Faith, science and compassionate pastoral support can help address the addiction crisis, experts said during a recent panel discussion.
The University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life is collaborating with the nonprofit organization Catholics in Recovery to present “Addiction and Recovery: Accompaniments to Wholeness and Healing,” part of the institute’s “Critical Conversations” series. ” was held on September 27th. .
Speakers included Father Sean Kilcowley, director of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, Liberation Apostolate from Pornography, and national speaker on the theology of the body; Dr. Amy Ricke is a board-certified psychiatrist in Indianapolis specializing in mood, anxiety, substance use disorders, and developmental trauma. and Scott Wieman, a marriage and family therapist and founder of Catholics in Recovery.
The discussion was moderated by Beth Labuse, a mental health counselor and program director of the Institute’s Statutory Program on Faith and Mental Health.
Lykke began by pointing out the “alarming” statistics in the country regarding current levels of addiction.
In 2021, more than 46.3 million people in the United States have a substance abuse disorder, with alcohol abuse topping the list (29.5 million), followed by drug abuse (24 million), and combined alcohol and drug abuse (7.3 million). It is said that it was. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Addiction disproportionately affects American Indians and Alaska Natives (27.6%), blacks (17.2%) and whites (17%) about equally, and Hispanics slightly less (15.7%). ), with Asians being the least likely (8%).
These numbers “do not include people who suffer from behavioral or process addictions, such as gambling addiction, sex addiction, pornography addiction, etc.,” Ricke said.
Only 6.3 percent of people with substance use disorders were receiving treatment, she said.
Approximately 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2021, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“It’s also important to keep in mind that at least a third, if not more, of people who suffer from addiction also suffer from a mental illness such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or psychosis. “It’s about being,” Ricke said.
Understanding the true nature of addiction is critical to addressing this issue, the panelists said, emphasizing that addiction is a disease of the human body, mind and spirit.
“As a treatable chronic brain disease…addiction involves a complex interaction between brain circuitry, genetics, environment, and life experiences,” Ricke said.
Drugs and alcohol “mimic” the brain’s neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which are responsible for the ability to feel pleasure and motivation, “overstimulate” the brain’s reward center, leading to a “loss of self-control” and the desire to continue using. may cause. Substance, Ricke said.
“There’s a neuroscience to losing free will and becoming more compulsive,” Father Kilcowley said. “Addiction actually causes atrophy of the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls moral judgment, logic, and reason. And when we’re in the process of addiction…our frontal lobes are kind of and stop functioning as intended.”
Although there are clear biological aspects to addiction, “there is no single gene or single risk factor that can predict whether someone will experience addiction,” Ricke said.
“A simple biological understanding of addiction misses a lot,” Wieman said, urging pastoral leaders to develop a “multi-layered approach that counters some of the myths surrounding addiction.” He urged them to take a “smart approach.”
He said substance abuse disorders and process abuse disorders do not discriminate, adding: “The great thing is, neither does recovery.”
“When we are in a room together, we are on a level playing field. We desperately need each other and the Lord to find freedom each day and live life joyfully and purposefully. ” he said.
Wieman also emphasized that addiction is “not a moral referendum on life.” “Often it’s just a reaction to deal with the situation.”
By definition, recovery from addiction requires psychological help, he said.
“Human power cannot sustain us and it cannot free us from addiction,” Wieman said. “We need God’s help.”
Fr Kilcowley said the core of addiction speaks to man’s longing for God’s love.
“To be created in the image of God is to be created for love, to be created out of love, to be created for relationship,” he said. “And one of the simplest kinds of formulations…for addictive behaviors and behaviors in many cases…we’re saying that we’re doing these things, and we’re changing them to replace them. I somehow know that I don’t want to do something.” Negative emotions and positive feelings. That is, when you feel bored, lonely, angry, stressed, tired, unaffirmed, left out, and unchosen. , When life gets difficult, do I rely on the Lord or do I lean on something else? ? ”
From a spiritual perspective, “we are actually talking about what St. Paul always says in the Bible: ‘You were once slaves, but now you are free.’ It’s just that.”
Touching God’s grace, he said, heals the body, mind, and spirit.
“When we enter the recovery phase and our brains recover, reason, moral judgment and empathy return,” Father Kilcowley said. “And it’s amazing.”
Addiction and the sense of isolation that comes with it emphasizes an innate need for community, panelists said.
“As individuals and as a church community, we can strive to show that the person is more than this addiction,” Ricke said.
“No one in the Bible is healed in secret,” Father Kilcowley said. “Sometimes we wish we could go to a secret healing priest and have him pray for us without telling anyone and be healed…But the Gospels do not mention a single person who had such an experience. not here.”
By eliminating shame and providing practical pastoral support such as partnerships with 12-step groups, recovery support, social service, and simple fellowship, parishes can heal the wounds of addiction in their members. he said.
“We all need conversion. We all need to love the Lord more. And we all need to be changed,” Father Kilcowley said. “And when you can acknowledge that, you can provide a space where people can actually get help, and that’s where really great things happen.”
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