When a person has a problem, she may want to privately solve it. If this is the case, spiritual self-help may be an option to consider. Spiritual self-help generally uses religious teachings and spiritual philosophies to help people find solutions to their problems and to develop improved living strategies.
Some people may be deterred from considering spiritual self-help because it has a religious foundation. This can be the case when a recommended program is based on a religion other than the one that a person practices. It may be an issue if a person is non-religious. It may also be the situation when a person cannot see a correlation between her problem and religion.
People who feel this way usually should consider several things. First, spiritual self-help can rely heavily on religion. In some cases, treatment includes encouraging a person to continue along that religious path even after her problems are solved. In many cases, however, these treatment programs are developed solely to help people help themselves. They are not designed to promote any religion.
A second thing to consider is that some spiritual self-help programs are non-denominational. This means that they are not based on a particular religion or branch of religion. These treatment programs often address spirituality in a very generic way, which helps to prevent a person from violating whatever beliefs she holds. This also means that the pre-conceived ideas about how spirituality relates to modern problems may be inaccurate.
The third thing to consider is that spiritual self-help can lead a person to a religious path that she may want to follow. Many people are born into societies with a limited view of the religious options. Spiritual self-help could result in learning and discovery in addition to healing. A person who struggles with chronic problems such as drug abuse or sex addiction may find that new religious philosophies can help her to prevent relapse.
Spiritual self-help options are numerous. There are programs available in many media forms for people with a wide range of interests and problems. There are treatment programs derived from Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism.
There also are programs designed to address various personality types. Those who respond best to authoritarian structure may like those programs that deem certain actions to be unconditionally wrong and which blatantly outline the consequences. Other people may respond better to a more guided approach that allows each individual the opportunity to develop personal meaning from spiritual philosophies. Whatever the personality type of a person is, chances are that there is a suitable spiritual program for her.
