People are so familiar with the concept of denial, that it is almost a joke. But, it is not very humorous for the people who have to deal with an individual in denial. Although I was aware that I was consuming a lot of alcohol, and some drugs, I thought that I was just making up for lost time and sowing my wild oats. I did not think that I had a problem that needed to be addressed. Anyone who indicated that I might have a problem, I ridiculed. Anyone who persisted, however, I eliminated from my life. I did not want people to contradict my vision of reality.

However, my vision of reality was to be disturbed by my own actions, rather than anyone else's conversations. I proceeded on the same course, although periodically giving myself a drying-out spell in order to pursue work or other interests and just to "prove" to myself that I could not possibly have any problems with alcohol. Clearly, I could stop when I wished and I had control of the situation.

Then I lost my job at the time. The boss said t

Crigger, N. (1998). Defying denial: Clues to detecting alcohol abuse. The American Journal of Nursing, 98(8), 20-21.

I think about the people who I sponsor quite a lot. I try to understand their personalities and what is the most likely thing to reach them and help them to comprehend the program. I try to tell the truth to them and speak from my heart so that they can feel my authenticity.

hat I was late most days, when I bothered to come in. He asked if I had a problem with alcohol, because He had noticed that I tended to miss work on Friday and Monday, which is a typical pattern for drinkers. He was sympathetic enough to care what happened to me, but not enough to keep me on the job when I was not productive and reliable.

My knowledge of what does not work certainly helps me now. I can tell other people about what I went through In trying to control my alcohol use and let them know I understand how difficult that is. AA is based on making one's own knowledge useful to other people suffering from addiction. The intent is to use one's own story as a learning tool for other people who may be in denial or resistant to doing anything effective about their problem.

I can sometimes tell which people are going to accept the AA program most readily and make good use of it. Certainly people who are at the very bottom are likely candidates, like a friend of mine whose wife left him with the children. He had nothing and he was willing to try anything to put his life back together. At the same time, I am not infallible. There are people I would never have thought would obtain sobriety who have now been sober for many years.