Using drugs dangerously - part 2

In the previous post I talked about people using drugs dangerously and gave an example.

KYLady made some good comments on the possible defence mechanisms used by the case example below. I find that I got similar ones to her and a few different which I have listed below



Below is a statement by a 37 year old doctor who shared needles on this occasion.

“Never in wildest dreams did I EVER IMAGINE that I would share needles. Some of the details around these circumstances I can’t recall. I spose it was so traumatic, having a medical background and a deep moral code around sharing fits it still seems unbelievable.

I would ask the people who had used the fit before me if they had HIV or hepatitis and I chose to believe their response of no. Truth has no place in this world, if it shows up then is gets distorted, ignored or disproven because truth and drugs cannot be in the same room. The thought of not being able to get the drugs into me as quickly as possible especially when watching the others getting relief from their angst was something I could not take. This anxiety/fear far outweighs the fear for my own health and life. It was like trying to resist the sound of a newborn baby crying when you’re breast feeding.

I would disassociate from reality, time and space changed. I would wash the fit out with alcohol or bleech the whole time repeating a mantra of please God please God. I would think who cares anyway, you’re fucked and life is fucked and you’re all fucked. Self loathing and the fear of not getting that rush would fuel me on.

Then the ritual of mixing up would begin and my mind would start bargaining “you’re not really going to do it” “you’ll stop before you whack it” but there is no stopping by this stage you’re like a robot and this thing has you in its grasp. I would cry as I found a vein, wishing I could stop, jacking it back, holding in the sobs so I didn’t shake too much, then pushing it down the relief flooding over like a lover holding you in their arms no more aghhh and once again I’m cleaver and funny, all worries dissolve, I am a sex goddess and philosopher, brave and complete, all fears drift away.” (end quote)




1. Firstly she describes how she would ask others if they were carrying the HIV or hepatitis C virus. She knew the answer of ‘no’ could be considered quite unreliable. To proceed she must have used some mechanism like repression or denial to push the knowledge of unreliability out of her conscious.

2. Next she describes how she could dissociate which would allow her to decommission her Adult ego state temporarily which would allow her to proceed. This may have also assisted her discounting the unreliability of her peers reporting they were virus free.

3. Then she talks about repeating the mantra, “please God please God”. This could be the defence mechanism of magical thinking where the Child ego state can feel safer because she has ‘prayed’ and this will some how magically make her safe.

4. Next she moves to an angry position with her comment, “I would think who cares anyway, you’re fucked and life is fucked and you’re all fucked.” This may be the defence of minimisation. If she can convince herself that everything is bad then one little bit more of badness is not going to make any difference. It would allow her to minimise the importance of sharing needles.

5. Finally she talks about how her mind would start bargaining which may be a kind of rationalisation. Convincing herself that her preparations for drug taking were not wrong because she will pull out at the last minute.


Humans are very good at lying to themselves



If she had not been able to employ these defence mechanisms then she would not have been able to trick her Adult ego state and then she probably would have not engaged in sharing needles on that occasion. So you can begin to see the importance of what I am presenting here.

Graffiti

Using drugs dangerously

In order to use drugs dangerously such as with injecting drug use one has decommission their Adult ego state whilst doing so. This can be done by using what are called defence mechanisms. Humans are very good at lying to themselves and defence mechanisms are one way they can do that.

If a person has the Adult ego state information that sharing injecting equipment is a most unwise thing to do then in order to do it that, the Adult needs to be tricked some how. The Child ego state in some way needs to temporarily trick the Adult. If it can not do this then the person will not share injecting equipment on that occassion.



Below is a statement by a 37 year old doctor who shared needles on this occasion.

“Never in wildest dreams did I EVER IMAGINE that I would share needles. Some of the details around these circumstances I can’t recall. I spose it was so traumatic, having a medical background and a deep moral code around sharing fits it still seems unbelievable.

I would ask the people who had used the fit before me if they had HIV or hepatitis and I chose to believe their response of no. Truth has no place in this world, if it shows up then is gets distorted, ignored or disproven because truth and drugs cannot be in the same room. The thought of not being able to get the drugs into me as quickly as possible especially when watching the others getting relief from their angst was something I could not take. This anxiety/fear far outweighs the fear for my own health and life. It was like trying to resist the sound of a newborn baby crying when you’re breast feeding.

