Denial and addiction go hand-in-hand. Denial adds to the cunning, baffling and powerful part of the disease. So let's educate ourselves about it, shall we? I've said my opinion before, and I'll say it over and over again-intelligence is empowering and sexy! (references & article on denial is at the bottom of blog post)
Denial, in ordinary English usage, is asserting that a statement or allegation is not true.[1] The same word, and also abnegation, is used for a psychological defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud,
in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to
accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite
what may be overwhelming evidence.[2][3]
The subject may use:
The concept of denial is particularly important to the study of
addiction. The theory of denial was first researched seriously by
Anna Freud. She classified denial as a mechanism of the
immature
mind, because it conflicts with the ability to learn from and cope with
reality. Where denial occurs in mature minds, it is most often
associated with
death, dying and
rape. More recent research has significantly expanded the scope and utility of the concept.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross used denial as the first of
five stages in the psychology of a dying patient,
and the idea has been extended to include the reactions of survivors to
news of a death. Thus, when parents are informed of the death of a
child, their first reaction is often of the form, "No! You must have the
wrong house, you can't mean our child!"
Unlike some other defense mechanisms postulated by
psychoanalytic theory (for instance,
repression),
the general existence of denial is fairly easy to verify, even for
non-specialists. On the other hand, denial is one of the most
controversial defense mechanisms, since it can be easily used to create
unfalsifiable
theories: anything the subject says or does that appears to disprove
the interpreter's theory is explained, not as evidence that the
interpreter's theory is wrong, but as the subject's being "in denial".
However, researchers note that in some cases of corroborated
child sexual abuse,
the victims sometimes make a series of partial confessions and
recantations as they struggle with their own denial and the denial of
abusers
or family members. Use of denial theory in a legal setting therefore
must be carefully regulated and experts' credentials verified.
"Formulaic
guilt"
simply by "being a denier" has been castigated by English judges and
academics.The main objection is that denial theory is founded on the
premise that that which the supposed denier is denying is truth. This
usurps the judge (and/or jury) as triers of fact
[4]
The concept of denial is important in
twelve-step programs,
where the abandonment or reversal of denial forms the basis of the
first, fourth, fifth, eighth and tenth steps. The ability to deny or
minimize is an essential part of what enables an addict to continue his
or her behavior despite evidence that—to an outsider—appears
overwhelming. This is cited as one of the reasons that compulsion is
seldom effective in treating addiction—the habit of denial remains.
When a family intervention is conducted to help a person engaged in
self-destructive behavior such as alcohol or drug abuse to accept help
for his problem, denial is sometimes reduced or eliminated altogether.
This is not always necessary, however, for the intervention to be
successful in having the person accept help.
Understanding and avoiding denial is also important in the treatment of various diseases. The
American Heart Association cites denial as a principal reason that treatment of a
heart attack
is delayed. Because the symptoms are so varied, and often have other
potential explanations, the opportunity exists for the patient to deny
the emergency, often with fatal consequences. It is common for patients
to delay mammograms or other tests because of a fear of cancer, even
though this is clearly maladaptive. It is the responsibility of the care
team, and of the nursing staff in particular, to train at-risk patients
to avoid this behavior.
Denial of fact
In this form of denial, someone avoids a fact by lying. This lying
can take the form of an outright falsehood (commission), leaving out
certain details to tailor a story (omission), or by falsely agreeing to
something (assent, also referred to as "yessing" behavior). Someone who
is in denial of fact is typically using lies to avoid facts they think
may be painful to themselves or others.
Denial of responsibility
This form of denial involves avoiding personal responsibility by:
- blaming: a direct statement shifting culpability and may overlap with denial of fact
- minimizing: an attempt to make the effects or results of an action appear to be less harmful than they may actually be, or
- justifying:
when someone takes a choice and attempts to make that choice look okay
due to their perception of what is "right" in a situation.
- regression: when someone acts in a way unbecoming of their age (e.g. whining, temper tantrum, etc.)
Someone using denial of responsibility is usually attempting to avoid potential harm or pain by shifting
attention away from themselves.
For example:
- Troy breaks up with his girlfriend because he is unable to control
his anger, and then blames her for everything that ever happened.
Denial of impact
Denial of impact involves a person's avoiding thinking about or
understanding the harms of his or her behavior has caused to self or
others, i.e. denial of the consequences. Doing this enables that person
to avoid feeling a sense of
guilt
and it can prevent him or her from developing remorse or empathy for
others. Denial of impact reduces or eliminates a sense of pain or harm
from poor decisions.
Denial of cycle
Many who use this type of denial will say things such as, "
it just happened".
Denial of cycle is where a person avoids looking at their decisions
leading up to an event or does not consider their pattern of decision
making and how harmful behavior is repeated. The pain and harm being
avoided by this type of denial is more of the effort needed to change
the focus from a singular event to looking at preceding events. It can
also serve as a way to blame or justify behavior (see above).
