The Shifting of Responsibility in Alcoholism

This last defense mechanism is just to own it. This one, I think, is the most difficult defense mechanism to break through. And then they say things, well, it's just who I am. You knew it when you married me. Or, you know, why can't you just accept me for me? You hear all these kind of things. And this is when someone, I think, does really does realize that they do have a true alcoholism or addiction, but they don't want to hold themselves responsible for fixing it. So they're acknowledging it, but they're releasing themselves from any responsibility to doing anything about it by just accepting it. Sometimes they'll even, like, glorify it in some ways. Like, they'll be, like, proud of it, you know, like Snoop Doggs proud of smoking or whatever. You know, they'll just sort of own it and wear it as an identity.