Relating to the other: truth and untruth in addiction

Abstract

The author argues that relations between addicts and others are dominated by untruth. Lying is explored with regards to its origin in the primordial desire for love, while it is argued that the addict regards every question posed to them as a question about their lovability. The place of deception in Twelve-Step Fellowship movement is noted and it is also argued that the latter's notion of 'rock bottom' can be understood existentially as that place where truth cannot be denied. It is further argued that addiction itself is a form of untruth, which distorts or destroys the ambiguous lived tension of existence. This form of relating leads to the destruction of self-esteem, the development of shame and distrust and the breakdown of relationships. Truth is replaced by false narratives that are individualistic and alienating. Instead of 'dwelling in truth', the addict instrumentally alters their moods to suit their own needs. The addict escapes from this position by hitting 'rock bottom', accepting the process of truth and by opening up to the other. These notions are relayed through an exploration of phenomenological theorists and a grounded example.Relaciona´ndose con el 'otro': verdad y falsedad en la adiccio´n a drogas El autor alega que las relaciones entre consumidores de drogas y no consumidores de drogas, esta´n regidas por la falsedad. Se explora el mentir en relacio´n con sus orı´genes en el deseo primordial de ser amado mientras se discute que el consumidor de drogas considera que cada pregunta que se le hace tiene que ver con su capacidad de ser amado. Se hace referencia al movimiento llamado 'la Hermandad de los Siete Pasos' (Twelve Steps Fellowship) con su nocio´n de 'llegar a tocar el abismo' (rock bottom), pensando que e´sto se puede entender existencialmente como el llegar al lugar donde la verdad no puede ya ocultarse. Se discute ası´mismo, que la adiccio´n es una forma de falsedad que distorsiona yo destruye la tensio´n ambigua pero vital de la existencia, trayendo como consecuencia la destruccio´n de la autoestima, la tendencia a avergonzarse, la falta de confianza en los otros y la ruptura de las relaciones humanas. La verdad es reemplazada por una narrativa falsa, individualista y alienante. En lugar de concentrarse en lo verdadero, el consumidor de drogas cambia sus estados de a´nimo segu´n sus propias necesidades, pero debe llegar 'al fondo del abismo' para poder *Downloaded by [Selcuk Universitesi] at 14:55 03 January 2015 aceptar el proceso de la verdad abrie´ndose al otro. Estas nociones se expresan a trave´s de una explicacio´n fenomenolo´gica y de un ejemplo. Palabras claves: adiccio´n; mentir; verdad; falsedad; avergonzarse; relaciones humanas Bezogen sein auf den Anderen: Wahrheit und Unwahrheit bei Sucht und Abha¨ngigkeit Der Autor argumentiert, dass die Beziehungen zwischen Su¨chtigen und anderen Menschen von Unwahrheit gepra¨gt ist. Dieses Lu¨gen wird vor dem Hintergrund seiner Entstehung in einem urspru¨nglichen Verlangen nach Liebe exploriert. Es wird argumentiert, dass Su¨chtige al...

The worlding of addiction.

“…The horizon then becomes very near. This mimics the shortened time horizon in addiction (Kemp, 2009c; Winter, 1999). The impact of this is to deaden the imagination and the freedom and hope of possibility.…”

“…Meaning, which is derived from the lived-contact with others and things of value, slowly dissipates. We can add to this the thingly nature of drugs, which reveals their technocratic (Kemp, 2009a) and temporary nature (Kemp, 2009c). The addict is, therefore, drawn into a relation to the temporary and the produced.…”

“…It should, however, be noted that a complete phenomenological description of addiction would involve analyses of other dimensions of existence, such as the lived-body, lived-time, and relating to others. I have attempted to explore these dimensions elsewhere (Kemp, 2009a(Kemp, , 2009b(Kemp, , 2009c and, therefore, restrict the discussion here to the life-world of addiction, even if this is not entirely possible. The definition of world as used here also implies Heidegger's notion of being-in-the-world.…”

Serenity Café—on the Road to Recovery Capital

“…Kemp (2009) describes the means by which people become profoundly lonely during addiction, in ways in which simply "being around" other people does not penetrate. encouraging some to come forward as volunteers upon leaving treatment.…”

The symbolic constitution of addiction: Language, alienation, ambivalence

“…The symbolic constitution of addiction is but one dimension of a comprehensive phenomenology. Elsewhere I have been working towards such a description, based on the lived-experience of temporality (Kemp, 2009b), embodiment (Kemp, 2009a), intersubjectivity (Kemp, 2009c) and ‘worlding’ (Kemp, in press). Also, throughout this article, I use the term ‘addiction’ and ‘the addict’ without a critical analysis of whether such terms are adequate or in fact constitute a substantial entity worthy of study.…”