Alcoholic Thinking Understanding the Insanity of Alcoholism: How the Alcoholic Thinks

If you’re the person who is stuck in the cycle of alcoholism and lying to cover it up, you may understand how trust can become broken over time. Deception tends to have a snowball effect, as one lie leads to another and destroys trust. These individuals may become offended or enraged if someone suggests they may have a drinking problem.

If it becomes known that a respected individual has behaved dishonestly, it can cause devastating harm to their reputation. Most people tell fibs or white lies from time to time – there is even therapeutic fibbing. Other people would claim that all types of dishonesty are bad. There may be times when you know your loved one just lied because you know what really happened. But for some reason, you might allow them to lie without letting them know that you know.

Reasons for Dishonesty in Recovery

People with an alcohol addiction may lie to mask shame or to avoid ridicule from their peers. In some cases, stigma causes people with alcoholism to avoid rehab. A 2007 study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse showed that 37 percent of college students avoided seeking substance abuse treatment for fear of stigma. The very honest truth of the matter is, every single person that is afflicted with addiction or is an alcoholic is worth saving; Every person, everywhere, addicted to anything.

They don’t want to admit defeat, so they cover up their drinking with lies. Many families of alcoholics find it difficult to know what to do next. You should try to talk to them about these difficulties as your first course of action. This conversation could not go well if they are also living in denial, but keep your composure. If your attempts to help them repeatedly have failed, you might require help from people who have been in your loved ones shoes before. If your loved one needs help to succeed contact us to discover the benefits of living with others who have the same desire to build a sober and healthy life.

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Another truth is, it’s not only being an alcoholic and/or drug addict that’s hurting them the most. By believing this lie that your alcoholic/addict mind came up with, you are discrediting the feelings and emotions of those https://sober-house.net/ that are watching you slowly destroy yourself. If you live with alcohol addiction, you might be aware that you drink more than you should.4 You may suspect that your drinking habits are unhealthy or even dangerous.

Mention in a kind and positive way what you would like to see happening instead of the addictive behavior, preferably before the addictive behavior becomes part of your routine. A person who is dealing with an addiction can often see their behavior as a kind of holding pattern, hoping things will work themselves out and the addiction will disappear. Eventually, they can and do change when they realize the consequences of their behavior will continue to worsen unless they do something different. When tackling a difficult topic, try to stay matter-of-fact about it. Use language to reflect your own perspective, rather than blaming your friend or loved one. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

The reason is that most of us are so “alcoholism naive” that we fail to see the alcoholic’s manipulative behaviour for what it really is. Alcoholism causes egomania, argues James Graham in his new book, The Secret History of Alcoholism. And worse – the egomania persists even after the alcoholic stops drinking.

In some instances, their denial causes them to fail to recognize how their substance abuse is affecting their lives. There are, however, many other options available, if anonymity is of eco sober house boston your top concern. Many rehabs offer executive rehab programs that provide you with privacy while administering the best rehabilitation and treatment care to help you overcome addiction.

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Drugs and alcohol change the chemistry of the brain itself, so addicts experience strong cravings for the substance they’re addicted to. These cravings fool addicts into believing they cannot live without the substance. The physical sensation of craving is hardwired into the brain, which affects an addict’s emotions and thinking abilities.

Psychologically, your mind also craves drugs and alcohol for various reasons. These reasons don’t go away on their own, and they remain even if you try to quit. Without addressing these reasons in recovery, you’re still vulnerable to restarting your habit. You may wish this were true, or you may still feel this to be true. However, unless you have proven that you can successfully quit using drugs or alcohol without cravings or withdrawal symptoms, you can’t truly stop anytime you want to.

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When lying to friends, you may imagine that they would stop inviting you to bars or parties where alcohol is served if they knew the truth. When speaking to your employers, you may worry that you will be seen as less responsible with alcohol or money. 7 For a person with addiction issues, honesty might seem too risky. Creating a false story about your drinking habits can make it easier to justify your drinking. You can persuade yourself that you don’t have a problem and don’t need to seek treatment. But these rules cannot keep AUD, which is progressive by nature, under control.

