Emotions & Alcohol Abuse
After years of defending people charged
with drunk-driving, I have seen human suffering embedded in hearts and souls
that make many people feel overwhelmed, ashamed, alone, and depressed. I have
counseled clients weighed down by problems with complex and deeply-embedded
layers that are seemingly impenetrable. I see people who feel like nobody could
possibly understand their pain – people who feel ashamed, embarrassed,
depressed, alone, and unworthy.
I have represented and counseled rape
victims, victims of childhood abuse, adults who grew up with abusive parents,
adults in abusive or poorly-rooted marriages, adults who inexplicably lost
parents or loved ones, and adults who had a parent or loved one abandon them.
Their depression, bitterness, anxiety, and low self-esteem are real and intense.
That human suffering – the desire to get out of pain, is at the root of the
alcohol abuse.
Chris Prentiss, the founder of “Passages”,
a premier addiction treatment center, says that “[a]lcohol and drugs are not the
problems; they are what people are using to help themselves cope with the
problems.” (“The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure”, Chris Prentiss).
According to Prentiss, “[a]lcohol is just a
quick and easy way to change ordinary, everyday reality from unbearable to
bearable. All it takes is a short trip to the liquor store and a few drinks.
People who are dependent are merely using alcohol as a crutch to get through the
day. Yet doctors and scientists are still treating "alcoholism" as if it is the
problem, when it has nothing at all to do with the problem. They might as well
be studying "scratchism" for people who have a chronic itch.” (“The Alcoholism
and Addiction Cure”, Chris Prentiss).
According to
Dr. Keith Ablow, all addictions have a “common denominator … addicts are turning
away from underlying emotional pain, always rooted in their life stories.” (New
York Post, August 19, 2008).
According to
Dr. Ablow, “[a]ll too often … attempts to cure addictions neglect to acknowledge
their psychological cause - the
why that explains
a person's determination to use one thing or another to try to run from
unconscious conflicts, grief or low self-esteem. And without getting to the
why, cures remain
elusive.” (New York Post, August 19, 2008).
First,
“[a]ddiction to anything - food or alcohol or an illicit drug or sex - is a
symptom of an underlying psychological
problem, not the whole of the problem. Insist on treatment that addresses the
motivation for your behavior, not just the behavior itself.”
Second,
“[t]he emotional fuel for addictions is more easily discovered than most people
believe. You don't have to spend years in therapy to find the psychological key
that unlocks real healing. But you
do have to make
that exploration a priority.”
Third,
“[a]ddiction often masks underlying major depression or an anxiety disorder or
attention-deficit disorder. Treating those conditions can have a very
significant impact on your long-term well-being.”
In the book “Terry: My Daughter's
Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism”, former Senator George McGovern talks
candidly and heart-wrenchingly about his daughter’s struggle with alcoholism.
His daughter, Terry, died at age 31 when she froze to death after she passed out
drunk, outside of a bar.
The book is very moving. One thing that was
telling for me as I read the book was that Terry McGovern’s alcoholism morphed.
Her abuse of and reliance on alcohol, caused her more problems and pain. That
pain caused her to turn to alcohol to numb the pain – the pain caused by her
alcohol abuse. It was a proverbial “vicious cycle.” I see this often with
clients who are suffering from depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, these
clients who are already in pain have added worry and depression after getting
charged with a dwi.
I do not have
all of the answers to this complex human issue. I do know however, that human
suffering is the root cause of many dwi offenses. People who judge dwi
defendants harshly and see only the offense, are myopic in their thinking. Many
dwi defendants are merely people who have deeply-embedded pain that they are
trying to medicate.
Call
on New Jersey
DWI lawyer, Greggory M. Marootian when you need
experienced
professionals to give you the facts, and restore your integrity.
|
