In this episode, Dr. Gala Gorman challenges listeners to change how they confront denial. Recovery Stakeholders know that denial is not unique to someone struggling with addiction. Stakeholders also experience denial … not wanting to accept the reality of their loved one’s addiction. Denial is tricky. It requires a “blind spot.” So, how do we recognize something we can’t see? What if denial is actually serving a purpose? Could it be an unavoidable part of the change process? Once we see where it fits in, we’re on our way to moving through it! Rather than being frustrated by denial (the addict’s or our own), let’s dig a little deeper to understand it.
In the new episode of Recovery ReLOVution, the focus is on denial … how to recognize and confront it. Denial is not unique to someone struggling with addiction. Recovery Stakeholders also experience it. Denial is a tricky thing. It requires a "blind spot." The show explains what it takes to recognize something that can't be seen.
In this episode, listeners will:
-Learn when denial can serve a good purpose, and when it doesn’t
-Accept that denial happens, and determine what to do about it when encountered
-Deal with denial and prepare to make necessary changes without denial getting in the way
The show’s host, Dr. Gala Gorman, explains that sometimes, denial can serve a purpose. Recently, David Cassidy, former Partridge Family star, was featured in an article on Today.com. The article says, “[Cassidy] opened up […] after footage from a weekend concert showed him slurring his speech, struggling to recall the lyrics to songs that he'd been performing for decades and even falling over onstage.” Some speculated that Cassidy, who has struggled with alcoholism, was drinking again.
However, Cassidy finally opened up about his diagnosis … he's battling dementia. The star said, “’I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming.’ Cassidy felt so certain because he'd seen the devastating effects of the disease play out in his own family. ‘I feared I would end up that way.’"
As Gorman tells listeners, “Even when he started to see some signs … denial was a pretty powerful way to manage his fears so that he could keep functioning as long as he possibly could. Denial serves a purpose. Maybe he shouldn’t have continued performing to that point. But, how many months or years of performing did he still get to enjoy by holding on to his denial for as long as he possibly could? However, that is the dichotomy of denial. In a way it can serve us, but it can also allow things to escalate unabated.”
The Recovery ReLOVution show was created with the aim in mind to help family and friends of addicts restore peace and sanity to their world. Listeners now have an alternative to doing the same thing expecting a different result … the definition of insanity.
The show urges listeners to stretch themselves. The show’s tagline reflects this. Love the Addict. Outsmart the Addiction. Listeners, primarily Recovery Stakeholders, will likely find a particular interest since it’s difficult to avoid shaming their addict loved one.
When asked why she created the show, Gorman said, “Shaming just adds fuel to addiction’s fire. There is an alternative.”
The show’s host, Dr. Gala Gorman, is a holistic life coach and minister. She is the author of the Spiritual ApproachTM Series of books focused on practical spirituality. As an entrepreneur … mediator, publisher and, formerly, accounting firm partner, her experiences helped shape the creation of the show. As a change facilitator, she ignites transformation in businesses, families, students, clients and, especially, within herself.
Gorman has hopes that the show will help Recovery Stakeholders learn to set and hold effective boundaries to ignite positive change … in themselves and their loved one who is struggling with addiction.
Those interested in learning more about the show can visit here: RecoverYES.com/Episodes
