Understanding the mind of an alcoholic is more than just seeing their addiction as a weakness. It can be easier to place an alcoholic into a box so that their behavior is seen as predictable, but the situation of an alcoholic is actually a lot more complicated than one may think. But to understand the mind of an alcoholic, rational thought needs to be stripped away to get to the source of the problem.
Different Types Of Alcoholism
There isn’t just one type of alcoholism that all alcoholics fall under the umbrella of. Some alcoholics continue to drink, are high-functioning, and haven’t lost connections to the things and people they hold dear to them, for example. Even in the sober community, it is understood that people drink for a variety of reasons, and also become addicted for a variety of reasons, so deciphering these reasons can make it easier to understand alcoholism a bit better.
External Locus Of Control
As alcoholics drink more and more, they will generally start to conceal the frequency and amount that they drink. Not only will they lose control of their drinking habits, but they’ll also try to diminish the negative effects that it has on their lives. Alcoholics then tend to blame these negative effects on other people, making it someone else’s fault. Everything and everyone becomes a reason for them to drink, compounding the problem even further.
Incapable of Managing Many Things At Once
The worldview of the alcoholic becomes no different from a horse with blinders on. They can only focus on one thing at a time, ignoring everything else. Multitasking results in making many messes at once. It becomes difficult for the alcoholic to maintain a balance in their lives, choosing one extreme over the other. Eventually, this results in what is called “firehouse management”: every choice is dependent on what is the most pressing problem at the moment.
Appearance Over Substance
Alcoholics come to believe that everything is already screwed up so they might as well drink to get through the day. On some level, however, the alcoholic knows the truth of the situation — that they’re the one responsible for everything being screwed up — and are actively working hard to not know it. Their lives become less about substance and more about keeping up appearances so that they don’t have to face the truth and others won’t ask questions.
Being Master Manipulators
Alcoholism can take the most honest person and help them develop the remarkable skills of a con artist. They will manipulate any situation to make the other person the bad guy so that they have a reason to leave and find a drink.
Alcoholism is a complicated disease that can strip everything away from a person before they realize they have a problem. It may start out as a disease of choice, but it has a quick grip on a person’s life that can make everything spiral out of control. But the alcoholic can go into remission at any time; they just have to know that the help is there to change their lives for the better.