Substance abuse programs stress importance of spirituality

[janbear]

Substance abuse programs stress importance of spirituality
March 27,2005
LaToya Mack View stories by reporter
staff writer

It seemed so final. Onlookers watched Jesus die. They saw him buried. But three days later, the miracle happened.

The tomb was empty. Jesus conquered death and the grave. He died, but he rose again, and he lives forever.

"Jack" can relate to the Easter story. A resident of Flynn Christian Fellowship Home, a home in Kinston for men with substance abuse problems, he's seen his own life resurrected from a hopeless situation to one filled with promise.

He's willing to tell his story as an example to others, but asked that his real name not be used.

"I woke up one Monday morning and, for some reason, I said, 'I've just got to get out of here,' " Jack said. "I looked at my neighborhood, which was a dead-end street. I said, 'This is my life - a dead-end street.'"

That Monday morning marked a renewal in Jack's life. That was the day he decided to get help for his alcoholism, a problem he struggled with for nearly 21 years.

The 50-year-old took his first drink when he was 9 years old. His struggle with alcohol began later in life.

"It just started and it never stopped," he said.

His addiction to alcohol caused Jack to lose his wife, children and new house. He lost his job after 13 years when he came to work after partying and drinking the night before.

"Alcohol is deadly," Jack said. "To me, I've never done drugs in my life, but alcohol made me so relaxed that it came first."

Jack, who is from Hyde County, went to his sister for help. She worked for Tideland Mental Health and helped him get admitted to the Walter B. Jones Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center in Greenville.

Jack decided to go to the Flynn Home after his treatment at Walter B. Jones. He's been there more than two years. It's been more than three years since he last took a drink.

Many alcohol and drug treatment programs incorporate faith as part of the recovery process.

"It's been my experience over the years, if a person can balance out church, faith and their 12-step program, it can work for them," said Pete Smith, Flynn Home manager. "If they base it solely on A.A., they go back to that social life. Recovery life depends on spiritual life."

Six of Alcoholics Anonymous' 12 steps address spirituality, but the program doesn't limit its concept of God to Judeo-Christian principles.

"They do talk about a higher power, but a higher power can be a doorknob," said Sheila Pridgen, house manager at East Pointe Fellowship Home. "They don't talk in specifics. They don't want to offend anyone."

Twelve-step programs lead people back to the "God of their understanding," Smith said.

"A lot of them were raised in church and alcohol and substance abuse take them out of the church," he said.

Jack once was active in church, but he said his addiction to alcohol pulled him out of it. He admits that he needs to start going to church more.

The grace of God and his own will power keeps Jack from falling back into his old lifestyle, he said.

"The determination that I do have is, I've seen what it can do to you," he said. "I don't want to go back."

Jack encourages others who may be going through what he suffered through to keep the faith. That's what he plans to do.

"By the grace of God, if I can keep my state of mind that I'm in, I can stay on track."
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