Dear
Readers,
Last week, I presented you with the definition of alcoholism/drug
addiction as accepted by treatment professionals and scientists
involved in extensive investigations of this problem of grave
national importance. In that column, I promised to clarify
the meaning of the term "denial" as it refers particularly
to addiction and how it is used by the alcoholic/addict as
a tool to avoid facing issues relating to their illness and
the consequent need for treatment. I know of no addicted individual
who would not like to drink "like every one else;"
that is, moderately. Most diagnosed alcoholic/addicts simply
can't...."Moderation Management" should not be a
matter of choice for them....but, far to many are in a state
of denial and take that route..."I'm only a 'heavy drinker;'
not an 'alcoholic.' I can control my drinking." Tell
that to the family of the innocent victims, killed by the
founder of this dangerous movement who was driving while drunk.
I found
the following definition amongst my papers at the Van Ost
Institute (author unknown): "Denial is the psychological
mechanism or process by which human beings protect themselves
from something threatening to them by blocking knowledge
of that thing from their awareness. The denial that this
thing exists in their lives is below their level of awareness.
It is done subconsciously. In other words, this person doesn't
know, or is unwilling to admit, that it exists. The problems
overshadow or cloud a person's ability to recognize that
the thing: set of circumstances, events or phenomena are
actually happening in their lives. It impairs judgment and
results in self-delusion which locks the individual into
an increasingly destructive pattern of living.
"The
process of denial has many faces which may manifest or characterize
themselves in any one or more of the following ways:
-
Simple denial - maintaining that something is not so which
is indeed a fact and very obvious to others in a person's
life.
- Minimizing
- admitting superficially to a problem but won't admit
that it is serious.
- Blaming
(also called projection) - denying responsibility for
certain behavior and fixing the blame on someone or something
else.
- Rationalizing
- offering alibis, excuses, justifications or other explanations
for behavior. The behavior is not denied but an inaccurate
explanation of its cause is given.
- Intellectualizing
- avoiding emotional, personal awareness of the problem
by dealing with it on a level of generalization, intellectual
analyses, or theorizing.
- Diversion
- changing the subject to avoid discussion of a threatening
topic.
- Hostility
- becoming angry or irritable when reference is made to
the problem causing conflict....a defense mechanism to
back the challenger off the problem.
Denial
is automatic - it operates below the level of awareness
- the affected individual does not really know that he/she
is in denial. Denial is progressive - the affected individual
sets up such an elaborate system of denial mechanisms that
they pervade the entire personality and become so enmeshed
that they are extremely difficult to penetrate."
"There
must be something the matter with him because he would not
be acting as he does unless there was....Therefore he is
acting as he is because there is something the matter with
him.
"He
does not think there is anything the matter with him because
one of the things that is the matter with him is that he
does not think there is anything the matter with him. "Therefore.....We
have to help him realize that the fact that he does not
think there is anything the matter with him is one of the
things that is the matter with him."....R. D. Laing
Until
scientific research proves otherwise, I'll stick on the
side of abstinence as an essential ingredient addiction
therapy.
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