Denial of denial
This can be a difficult concept for many people to identify with in
themselves, but is a major barrier to changing hurtful behaviors. Denial
of denial involves thoughts, actions and behaviors which bolster
confidence that nothing needs to be changed in one's personal behavior.
This form of denial typically overlaps with all of the other forms of
denial, but involves more self-delusion. Denial at this level can have
significant consequences both personally and at a societal level.
References
Helpful Article
Addiction Denial is defined two different ways by most experts in the substance abuse field.
Discerning the differences between the two is paramount in working
effectively with people in treatment. For illustration purposes lets
call the two types of denial Type A and Type B.
Type A denial is when a person sees, understands,
and knows that they have a definite problem. When confronted about the
problem they flat out deny it, knowing that it is true. This type of
denial is outright dishonesty or lying.
Type B denial is when a person is either partially
or totally blind to a problem that they have. Through a hundred forms of
self-deception, rationalization, justification and excuse making, a
person can actually believe that they do not have a problem, when
everyone around them sees this it is obvious. This type of denial comes
from being honestly dishonest or by blindness. The type of denial we
will deal with in this test is Type B, honestly being dishonest.
I can remember years ago when I was confronted about my own drinking
problem by loved ones, close friends, and my employer. I was destroyed,
not at the thought of being an alcoholic, but by their accusations. My
reaction was shock, denial and indignation. I would have passed a lie
detector test if I were asked if there was a drinking problem in my
life. I honestly believed that it wasn’t true, and that I was being
totally misunderstood.
Obviously my denial was based on being honestly dishonest, not on being a liar.
Some time later after I hit my bottom and entered
recovery for Alcoholism I remember asking myself, “How could I have been so blind?”.
This type of denial doesn’t automatically disappear once the person
sees and accepts being chemically dependent. It almost always emerges
again with a new and more improved look, It’s like Ivory Snow with the
new packaging that say “New and Improved”. It’s really the same old soap
with a new ingredient added to it so it can be marketed as a new and
improved product.
What we are dealing with is a whole denial system, not just denial of
a particular problem. It is also important to understand that denial
can be on both an intellectual and spiritual level. It is common to see a
person who intellectually accepts being alcoholic but doesn’t believe
it in his innermost sell. This is the person who constantly relapses,
much to the amazement of themselves and everyone around them.
Intellectual denial is usually based on lack of
understanding, differences in semantics or in definition. A good example
is the person who thinks an alcoholic is a degenerate who lives on skid
row. He is always panhandling and drinks cheap wine. Anyone who still
works, supports a family, pays the bills, and lives in a nice house
couldn’t possibly be an alcoholic. Here we have a clear problem in
definition. A further example is the young executive who drives a BMW,
lives in a nice condo and holds a good job with a nationally known
electronics firm. He uses $200 worth of cocaine weekly and denies having
a problem. He can’t pay his bills; he loses his friends, and is always
borrowing money. His definition of a drug addict is a person who sticks a
needle in his arm every day.
Spiritual denial is even more difficult to deal with
because it is so hard to see. This level of denial will lock a person
into compliance blocking any possibility for ongoing sobriety. The
process of internalizing a new truth is more fully explained in the
chapter of the three-headed dragon, head number three.
One of the major goals in the treatment of chemical dependency is in
help you through compliance (intellectually agreeing that the problem
exists) to acceptance (coming to believe it in the heart). This dynamic
is a process not an event. Even in the most ideal conditions it will
sometimes take months before acceptance is fully rooted in the innermost
self. This is why it is absolutely essential for attendance in at least
90 support meetings in the first 90 days after treatment is completed.
This will add substantial insurance for the proper development of the
precious new convictions cultivated in treatment.
Denial, in relationship to treatment of chemical dependency, comes in
three stages. Each stage has an intellectual and spiritual dimension.
Stage One Denial
Stage one denial is when a person truly does not believe that they
have the disease of chemical addiction. They may accept being addicted
to a particular drug(s), and still deny having the illness. They also
could deny having a problem with drugs in spite of overwhelming evidence
to the contrary. Another considers themselves to be a drug abuser but
not chemically dependent.
There are dozens of different ways to express this stage of denial
all leading to the same place. The person does not accept the hid that
they have an illness, which requires nothing short of total abstinence
from all mind altering drugs, including alcohol, for its solution.
Overcoming Stage One Denial
Overcoming the wrong understanding of chemical dependency is
accomplished through proper education. This will only produce
intellectual acceptance at best, more commonly known as compliance.
Internal acceptance of chemical dependency is a completely different
issue. It requires a basic conversion in the belief system, which is in
the innermost self (spirit).
Internal acceptance is a process, not an event. One cannot come to
believe something new in the innermost self by simply willing it to
happen. That would be like planting a seed in the ground on Monday and
expecting to have an apple tree on Friday. Once the seed has been
planted, it needs time to root. It also needs proper nourishment for
growth and maturity.
