Denial: The Silent Killer

Busting Addiction and Its Myths

In this podcast, we discuss how denial allows addiction and alcoholism to have their way in families who don’t recognise the predator in their midst.

We learn that:

1. Denial is born of innocence. How is one to know what is addictive behaviour and what is not unless we are educated?
2. People often turn to professionals not qualified to diagnose addiction as the cause of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Addicts lie to get what they want: drugs and/or a professional diagnosis that says they are not addicts.
3. Denial and enabling go hand-in-hand. If mum does not know that her Johnny is really a crack addict, she’ll blame his troubles on a string of bad luck.
4. Addiction is a family disease. The whole family is unknowingly in the grip of a silent and invisible predator and begins to think and behave more like the addict than they realise.
5. Those of us lucky enough to have “recovered” can only look upon others who have not yet awakened with compassion and gratitude that we have come this far. There is help out there for everyone.