In my few years of research into alcohol addiction, I have noticed that many people have unresolved, confused, and fuzzy understanding of alcohol addiction boggling up in their minds—Akwasi Ofori
Today, many are still wondering if their drinking behaviour or that of others they loved could be a sign of addiction. Many who are also suspicious of their own drinking patterns and behaviours often seek refuge from the psychological defence of denial to refute the claim that they are alcoholics. One would agree that most (if not all) alcohol addicts would not readily admit that they are addicted to alcohol. Such a defensive attitude or posture often makes it difficult for alcohol addicts to seek or receive the needed supportive care and there are several factors which account for this “defensiveness”. In view of this, we have set out to;
- Explore some of the misconceptions people have about alcohol addiction,
- Examine why most alcohol addicts deny their drinking behaviour and,
- Explore one of the ways to break the psychological walls of denial
Misconceptions about an alcohol addict
Often, people’s social and cultural worldview have largely influenced their views and understanding of alcoholism. However, the most common definitions we hear are that alcohol addicts are people who drink excessively and who cannot control their drinking behaviour. Some have also suggested that in their cultural setting, those who become alcoholic after an extended period of drinking are presumed to have been cursed, manipulated by witchcraft or other demonic activities—suggesting that within the Ghanaian context, alcoholism has spiritual causes. Our research findings on alcoholism in the Ghana police service (GPS) for example indicate that, in the minds of personnel of the GPS, even though many personnel take alcohol, however, the alcohol addicts drink continually, have poor uniform turnout and live a very reckless and irresponsible moral life. As we can see, different groups of people hold different views about alcoholism and alcohol addiction. As Emmanuel Akyeampong fairly posits,“ In Ghana, each culture defines its own drinking pattern.”
Nonetheless, regardless of how people understand alcoholism, we believe that the most important question is, how do these views complement the effort to identify, empower and support alcohol addicts to reach sobriety? It may be interesting to note that many alcoholics are in denial and not willing to accept help because, in actual fact, they believe they are not alcoholics. After all, alcohol has not cut them off from their daily activities and they do not have any “known” physical signs of addiction. Those who are “obvious alcoholics” (at least per the standard of society), they, too are also caught up in a web of denial due to the systemic shame and guilt that often characterises alcoholism.
As we can see, denial is one of the major challenges to the treatment of addiction. But even before we go into denial, it may be helpful to establish a working definition of alcoholism. we believe that when people are well-oriented, they would adopt a healthier position that will foster the recovery processes of alcohol addicts.
Who is an alcohol addict?
As we have indicated earlier, there are social and cultural parameters, which sometimes define alcohol use. Notwithstanding, we find the definition of Donald Goodwin to be universal, precise and yet, very deep. Goodwin asserts that an alcoholic is a person who drinks, has problems from drinking, but goes on drinking anyway. Particular about this definition we may want to draw readers’ attention to is the fact that first, alcoholism is not determined by the amount or quantity of alcohol a person takes. However, alcoholism is premised on the fact that the person encounters problems from the use of alcohol but despite these problems, he or s/he continues to drink. According to Dogbe, the problems of the alcohol addict could be physical, social, psychological and spiritual. Again, Martin Seligman is also of the view that in defining alcoholism, one must look out for these three (3) things;
(1) Loss of control over the use of the substance
(2) Impairment in daily functioning and continued use of a substance despite adverse consequences and;
(3) Physical or emotional adaptation to the drug, such as in the development of tolerance or a withdrawal syndrome
It may be important to clarify that over the years, some have erroneously concluded that “loss of control” means a person is drinking too much or excessively. However, this may not necessarily be the case. “Loss of control” cannot simply imply a person is drinking “too much” which in any case, is very subjective in nature. However, we do believe that “loss of control” implies a person’s (the addict) inability to regulate his alcohol use even if it is just a teaspoon of alcohol. “Loss of control” would also imply that the person is unable to decide for him/herself when he wants to drink and even if he really wants to drink. It means the person has lost the capacity to make a decision for himself relative to his/her use of alcohol. In summary, we consider the questionnaire below as an indicator very helpful for individuals using alcohol or any other chemical to assess themselves.
- Does the use of alcohol interfere with your job schedules?
- Do your family and friends complain about your alcohol use?
- Do you experience headaches after using alcohol?
- Do you have withdrawal symptoms when you don’t take alcohol?
