A few years ago, a fellow psychologist told me that she didn’t understand alcoholics, she didn’t understand that self-disappointment in alcoholism, that contempt for life for a substance, unfortunately, this kind of?Professionals? They are common in the treatment of addictions. A sesained and moralistic perspective, unable to offer attractive and dynamic alternatives, that only aggravate the feeling of incapacity and perpetuate paralyzing guilt.
Self-deception in alcoholism must be understood as one of the factors that interfere with the continuity of addiction and the occurrence of relapses, however, self-deception is not what causes addiction, although in many cases it is the decisive factor that sustains Understanding this point, we will be able to unravel self-deception in alcoholism to offer a more reeducational view of drug-addicted behavior.
- Alcoholism is increasingly regarded by specialists as a biopsychosocial disorder and.
- Given its etiology and course.
- Environmental factors cannot be ignored.
- As we have pointed out.
- It is essential to understand self-deception and perpetuation of the problem (Zucker and Williams.
- 1994).
Dependents may seem completely irrational and incomprehensible to others. With regret and exasperation, non-addicts wonder how a person can go wrong and not see the pain it can cause. How can self-deception in alcoholism be so destructive?
Gregory Bateson was the first to try to understand alcoholism through complex epistemology. His essay Cybernetics of Self: A Theory of Alcoholism sees alcoholic behavior as a corrective experiment.
If, in any way, it is the sober life of the alcoholic that drives him to drink, sobriety procedures should not be expected to reduce or “control” his alcoholism.
There are sober lifestyles that lead to drinking; realities, discussions and memories that require anesthesia; there are normalities that contain errors or even pathology for many people who are too sensitive; they don’t find drunkenness in their own lives, at work or in their lives. their families In your own existence.
Poisoning only provides a (subjective) correction of this existential error. In other words, for these people, compared to sobriety, poisoning is “good. “
For Luigi Cancrini (1993), alcoholism, as well as drug addiction, can be seen as an attempt at self-therapist versus relational and family dynamics that cause suffering.
The most contemporary treatments of self-deception legitimately focused on Butler’s intentionality requirement. When we are motivated to believe in something, we tend to operate with some confirmation bias. We seek evidence to support our belief and tend not to pay as much attention. to which it challenges him.
People are more likely to accept what they have before their eyes as evidence, especially when they support their beliefs. Therefore, self-deception in alcoholism implies a motivating belief, even if it is false.
Many addicted people do not consider themselves with a problem, they initiate an intervention only through the impulse and strength of the environment, in that case, would people use therapy for others?So they don’t suffer, so as not to see them, they suffer, why can’t they put up with the pressure they’re under every day?and not by themselves. In such cases, the person is likely to follow the “frontal” intervention.
In addition, you can base your idea of the absence of a problem by designating others in your circle of acquaintances who consume more than it and who have not yet suffered harm. It can also create an excuse to point out that in the past you stopped drinking alcohol when you wanted to.
As long as the motivation remains inactive for a person, it will be very difficult to convince them of the falsehood of a belief; on the other hand, if you can begin to understand what motivates you to maintain certain beliefs and views, you will. acquire fundamental knowledge.
Addiction is a kind of habit. A habit that is maintained automatically, without conscious intent. When we slow down the usual actions wondering why we’re doing something, we exit autopilot mode.
In conclusion, understanding self-deception and the tendency to confirm can provide common ground for people who want to understand how others can fall victim to their own addictions, and psychology professionals should be at the forefront of this landscape.