His denial may signal cry for help

Denial and recovery are two faces of the same coin. Denial is a natural reaction to the fear of facing the truth or the consequences of one’s actions, but may be a cry for help. A supportive therapist can heed this call and enable the addicted individual to accept responsibility for his or her actions and make a change that will help the individual get back on the “recovery” path.

When faced with questions by a reporter about his erratic behavior, Doc Gooden responded, “I’m doing fine.”

While I can’t be sure whether Gooden has relapsed or not, in general, the first reaction of individuals confronted about their drug or alcohol use or relapse is denial or minimizing the situation.

The reason for this is fear — fear of letting family and friends down, fear whether they will be able to recover fully at all, fear of negative consequences of their behavior, and fear of labeling themselves as a failure. So they adjust the truth to convince themselves and their loved ones that their substance use is less problematic than it actually is.

Denial is also a cry for help as the individual feels helpless and needs empathy and understanding first, not confrontation.

Addiction is brain a disease, and an individual with a substance use disorder is not in complete control of his/her behavior.

Relapse, unfortunately, is part of recovery. Consequently, a supportive therapist who views relapse as a steppingstone to a stronger recovery needs to be involved. He or she will help the individual with the substance use disorder explore their fears and concerns and address the distorted thinking that led to the relapse.

This will form the base for the affected individual to accept responsibility for their actions and reenter treatment in order to resume the recovery process.

Cidambi is the medical director for the New Jersey-based Center for Network Therapy and an expert in addiction medicine.