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This is what makes addiction denial a difficult enemy

22 Apr 2024 · 0 min

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A short transcript excerpt from a YouTube conversation (Amber Hollingsworth and another speaker) about why addiction denial is hard to detect. The speakers use a "flashlight" metaphor: the survival (addicted) part of the brain hides addiction by turning the flashlight off, and people often label themselves "functional" addicts or "heavy drinkers" to downplay the problem. The exchange frames this minimization as human nature rather than deliberate deception.

Yeah. That addiction that lives in the survival part of the brain is not going to turn on that flashlight and let you see it. It's in fact, going to turn the.
Flashlight off so you don't see it. Right. This is kind of a thing. I don't know. I don't really know if people say this a lot, but I get the impression people think it a lot is like. It's almost like if I'm a functional addict or alcoholic, I'm not really an addict or an alcoholic. I'm really just a heavy drinker. Or it's like they may even call themselves that or say the word, but. But there's this sort of dismissiveness that it's not really that problem. It's not really out.
But to me, that's human nature.