7 Honest Reasons Why Addicts Lie | Addiction Recovery

The title of this article may seem like such a paradox!



Family members and friends associated with someone in addiction may simply experience the 'lying' with belligerent frustration.  When an addict, from a professional sense has been asked what they have been drinking or using - the general rule is add another 50% and multiply that again by 10. (A tad of embellishment!) but hopefully you might get the picture.



I believe all human beings need to have some form of "ego self preservation". The dynamic of lying can be part of (rightly or wrongly) our self preservation - because to be truly honest and acknowledge my "temporary flaws" would my sense of self truly collapse?



Unabated lying will eventually lead to the concept of 'rock bottom' - where the, then sense of self does truly collapse and it may need to do this several times over before a 'Phoenix phenomena' of change may arise.



I have wondered how much of the denial and lying is about hiding the inherent "shame". Nobody starts out recreationally using alcohol and other drugs to become addicts. You know, at the age of 16 years old - yeah, 'I think I'll become an alcoholic' - sure!



Unfortunately, what started out as "fun and party-time" becomes a pattern and when they recognise that other people have 'turn off' taps that they don't have the 'off-switch' - I wonder what might that do to their self esteem? Does the lying serve to self preserve a sense of self esteem? Or do they maintain a sense of denial to maintain the realms of euphoric fun?



One of the saddest things is that 'lying to others' is 'lying to oneself'. I firmly believe that at some level in the addict's psyche they know of this "unauthentic ness" and choose not establish insight but choose to avoid it with euphoric states of altered states of consciousness - 'Scotty beam me up there's no......down here'!



The article has some excellent strategies in addressing the lying.



A further strategy to address someone's lying is to work with our own 'powerlessness' and 'helplessness' - maybe then we can change the our dynamic? Perhaps it would cut at some level in our psyche, an energetic connection the addict needs and/or feeds off - offering them the emotional excuses and/or triggers to use. Take this away and what is left for the addict? The free-fall to pain and growth to self-responsibility or another drink?



7 Honest Reasons Why Addicts Lie | Addiction Recovery