{"id":914,"date":"2022-09-21T11:13:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hopetrustindia.com\/dev\/?p=914"},"modified":"2022-09-21T11:14:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T11:14:13","slug":"6-typical-traits-of-addicts-as-observed-by-therapists-at-hope-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopetrustindia.com\/dev\/blog\/6-typical-traits-of-addicts-as-observed-by-therapists-at-hope-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"6 typical traits of addicts as observed by therapists at Hope Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

I asked our counsellors to draw upon their vast experience in treating addicts and alcoholics and list the most common traits. These may be categorized as the typical traits of an \u201caddictive personality<\/strong>\u201d. AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) stress the need for a \u201ccomplete personality change\u201d.<\/p>\n

During therapy at Hope Trust, we find ourselves very often addressing these traits and those who recognize these in themselves and make an effort to manage these \u201cpersonality shortcomings\u201d have a much better chance of achieving long-term sobriety.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the list:<\/p>\n

1 Impatience and Impulsivity (\u201cI want it and I want it now\u201d)<\/h2>\n

Addicts aren\u2019t alone in their insatiable desire for immediate gratification or their appetite for risk-taking. However, they appear to have a significantly exaggerated sense of hurry to get what they want \u2013 now!<\/p>\n

They have an inability to wait, to work toward a goal and expect things to materialize merely because they wish so. And if they don\u2019t get what they want, when they want, they tend to blame people, places and situations.<\/p>\n

Just about everyone has a hole to fill or a pain to soothe, but not everyone has the internal resources to manage those impulses, but an addict goes for a quick fix.<\/p>\n

2 Perfectionism (\u201cFailure is not an option \u2013 I deserve the best\u201d)<\/h2>\n

Moderation is not an option, in whatever they do or desire. They must get the best, do the best. They tend to have high expectations from life \u2013 such as family will immediately forgive and begin to trust them since now they are sober for a little while, they expect to get financially successful fast, and they will definitely expect to remain sober no matter what\u2026the list of unreasonably high expectations goes on. And when their expectations are not met, once again the tendency is to blame others for their perceived \u2018failure\u2019.<\/p>\n

3 Grandiosity (\u201cIf I\u2019m OK, the world is OK\u201d)<\/h2>\n

Addicts tend to think they are really the centre of the universe. Everyone and everything should revolve around them. In all their reflections at the rehab, we notice that their thoughts are mostly about themselves \u2013 what they want, what they deserve, what they need, what they expect. Rarely do they think about others\u2019 feelings \u2013 this apathy drives others away.<\/p>\n

Of course, we as therapists recognize that grandiosity often arises from low self-esteem and is usually a mask for their fears and insecurities \u2013 but it leads to further isolation as others don\u2019t appreciate the apparent arrogance and self-centred behaviour of the alcoholic or addict.<\/p>\n

4 Difficulty Connecting with People (\u201cI\u2019m OK without you\u201d)<\/h2>\n

\u201cAn addict alone is in bad company\u201d says an NA slogan. But that\u2019s the situation addicts land up in. Unlike \u2018normal\u2019 persons who feel a strong need for attachment and connection with other people, addicts and alcoholics deny this need by\u00a0isolating themselves. They make excuses for skipping social gatherings, blame others for their struggles and would rather stay home than face the world. As a result, they (often unknowingly) search for connection through drugs, alcohol\u00a0or other destructive behaviors.<\/p>\n

5 Power and Control (\u201cI\u2019m in charge.\u201d)<\/h2>\n

We have often seen families in complete control of the addict \u2013 while they are trying their best to control the behaviour of the addict. The addict manipulates others by blackmailing, threatening and intimidating. Driven by their own fears, the family members inadvertently give up control and are skillfully controlled by the alcoholic.<\/p>\n

Of course, the addict is doing so because he is compensating for his acute sense of powerlessness and does not take responsibility for his own actions and choices. Here too he shifts the blame and this gives him more control over others.<\/p>\n

The irony is that while nothing is under his control (especially the drinking and drugging); he tries to get a feeling of being in control by trying to control everyone and everything else.<\/p>\n

6 Difficulty Managing Emotions (\u201cFeelings are so painful, I\u2019d rather feel nothing.\u201d)<\/h2>\n

Addicts and alcoholics will do everything possible to avoid the pain of emotions. \u2018Normal\u2019 persons are able to recognize and identify their emotions (\u201cI am angry\u201d \u201cI am feeling hurt\u201d) and process these emotions by expressing or sharing them with another person.<\/p>\n

An addict however, tends to suppress these emotions. He will use suppressants such as alcohol to deal with uncomfortable emotions. Obviously, when an emotion is not processed, it will stay within the person. And so many emotions, on so many occasions, over so many years when stay unprocessed within a person, it becomes a huge, very uncomfortable burden to carry. The addict further protects himself by building a wall around this \u2013 this wall is \u2018denial\u2019. He denies his feelings and the incidents associated with it.<\/p>\n

A lot of work is done at Hope Trust in this area \u2013 helping clients first identify the emotion and then learning to express them appropriately.<\/p>\n

This later leads to empathy<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 the ability to understand others\u2019 emotions \u2013 and helps in rebuilding and maintain relationships.<\/p>\n

From
\nRahul Luther, Hope Trust India.
\n<\/strong><\/em>Rahul Luther is Executive Director of Hope Trust and leads the therapy team at their facility in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I asked our counsellors to draw upon their vast experience in treating addicts and alcoholics and list the most common traits. These may be categorized as the typical traits of an \u201caddictive personality\u201d. AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) stress the need for a \u201ccomplete personality change\u201d. During therapy at Hope Trust, we find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 typical traits of addicts as observed by therapists at Hope Trust - Hope Trust<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hope Trust, we find ourselves very often addressing these traits and those who recognize these in themselves and make an effort to manage these \u201cpersonality shortcomings\u201d have a much better chance of achieving long-term sobriety.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hopetrustindia.com\/blog\/6-typical-traits-of-addicts-as-observed-by-therapists-at-hope-trust\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 typical traits of addicts as observed by therapists at Hope Trust - 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