience. May (1988) states that he is “neither a trained theologian nor a scriptural scholar [and] this book is full of my own theological assumptions” (p. vi). The book is written to help the reader understand how addiction keeps one’s focus on things other than God. The reader learns about the struggle with sin and how the conflict creates awareness to addictive behavior. While the book offers some great understanding regarding addictions and spirituality, it is also based on a reflection of May’s own personal view and experience with addictions. Definition of Addiction There are many different definitions in which people provide regarding addiction. May (1988) describes that addiction “is a state of compulsion, obsession, or preoccupation that enslaves a person’s will and desire” (p. 14). Individuals who suffer from addiction provide their time and energy toward other things that are not healthy and safe. The book …show more content…
Although we are given free will and choice it is the choice to relinquish ourselves to God and His grace. May (1988) argues that addiction attempts to gain control over the behaviors that lead to shame and guilt. This book may be implemented into counseling to help those struggling between release of addiction and increasing spiritual growth. Ultimately, May (1988) argues that there are three simple ways in stopping addictive behavior results in “don’t do it, refuse to do it, and keep refusing to do it” (p. 178). When clients are able to face the truth of addiction, in their abilities, and longing for God they can begin to fall in love with themselves and the desire to love
In the book, Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions, May explores how addiction develops and can be treated from a psychological, physiological, and spiritual standpoint. This theme is clearly shown throughout the text as it shows addiction from a whole person's perspective. The book covers the development of addiction from desire through the experience of addiction. The key focus is on looking at the matter of addiction from multiple stand points then broken down by explaining how addiction is an issue psychologically, physiologically, and spiritually. By focusing on these three areas, the author is able to present the reader with a clear understanding of addiction from all sides of the problem.
The traditional, abstinence-focused addiction treatment believes that recovery is only possible if the addictive substance is completely removed from the life of the individual it affects. This model is rooted in the concept of addiction as a progressive, chronic and fatal disease that emphasizes inevitable
There are various religious and cultural messages involving sexual addiction. In today’s world sex equals power, everyone is thought to ...
"The message of this book is that recovery from addiction is possible."(Shumway.pg 2). Recovery is an ongoing journey that requires a lot of attention and constant dedication and being sober is only the beginning. In this book experts Sterling Shumway and Thomas Kimball have laid out six principles that help along the journey, which are: Hope, Healthy Coping skills, Achievement and Accomplishment, Maintaining Meaningful Relationships, Unique Identity development, and Reclamation of agency. Using the two 's gathered research, personal stories and various exercises they unlock these principles and explain there complexity at a level of understanding for all the parties in an addicts life. Those who complete these principles become more
Edger, Kailla. Losing the Bond with God Sexual Addiction and Evangelical Men. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger, 2011. Print.
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Addiction is normally thought of as drug abuse and alcoholism but people can also be addicted to things such as gambling and sex as well. The controversy on if addiction is a disease or a choice is a continuous debate. Everyone has an opinion on this topic, one side believes it’s a disease, while the other believes it is a choice. Although addiction has been assumed to be a lack of willpower and a weakness, addiction is actually a complex disease that changes the wiring of the brain. Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior (Leshner.) Both devolping
A big challenge that I will face is deciding which side I will take on a big debate in substance abuse counseling. Some people say that addiction is purely physical, while others disagree and believe that addiction is mostly psychological. Those who believe that it is psychological believe that it usually stems from abuse or as Jane Adams (2003) thinks an over dependence on parents. This side also says that addiction is operant conditioning and that cycle has to be broken (Silverman, Roll, & Higgins, 2008, p. 472). The other physical side of addi...
In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting the Psychoanalytic formulations of addiction and the Cognitive models of addiction. According to Dennis L. Thombs, “people tend to get psychoanalysis and psychotherapy mixed up. Psychotherapy is a more general term describing professional services aimed at helping individuals or groups overcome emotional, behavioral or relationship problem” (119). According to Thombs and Osborn, “Cognitive refers to the covert mental process that are described by a number of diverse terms, including thinking, self-talk, internal dialogue, expectations , beliefs, schemas and so much more” (160). I believe these two factors play a major part in an individual’s life that has an addiction.
A summary of the article “Addiction: Choice or Compulsion” will explain the theories and models of addictive behavior. The moral model shows addiction as a voluntary act, which the addict can control. The medical model portrays addiction as a disease and compulsive behavior that the addict has no control over. The introduction of the third model will suggest that it is neither compulsive nor voluntary (Henden, Melberg, & Rogeberg, 2013).
(Monroe, 2009) The Bible, which is the single guide for Christians to govern how to live for God, gives insight to the rooted concept of mindfulness-based relapse prevention. Paul writes “for those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit” (Romans 8:5 NASB) Paul establishes first that all desires good and bad starts in the mind but are controlled by two different entities. The flesh entity, which seeks self-gratification, will desire selfishness, self-pleasing instruction to determine how it will satisfy or cope. The entity, the Holy Spirit, seeks to transform the mind, body, and soul to conform it actions to the thoughts that are holy. This same Spirit wants to take captive the thoughts and desires that will negatively impact actions. The Holy Spirit will also become the personal self-monitoring mindfulness that will provide individuals a new way of processing situational instances. In relapse prevention, “the individual is trained to develop a system for recognizing early warning signs of substance related cues”. (Katie Witkiewitz, G.Alan Marlatt, Denise Walker,
Kemp, R., & Butler, A. (2014). Love, Hate And The Emergence Of Self In Addiction Recovery. Existential Analysis: Journal Of The Society For Existential Analysis, 25(2), 257-268.
Main Point: What defines an addiction? According to Psychology Today, “Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance…. or engages in an activity….that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health.” This can range anywhere from drug use to eating disorders, to gambling, to even texting in today’s generation. Shocking to say the least, especially when most people do not even know they are addicted or are an addict until they realize this definition.
Addiction is a very strong word that brings along many negative connotations. When we think of an addiction we imagine someone who depends on a certain substance, most likely alcohol to have their needs met. Addiction is defined by the Webster dictionary as, "a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal." Even though our society sees addiction and only applies the word to drug addicts and alcoholics, there is a much wider range of subjects that fall under the umbrella of what an addiction truly is. An addiction is a dependency on any kind of materialistic object that you use on a day to day basis that brings
Addiction is defined simply as a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as drugs) or do something like gambling (Addiction, 2016). Addiction can be crippling and can control all aspects of your life to the point of not being able to function as a productive member of society. Addicts can have a life long struggle, even once sober, or clean, from the addiction.
So, it is clear that addiction is all around us and can attack anyone of us at any given time. Even studies conducted show that people neglect to speak around their dependency for two primary reasons. Foremost, because people do not comprehend, or they bear a total misconception to their addiction, that they do not realize that addictions can be critical to their overall wellness. Moreover, second, many people believe being an addict will never happen to them, but, in reality, most addictions start off as simple little habits. Such as starting with one drink after dinner and before you know it you are drinking several drinks a day. However, one does not opt to be addicted to a substance, because addictions are physical defects in the brain, a disease, and not one’s choice.