• As a loved one, you can try to help them understand that drinking alcohol is not an effective coping mechanism.
• Alcohol detox isn’t easy and not everyone can do it on their own.
• In actuality, they might regularly consume enough alcohol to cause blackouts, in which case they would not have knowledge of their behavior during this time.

They don’t want you to remind them about the negative aspects of their behavior, especially if it is in a blaming way. When they feel constantly criticized by loved ones, they may lie to cover up their behavior. Alcoholics are different from you and me – and they are all alike, abusive, dangerous and often more likely to be successful.

I told the checkout lady we were having a party to celebrate my manager’s engagement, and I was supposed to bring wine. I’m sure she shook her head as I walked away, knowing the sad truth. But why did I lie about other things too, about things so benign that a lie was completely unnecessary? We want to help, let’s setup a call and figure out the best treatment options for you or your loved one.

An alcohol intervention specialist may be able to help open their eyes and accept that they do, in fact, have a problem that requires treatment. Because alcoholics and lying so commonly go hand in hand, having a person that is professionally trained in addressing their struggles can make a world of difference. It can also be helpful to have an unbiased individual intervene as opposed to a close family member, which can bring up intense emotions that may exacerbate the situation. If you’re concerned you or a loved one may have a drinking problem,  Agape Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale is available to help. Please give us a call—we are ready to help around the clock, every day of the week. Our admissions counselors will work with you in determining your treatment options, how to cover the cost of treatment and set up a date and a time for intake.

And they know that rehab could compromise their relationship with alcohol. You do not have to disclose your relapse openly, but you should consider talking about your relapse part of returning your focus to recovery. After a relapse, reach out to people you trust to support you—such as your professional recovery team, your AA sponsor, or a sober loved one—and they can support you as you return to sobriety. But lying about your addiction can result in serious financial problems. Lying about your drinking can provide a temporary escape, but it doesn’t solve the underlying crisis.

Brain Changes

It is easier to lie to ourselves and shift the blame to anything else, including the 12 step program, to avoid the shame of what we deem as a failure. It is easier for us as alcoholics and addicts to say that the program doesn’t work for us than to admit that it was us that didn’t put the work into it. This is a great lie that many alcoholics and addicts tell themselves in order to suppress the guilt they feel for their actions. On a certain level, many people in active addiction are typically aware that this is not true. However, the prevalence of this statement or personal thought continues even in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary.

To the alcoholic mind, these things can be taken as a sign that the 12 steps do not work. But the reality is that this is not a reflection of the steps, but of the inaction of the addict and the lie that covers it up. A rehab center can offer the support and medical guidance you need. If these changes are intimidating, you might get tempted to lie to delay treatment. You may tell yourself that you’ll seek help tomorrow, next week, or next year. You might also tell yourself that you’ll accept treatment if your doctor insists or if your spouse threatens divorce.

Research has discovered that, over time, alcohol use results in long-term chemical changes in the brain and is responsible for alcohol dependence, among other harmful effects. Yet the stigma surrounding alcohol addiction is not easy to remove. Those who are caught in the downward spiral of alcoholism may feel the residual shame of their issue and strive to hide it from others.

• It can be the hardest thing to say, but it’s also the best thing to voice since it is the first step to get help.
• The most damaging of all will be the lies that the addict tells themselves.
• This last lie that addicts tell themselves is another form of denial.

While there are absolutely some reasons addicts lie that are unique to the individual, there is a general construct as to why lying plays as integral of a role in addictive behavior as it does. If you find you can’t relax and unwind except with drugs and alcohol, you have more problems than simple stress. Most drugs have a boomerang effect, causing even more stress as they wear off and the cravings for more begin. Weekend benders can be just as bad, if not more so, than constant, steady use.