This is the same way someone comes to accept being chemically
dependent. The seed is planted in the innermost self of the person who
admits that they have the problem by their own words. Once planted it is
nourished by the continuation of the same process, admitting, (Step One
of the AA program. . . We admitted . .). The more one admits to having
the condition, the more one conies to believe it in their inner most
self, This is expressed by the popular slogan, “You have to give it away
to get, and you have to keep giving it away to keep it”.
Stage Two Denial
Stage two denial is when a person denies the need for ongoing
sobriety support after treatment is completed. It represents denial of
being powerless. .lust because you agree to go to meetings after
treatment is completed, does not mean that you will do it. It is
important to understand that good intentions in treatment do not
guarantee program action after discharge. Once out from under the
influence of the peer group in treatment, sonic people will go their own
way. They will never attend a single support meeting in their home
community, unless they have a profound change in their inner perception
of both the problem and its corresponding solution. This is sometimes
called a spiritual awakening, or a moment of clarity. Good intentions
are not enough. The absence of this inner perception keeps the person in
the second stage of denial. This problem has to be corrected in the
innermost self before arty long-term sobriety can be obtained.
The real change takes place in the spirit (innermost self), not in
the mind (understanding). This is why many people see the recovery
process as spiritual not psychological. It takes place in the Heart not
the Head.
Overcoming Stage Two Denial
Overcoming the second stage of denial requires the successful
transference of dependency from self to a greater power outside of self
for the maintaining of ongoing sobriety. lf you are depending on your
own power to do this, you are in the second stage of denial, This is
true regardless of how long you are sober. Many people have painfully
discovered this, having relapsed after years of continuous sobriety.
The persistence of this denial is astonishing in many who continue to
attempt abstinence by themselves in spite of repeated failure. It seems
that they are incapable of grasping (lie notion that they are NOT all
powerful. This illusion of power is a major barrier to recovery from
chemical dependency. Overcoming the second stage of denial requires the
successful elimination of this illusion. This is not just an ordinary
illusion. It has grown to an obsessional proportion just like the one
that used to see alcohol or drugs as the answer to life’s problems
before it was smashed.
The second stage of denial is easily broken by the transference of
dependency from self to the sobriety support fellowship. When a person
gets exposure to the 12-Step program for instance, they initially do it
with a great deal of reluctance. What they usually find before too long
is that something very powerful is happening to them.
Externally, emotions are charged with positive energy. A feeling of
belonging begins to replace the old feelings of guilt and worthlessness.
Acceptance is now gradually replacing compliance. Remember, this is a
process that is taking place in spite of early resistance, not an event
that happens as a result of a decision. Miraculously as a result of
exposure, an internal, unseen transference of dependency is taking place
in the innermost self. This new found power seen as the fellowship is
now taking the place of the illusion of power that used to dominate the
person with so many empty promises. The internal development of Ibis
transference of dependency from self in the support fellowship takes
time.
The internal development of this dynamic is called the second step
experience by AA/NA members. It results in the “Coming to believe in a
power greater than self”.
Stage Three Denial
Stage three denial is the denial of the need to he willing to go to
any length in the recovery process. It is an indicator that you have
other priorities that are just as or more important than the maintenance
of sobriety. The commitment to sobriety may be strong. However, the
commitment to its maintenance is weak. This condition will usually
escalate in one of two directions in time. One direction is to increase
commitment and involvement when living problems intensify and the other
direction is too eventually withdraw from the program completely, which
usually leads to relapse. One does not stay in the third stage of denial
for long. It always seems to go one way or the other.
Another indicator of the third stage of denial is the rejection of
the steps. Total abstinence from alcohol and drugs will produce
sobriety. Practicing the living principles in the 12 Steps will produce
recovery. Sobriety with no recovery will usually lead to relapse; it is
only a matter of time.
Overcoming Stage Three Denial
The third .stage of denial is dismantled by the constant recommitment
to active participation in the recovery support fellowship of your
choice.
Getting involved is the fastest way to overcome it with activities
such as 12-Step meetings, sponsorship, being a secretary or chairperson,
having a coffee commitment at a meeting, greeting newcomers, going on
12-Step calls. There are dozens of things one can do to establish a
growing commitment to the Recovery Program.
The more activity the more you are overcoming the third stage of
denial. The less activity the more you are sinking back into the third
stage of denial.
Overcoming the third stage of denial completely is almost impossible.
One should strive for progress in this area not perfection. The proper
level of commitment to the program and the principles in it varies
widely between different people. The important thing to understand is
that each person needs to find his own healthy level of involvement
based on his own particular needs.
Conclusion
Denial is tricky stuff. It has many faces and disguises. Its number
one symptom is the denial OF its own existence. It keeps good people in
everlasting blindness destroying any chance for healthy change. It will
fight viciously for its survival all the way to insanity
institutionalization and death. It is not threatened by you trying to
beat it by yourself, in fact it welcomes it. The last thing it wants is
for you to join with others who are dedicated to destroying it.
by Michael Hurst
http://azureacres.crchealth.com/recovery-addictions-articles/stages-of-denial/
