Denial comes in many flavors. For the addict, it often took the form of lying. We lied in order to minimize an action or its associated results. One of the most frequent lies was how much we used each day. “But honey, I don’t understand why you’re so upset. I only had a couple”. Then there was the lie to escape the consequences of an action. “Honest officer I didn’t know I was going 50 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone”. We told these lies so frequently that we began to believe them. When caught in our lies, we vehemently denied that we were not telling the truth. Our voices were often raised for good measure.Some of us also liked to inflate our actions and accomplishments to hide our own inadequacies and failings. This often increased over time as our sense of grandiosity expanded.
When we finally entered the program, we came face to face with a concept that had alluded us while we were active. We discovered the serenity of telling the truth and never having to look back or cover ourselves ever again.
Personal Reflection: Are we truly honest in all of our daily dealings?