fes denial
Post on 20-Aug-2015
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What is denial?
Defence mechanism
Common response to stress, emotional
conflict, anxiety, painful thoughts, and
threatening information
Refusal to admit or recognize that
something has occurred or is currently
occurring; used often to describe situations
in which we are unable to face reality or
admit an obvious truth.
Serves to protect us from things that we cannot cope with
Denial is a form of repression, where stressful thoughts are banned from memory
“If I do not think about it, then I do not suffer the associated stress and don’t have to deal with it.“
Repression and denial are two primary defence mechanisms which everybody uses, and which require a substantial investment of energy
Understanding denial
People in denial still have the truth buried within their heads, but cannot believe that it is the truth even when confronted with it
This is due to the mind in effect rewriting or superimposing a more acceptable reality
Creation of an environment that is conducive to negative outcomes – those outcomes not wanted. We fool ourselves into thinking that we have control over a situation that we really are helpless to affect.
"Every therapeutic cure, and still more,
any awkward attempt to show the
patient the truth, tears him from the
cradle of his freedom of responsibility
and must therefore reckon with the
most vehement resistance."
Alfred Adler
Very difficult to help someone see the truth and to truly believe and accept reality on a long term basis.
Someone in denial simply acts as if nothing has happened, behaving in ways that others may see as bizarre.
Those in denial may be as mystified by the behaviour of people around them as those people are by the behaviour of those in denial.
Has a significant conscious element, where the person in denial is simply 'turning a blind eye' to an uncomfortable situation.
Denial
Projecting
Rationalising
Intellectualising
Comparing
Blaming Blame shifting
Manipulation
Self-pity
Dishonesty & deceit
Justification
Hostility & aggression
Diversion techniques
How
does
denia
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anife
st?
Denial is harmful
Denial may be the biggest way we lie to
ourselves. We do more harm than good
when we refuse to accept the truth and
enable maladaptive behaviours and
relationships.
Denying reality enables us to continue
engaging in an unhealthy behaviour (e.g.
addiction) or facilitates the continuation of a
harmful situation (e.g. abusive relationship).
Simple denial
Someone 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
…separated into two different categories…
Complex denial
Someone is either partially or totally blind to a problem that they have
This type of denial comes from being 'honestly dishonest' or by blindness to the situation
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 is obvious.
Doesn’t automatically disappear once the
person sees and accepts being an addict
It almost always emerges again with a new
and more improved look
Denial in addiction is a complex system;
not just denial of a particular problem
Denial can be on both an intellectual and
spiritual level
e.g. a person intellectually accepts being
alcoholic but doesn’t believe it in his heart.
This is the addict who constantly relapses,
much to the amazement of themselves
and everyone around them.
…Divided into two dimensions
Usually based on lack of understanding, differences in semantics or in definition.
E.g. 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 understanding
Intellectual denial
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 on-going sobriety.
One of the major goals in treatment is to
help someone through compliance to
acceptance
This dynamic is a process, not an event:
Even in the most ideal conditions it will
sometimes take months before
acceptance is fully rooted
It is the process of internalizing a new
truth
This is why it is absolutely essential for
long-term therapy, treatment, and support
– to solidify the proper development of
new convictions cultivated in treatment.
Denial, in relationship to the treatment of
addiction, 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 addiction. They may accept
being addicted to a particular drug(s), but
still deny having the illness. They also
could deny having a problem with drugs in
spite of overwhelming evidence to the
contrary.
There are many different ways to express
this stage of denial all leading to the same
place. The person does not accept that
they have an illness, which requires
nothing short of total abstinence from all
mind altering drugs, including alcohol, for
its solution.
Stage Two Denial
Stage two denial is when a person denies the need for on-going sobriety support. It represents denial of being powerless. Just because someone agrees to something when treatment is completed, does not mean that they will do it.
It is vital to understand that good intentions in treatment do not guarantee success after discharge. Good intentions are not enough.
The absence of this inner perception
keeps the person in the second stage of
denial.
The real change takes place in the spirit,
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.
Stage Three Denial
Stage three denial is the denial of the need to be willing to go to any length in the recovery process. It is an indicator that other priorities that are more important than the maintenance of recovery.
The commitment to treatment may be strong, but the commitment to its maintenance is weak. This condition will usually escalate over time. It always goes ‘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.
Confronting denial
Although denial is not entirely voluntary, it is also not entirely involuntary
Opinions and assumptions must be challenged
Need to be questioned why thoughts and feelings are a certain way
Irrational beliefs influencing thoughts and behaviour must be confronted head-on
People are likely to surround themselves
with like-minded people so if something is
being denied, like-minded friends may just
reinforce denial because they may see
things the same way
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