Denial in addiction is a defense mechanism that those abusing drugs or alcohol will need to overcome in order to kick their habits. “Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt” is a mantra often heard at 12-step meetings. This is because Step 1 of the 12 steps deals with overcoming denial and “admitting we are powerless…” Denial is particularly problematic because the downside of drinking or using drugs plus denial and driving can be fatal for the substance abuser and others. Other health risks associated with addiction include heart disease, lung and liver disease, overdosing and brain damage. Why do people deny they need help? There are many reasons for denial. One reason is that people generally do not like to feel helpless and out-of-control and …show more content…
There are just some things that have to be accepted for what they are. For example, people may be born with a set of genes that could later make them prone to certain diseases. There is nothing that this person can do about their genetic inheritance, and all they can do is try to work with what they have. The ability to effectively deal with things that are beyond the control of the individual is referred to as acceptance. The key to success in life is as much about recognizing limitations as it is about taking positive action. It allows people to focus on those areas where their efforts will be most fruitful. Acceptance can be defined as the act of taking or receiving something offered. In human psychology, the word is used to describe a person’s assent to the reality of the situation. The individual is able to accept the reality of what is happening and they do not feel the need to protest it or change it. In order to find happiness in recovery it is important that people develop at least a certain degree of acceptance. Acceptance is a factor of emotional sobriety. It can be described as the ability to deal with feelings in a positive manner – or the willingness and ability of people to feel their
One contemporary psychoanalytical view of substance abuse is that it is a defense against anxiety (Thombs D 2006). Addicts often abuse alcohol and other substances to guard against anxiety and other painful feelings like shame, guilt, loneliness and depression. Psychological problems including substance abuse disorders are viewed as a result of inhibited ability to make authentic, meaningful, and self directed choices about how to live.
Both of the psychological and biological models explain addiction. In addition, both models take a holistic approach in their arguments. They simply
Addiction: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.
Recovering from addiction presents you with challenges to say the least. You have to give up your drug of choice, which can be scary, literally painful, and sometimes, even sad. It’s the sadness, or rather the emotional side of addiction that I want to address here.
Alcohol-dependent people are often unable to stop drinking once they start as alcohol dependence is characterized by tolerance or the need to drink more to achieve the same "high", in addition, serious withdrawal symptoms if drinking is stopped suddenly. The sooner that the individual begins to receive help for the treatment of their alcoholism means that, the shorter period that they will be able to stop use. Individuals who receive treatment
Imagine laying on the floor in your own pool of sweat—miserable, your mind bouncing off the walls while the cloud of your darkest thoughts looms over you. Teeth chattering anxiously, waiting to receive the next second, minute, hour of painless bliss. This—this is the life of an addict; does this horror appear to be a choice or more like a disease haunting the mind of the user? Despite the fact a choice was needed to initiate the result, addiction itself is a debilitating disease NOT a choice due to initial influences and anatomical changes to the brain.
The disease model of addiction and the moral model of addiction provide completely different explanation for the tendency of substance abuse. The disease model of addiction predates to 1784 when the American physician Benjamin Rush published a pamphlet which discussed alcoholism in medical terms and outlined treatments for what he considered was a “disease” (Atkins, 2014, p. 52). This model of addiction generally argues that it is not the individuals fault for their addiction to drugs and that not all, but some people, will inevitably become addicts in the future (p. 52). Inversely, the moral model of addiction does not view addiction as something that an individual “cannot control,” rather this model looks at addiction as something that an individual can certainly control but that the individual does not chose to because of “weak moral character” (p.52). Although both of these models have been, and still are, widely applied to other substances, the most common substance that it was used was for alcohol.
The three models of addiction examined in this week’s readings include the medical model, the psychosocial model, and the disease of the human spirit model. The medical model “rests on the assumption that disease states are the result of a biological dysfunction, possibly one on the cellular or even molecular level” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). Many consider this model and “maintain that much of human behavior is based on the interaction between the individual’s biological predisposition and the environment” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). Individuals under this model view free will “as an illusion” (Doweiko, 2012, p. 333). There is controversy regarding this model as “to the degree to which the
“Denial is a psychological defense mechanism that is found almost universally in people with addiction” (Henderson 2). Many addicts ignore detrimental consequences in order to
This learner believes that behavior and addiction should be accepted as the same as addiction to substances. Working in a substance abuse recovery program has allowed this learner to understand addiction as a behavior. Many individuals have a substance abuse addiction and issues because of their behavior. They have made a choice to use substances and their behavior has taken over their life. Overall, this learner believes that all addictions are just as important as a substance abuse addiction. In fact, it should not be considered the same type of illness despite of it being a food, sex, or even gambling addiction. However, the addictions have to be treated differently based on the type and the individuals. According Smith (2012), “Developing brain science brain science has set the
Although, there are many efforts to reduce the stigma of addiction, false concepts among individuals still persist. Many individuals may describe drug addicts as “people who are morally weak and cannot control their impulses”, or simply just “people who cannot get their life together”. Such misconceptions suggesting that
Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at
“Addiction is a brain disease expressed in the form of compulsive behavior,” says by Alan Leshner in his article, “Addiction Is a Brain Disease” featured in the book Drug Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints. Addiction has a variety of meanings depending on what your viewpoint of addiction. According to dictionary.com, the concrete definition of the word addiction is, “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.” Basically various doctors and therapist consider addiction to be a genetic disorder. “Provocative, controversial, unquestionably incomplete, the dopamine hypothesis provides a basic framework
Alcohol and illicit drug consumption are all too prevalent today in high schools, colleges, and all across the globe. Students seeking to fit in or forget about the repetitiveness of school and homework have a tendency to experiment. Drug addiction is known by the scientific community to be a psychological condition based on excessive, obsessive, and compulsive actions. Once that regular user crosses the line into addiction their only concern is their self and their life revolves around the getting, using, and finding ways and means to get and use more. Most people start using drugs and alcohol occasionally, which is a voluntary decision,
People who become alcoholics have the opportunity to reject alcoholic drinks but they choose not to. Everyone has the choice of saying yes or no to a drink but most people choose to say yes because they care more about what their friends will think of them of them if they reject that drink rather than of their health. After people become alcoholics they refer to what they are going through as a disease when in reality it is not a disease. Although most people will not agree with my opinion, alcoholism is not a disease, it is a learned behavior, not a medical disease. People refer to it as a disease because they cannot accept the reality that they need psychological help and not medical help. A disease is something that a person cannot prevent from getting but alcoholism can be easily be prevented before it gets out of