| Denial?
Were not
talking about the River Nile now...
Were
talking about DENIAL!
Who Me? |
 |
Denial is at the very core of
alcoholism and drug addiction. This can become a serious problem for any alcoholic or
addict. When we are in denial we are not seeing things as they truly are. We may be having
problems of one kind or another and we tend to completely ignore any outward signs and
tell ourselves "Everything is OK, or Who
Cares?" Make no mistake denial can be a very
deadly attitude with very serious consequences.
How do you
tell if you are in denial? One method is to share at a meeting and share
from the heart with honesty how you feel. When you close sharing ask the
members around the table to give you constructive feedback on whether or
not you are in denial. Their comments may give you some insight into
some areas of your life you may not have realized. (Make sure you don't
pick a table of newcommers for this exercise because if your in denial,
you'll probably still be there after the meeting.) A better method is to
do a Fourth Step Inventory and follow it with a prompt Fifth Step.
Denial can be a serious problem that if not
addressed and can lead to a relapse
or continue to prolong an active addiction. It is every addict and alcoholics job to become aware of
the warning signs to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The worst part of denial is that
when we start lying we are only lying to ourselves. This is spelled out in clearly in the
chart below. |
