Denial
We can generally see trouble with others, but we can be oblivious to our own issues. This blindness can often crop up when it comes to addiction. About 54 million Americans ages 12 and older have misused prescription drugs, according to the National Institutes of Health. Yet nearly a third of 4,600 people polled in a recent Michigan State University study were unable to identify the signs of drug addiction, even when it was staring them right in the face (the people polled were given a brief description of a person exhibiting the symptoms).
And what about when the person with the problem is you? Since denial plays a large role in drug addiction, that makes it even harder to see it, according to Marc Myer, MD, an addiction medicine specialist with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. “It’s difficult to see the picture when you’re the frame,” Dr. Myer explains. Recognizing denial in yourself can be challenging. What may be easier to recognize is the “story” that seems all too familiar in addicts.
