[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I recently sat through a lecture on addiction presented by a woman who marketed herself as an industry-expert on the subject of chemical dependency. About ¾ of the way through her lecture, she said something provocative that really piqued my interest.
This is what I heard: “The worst form of denial is believing that your addiction is environmental”.
She said it again: “The worst form of denial is believing your addiction is environmental”. After hearing it again, I was really paying attention. The industry-expert was expounding on elements of the idea that addiction and alcoholism is purely a biological disease, and that people struggling with addiction are genetically predisposed to the illness, and looking at other elements in one’s life history that may have contributed to the addiction is futile.
Her message is common in some facets of the substance abuse treatment world that seems to rely solely on identifying addiction as a genetic illness and that your early childhood experiences, social environment, parental attunement & modeling are not relevant to your current situation.
In my humble opinion, I don’t believe the worst form of denial is believing your addiction is environmental because I believe part of your addiction is environmental and certainly dependent on external factors outside your generational genetics. I would prefer to not call that denial, I would rather label that as self-awareness, and would applaud any of my clients for recognizing what is or was environmental for them.
Part of the counseling process for people struggling with addiction challenges is helping them recognize the environmental factors that contribute or have contributed to their challenges, because once they get his part, they are empowered to change!
As I sat through the rest of the lecture, I wondered what could be the motivation for this lecturer to feel so emphatic about her stance. And then it dawned on me. In her opening segment, this lecturer freely discussed the devastating history of her own daughters struggle with addiction at the age of 14 and all the torment that impacted her family. I couldn’t help but wonder if her fear of possibly acknowledging her contribution (environmental), however big or small, to her daughter’s struggle with addiction may be keeping her from delivering a more balanced lecture. I began to empathize with her, and I could understand why she would want to believe what she was saying was true.
After all, denial is just a defense mechanism that protects us from internal pain. Could it be, for this speaker, her own worst form of denial is believing that addiction is purely biological?
If you’re struggling with addiction or alcoholism, please know that we can help. Our trained therapists have decades of knowledge and experience helping people overcome even the most severe forms of substance abuse challenges. Contact us today![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Connect with Us Today >>” style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”inverse” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Ftheretreatcounselingcenter.com%2Fcontact%2F||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_posts_slider count=”All” interval=”3″ thumb_size=”full” posttypes=”post”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
