Shalom Place

How to Drop an Attachment or Addiction

- by Philip St. Romain; all rights reserved

Symptoms of Attachment:
1. Anxious preoccupation: restless thinking, judgmentalism.
2. Lack of serenity.

Quick Way to Drop an Attachment
* Notice anxious preoccupation and its major themes. Verbalize these to God.
* If no immediate action is required, say the Serenity Prayer, asking God to care for specific things not in your control, and to give you the grace to trust in God's Providence in your life.
* Bring your attention into the Now, and do what you're doing. The anxious preoccupation will fall away in short order if you do not indulge it behaviorally or mentally.

For Stubborn Attachments and Addictions
1.   Notice preoccupation and its major themes. Write these down.
   - - "I feel anxious about . . . because (consequences)."
2. Turn each theme into a question?
   "How can I be sure that. . ."
   "What to say to impress so and so?"
   "How to be sure I will have enough money?"
   See how much this question has influenced your thinking and behavior.
3. Make a list of past decisions and behavior related to this question. Ask God for the grace to be free of this disordered desire.
4. See how this behavior has affected you and others. Make a list.
5. Resolve to make amends where your behavior in reference to this issue has hurt another. Ask God for forgiveness. Sacrament of Reconciliation.
6. What real need (if any) is this question addressing?
7. What is the appropriate or prudent way to meet this need?
8. In your imagination, see yourself meeting this need in an appropriate manner. Ask for Divine Guidance to see how to do this, and to desire this kind of responsible behavior.
9. If old preoccupations arise, see and acknowledge them non-judgmentally, but do not indulge them. This is the true meaning of abstinence. Bring your attention into the present moment, and do what you're doing. If it is time to meet your real need in the manner you decided on in #8, go ahead and do so in awareness and gratitude.

When All Else Fails
After doing the above for some time, it may become obvious that a compulsive attachment is so deeply rooted that you need additional help. Do not hesitate to ask for it. Help is available in the various Twelve Step groups, addiction treatment programs, and psychotherapy.