I’m not sure the author realizes that almost all the drinkers who wind up in addiction treatment do so after having gone through a period of questioning whether or not they deserve a label such as alcoholic.
It’s just our old friend motivated reasoning at work– our inclination to favor arguments that support what we want to believe over evidence to the contrary.
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Clearly, these folks don’t experience shame in the way society expects. It’s why they arrive in treatment angry and defensive.
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There are folks who make the rounds, getting the same advice over and over, and never putting it into action.
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Of course, left to its own devices, addiction often worsens.
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Our goal is to reframe the discussion in a way that supports rather than undermines change.
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Here was a physician who regularly committed an assortment of crimes without considering himself a criminal. To his way of thinking, he was the victim.
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It seems to me that it’s entirely possible for one person to be lying, ambivalent, and in denial at the same time.
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The addicted brain is unable to accurately evaluate the situation.
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Addiction programs, conversely, targeted elimination or at least substantial reduction in substance use– a narrower goal that permitted greater focus in treatment.
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He perceives it as gradual when in reality it’s progressing rather quickly.
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Families often think it’s the addict or alcoholic’s emotions that need to be overcome to succeed. But in fact, we need to start by dealing with our own feelings.
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