Addiction and abuse are painful challenges that are all too common in our day and age. Fortunately, there is help and support available, both for those who have the problems with addiction or abuse, and also for those affected and victimized by these behaviors. Following are some links that may be helpful:
Official LDS material:
LDS Family Services‘ book, A Guide to Addiction Recovery and Healing,found on the right-hand side of the addiction recovery support groups page. (The book can also be ordered online (A Spanish version is available here).) Support groups are available all over the world, and are designed to help both addicts and their family members and friends. (See this page for more information.)
“Hope, Healing, and Dealing with Addiction” — a recent article in the July Ensign, written by an LDS Family Services counselor
“Lessons from a Milk Jug” — a touching personal story about how one woman found strength and hope when struggling with the pain of her husband’s addiction and sin
“To Heal the Shattering Consequences of Abuse” — a powerful and sensitive talk by Elder Richard G. Scott (this talk by Elder Scott addresses the topic of healing from abuse as well)
“Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse” — another talk by Elder Scott
“A Conversation about Spouse Abuse”
“Hope and Healing” — an article about healing from the tragedy of abuse
“The Journey to Healing” — victims of childhood sexual abuse share their stories
You can also search on topics such as ‘abuse,’ ‘healing from abuse,’ ‘healing from addiction,’ etc. at lds.org.
Current online discussion related to these topics:
There have been a couple of recent discussions about this at Blog Segullah. Segullah is a literary magazine, published three times annually, exploring faith and the complexities of life through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is power and peace in knowing that one is not alone in the struggle with the effects and pain of addiction and abuse, and the following posts may be of benefit to someone who is struggling. See here and here for others’ thoughts, including experiences of women who are dealing (or have dealt) with these issues in their lives.
The staff at Segullah and here at Mormon Women believe that there is great power in women coming together to support and help each other, and to open their hearts and share what has helped them through difficult times. If you are struggling with the effects of abuse or addiction (or any other trial, for that matter) and would like to share your story (particularly how the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped you find hope and healing), we welcome you to submit your story to ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’. Please note that for those who are concerned about discussion or comments about your story, here at Mormon Women, we do not provide open discussion or real-time commenting, so you could share your story without that fear. If you would prefer some real-time feedback, you might consider sharing your story at Blog Segullah. In either place, you can write without revealing your identity if that would be more helpful.