- Do you need alcohol to relax or feel confident?
- Do you deny drinking, hide alcohol or get angry when confronted about your alcohol use?
- Do you drink alcohol more than you plan to?
- Does drink become increasingly important to you than family or work?
- Have you made several unsuccessful attempts to stop drinking?
- Have you found yourself in situations (conflict with the law, accident, fight, etc.) because of your alcohol use?
We concur that the more “Yes” one answers to the above questionnaire, the more tendency one could be an alcoholic and therefore, the need to seek urgent help.
Why do most alcohol addicts deny their drinking problem?
Generally, alcohol addicts and their families respond to alcoholism in several ways due to the crisis they go through. One of the manifestations of the crisis is the process of denial, which is often associated with shame and guilt. It is said that “denial is the most cunning, baffling, and powerful part of the disease of alcoholism.” Some scholars agree that “alcoholics, even the young ones, are masters of denial and manipulations.” Consequently, we share the view that because of the social shame, and because addiction (in general) has often been viewed through the lenses of morality, alcohol addicts are often compelled to deny the reality of their alcoholism. After all, admitting that one is an alcoholic would imply that one is morally weak—an identity, which almost everybody, including alcohol addicts, would not want to bear. Therefore, as a way of denying their problem drinking, most alcohol addicts would often point to others who drink a little more than they do as alcoholics. Second, alcohol addicts often put up a defence of denial when they witness the consequences of alcohol use and misuse on other folks. “It is because he drinks too much that is why he was knocked down by a car”. Third, as a means of denying problem drinking, alcohol addicts would often see other people as the cause of their problem drinking. “My wife is the reason why I drink; she gives me so much trouble.” In 2019, Akwasi Ofori interviewed a couple of police officers on alcoholism and the response of one respondent is captured; “Alcohol helps me to sleep well. As soon as the alcohol wears off my system, I cannot sleep any longer. However, alcohol does not affect my work; I discharge my duties effectively. In 2015, I took an award and at the time I was going for the award, I was heavily drunk. I am not an alcoholic; an alcoholic cannot earn an award of the year.” As we can see, although this person admits he “survives” on doses of alcohol each day, and even though he clearly shows signs of alcoholism, yet, he denies that he is not an alcohol addict. Why do you think this is the case?
Breaking the walls of denial
The psychological defence of denial keeps alcohol addicts from seeing the key role of alcohol in contributing to their physical, psychological and spiritual problems. The basic question is, how can we help an alcohol addict to break this psychological wall of denial? To answer this, we need to understand the dynamics of the ego-defence mechanism. It should be understood that humans are viewed as energy systems and the dynamics of personality consist of the ways in which psychic energy is distributed to the id, ego and superego. The conflicts of the id, ego and super-ego over control of psychic energy lead to anxiety and the ego copes with this anxiety by using defence mechanisms. One of these defence mechanisms is called denial. In simple terms, the human system has been designed by God in a way to insulate itself against shocks and other life-threatening situations. When our system encounters “fearful” events, it has a way of handling these events in order to protect us from the shock, which could otherwise break us down. We may not be aware of this “battle” because it takes place within the segment of the mind which is unconscious. One such way is by “denying” that a problem even exists or even if it does, it cannot harm us. As long as individuals (alcohol addicts) employ denial as a tactic to deal with the stressors of alcoholism, chances are that they may not seek help.
Therefore, most counsellors agree that one of the ways to break the walls of denial and make the individual (alcohol addict) become aware of himself is through a crisis. Why crisis?
When people deny their drinking problem, they are literally saying that the drug is not responsible for their current predicament. However, crisis situations have often made people become aware of themselves and have often challenged them to admit that they have a problem and that the problem is real. Have you noticed that most people quit drinking (at least for a while) after they were involved in an accident? Why do you think this is so? The reason is simple. The accident “forced” them to admit that they have a problem. Crisis gives alcohol addicts that “compelling evidence” they need that alcohol is true, the cause if not contributing to their interpersonal problems. According to Gary Collins, “crisis is a turning point” especially when adequate interventions are met during the crisis situations (words in italics ours).
Ultimately, it is our case that when we adopt the right posture towards alcoholism, and when we adopt the right interventions, alcohol addicts could recover at every stage of their alcoholism. As we conclude, it is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will grant you adequate insight and power in order to become a channel of hope and grace for individuals and families struggling with alcohol and other drug addictions, Amen!
