Are you an alcoholic?

[dtbog]

If you ask me this question, I will answer 'no'. (I am not anything remotely close.)

If you ask the same question of an alcoholic, he will also answer 'no' -- and people will tell him that this denial is symptomatic of his problem.

This is a common phenomenon -- a certain mental state, disorder, error in perception, etc... is characterized in part by a person's own ignorance of his own state.

- How do you deal with people in a state like this? People are often sent to 'rehab' or 'counseling', but what do they actually do?

- In a 2nd-level-thinking way, doesn't the almost-universal knowledge of this fact make all issues concerning alcohol, gambling, drugs, etc... hard to discuss or assess?

Example:

- "I'm running bad"
- "no, that's selective memory"
- "no, seriously. I haven't won a pot all session. I haven't flopped a set in a week. etc etc"
- "whatever, everyone thinks like that"
~~~~~~
- "i notice you're reaching for another drink."
- "yeah, it's Friday night, I'm out at a party."
- "i bet you can't even stop drinking."
- "I CAN stop, but I don't want to... I drink one night a week and I haven't even had that much"
- "whatever, you're deluding yourself, you are an addict"