I would disassociate from reality, time and space changed. I would wash the fit out with alcohol or bleech the whole time repeating a mantra of please God please God. I would think who cares anyway, you’re fucked and life is fucked and you’re all fucked. Self loathing and the fear of not getting that rush would fuel me on.

Then the ritual of mixing up would begin and my mind would start bargaining “you’re not really going to do it” “you’ll stop before you whack it” but there is no stopping by this stage you’re like a robot and this thing has you in its grasp. I would cry as I found a vein, wishing I could stop, jacking it back, holding in the sobs so I didn’t shake too much, then pushing it down the relief flooding over like a lover holding you in their arms no more aghhh and once again I’m cleaver and funny, all worries dissolve, I am a sex goddess and philosopher, brave and complete, all fears drift away.” (end quote)



Can you spot the defence mechanisms?
Or the ways her Child ego state temporarily tricks her Adult ego state.
I can count 4, possibly 5.

Graffiti

Gender bias in drug use and impact

One thing I have noticed over the years of studying drug use and drug counselling is the bias towards males. In any statistics you come across whether they be rates of use, rates of ODs, rates of viral infections invariably males will be higher. Not always but in the vast majority of cases males will be at the higher rates.



For example see these charts of illicit drug use in Australia. These are typical of the statistics one comes across over and over in terms of gender bias.







I have always wondered why this would be so.
Why should males very consistently be the ones to use more and use more dangerously and so on?

Graffiti

Di life script currency analysis

Results


One and Only ++
Feelings +
Power +
Sex ++
Beauty +
Booze ++
Food +++
Violence +
Words ++

Analysis

Food
Games - Obesity, anorexia, bulimia
Stage - Oral
Lifestyle/occupation - body builder, dietician, cook, calorie counting, mother
Illness - stomach problems, mouth ulcers, IBS,
Therapist - eating disorders, weight loss counselling, alcohol/drug/cigarette counselling
Personality - Schizoid, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic
Issues - can life and death, control, sexual avoidance issues.



As this is an oral issue stage the consequences can vary considerably. Some who have an oral stage fixation can have few difficulties at all and have a work life like Jamie Oliver. On the other hand there can be very real life and death issues. This can result from over eating, under eating or highly restrictive diets and exercise regimes that can be dangerous. Or drug issues like alcohol and cigarette addictions can all result from oral stage fixations.

In females there can be issues around sex. Sometimes (but not all ways) the anorexic woman is protecting herself from sex (and a sexual relationship) by making herself unattractive to males and trying to make herself prepubescent again. The overweight woman may be also trying to make herself unattractive to males so as to avoid sex.



Dependency in relationships can be problematic. The two extremes by either being overly dependent on others or never being dependent on others. Oral stage issues can respond well to therapy and can include working out the relationship dependency issues in the transference with the therapist.

Graffiti

Annalynn life script currency analysis

Results

Uniqueness ++
One & Only +++
Feelings +
Power +
Reverse Status +
Sex
Beauty
Pied Piper
Booze +
Food +
Violence
Money
Words ++
Drugs

Analysis




You are quite unique Annalynn as this is quite an unusual set of results that you provide. The main thing I can say about it is that it could be reflective of disordered attachment. I know you a little bit but not a lot so I will have to speak more generally.

Research shows that children who grow up in a monomatric family will tend to have singular attachments in adulthood. This could be seen to represent the script currency of one and only and uniqueness. Especially the quality of the exclusion of others. Children who grow up in more polymatric families will have a more diverse set of attachments in adulthood.

In terms of psychological games this could result in what are called exclusion games. These are played the best of all by teenage girls. Those who establish peer groups and then keep some others out of them. This is not saying that you do such things just that you would be hypersensitive to such behaviour.

Because of the singular attachment there could develop problems with loyalty, betrayal and so forth, including exclusion games as mentioned before.



Of course there is nothing wrong or unhealthy about having singular attachments. From a psychological point of view if the needs for human contact are met in one or two attachments then there is no problem. Others usually have more attachments to meet those needs but as long as the needs are being meet then there is not a psychological problem.

The main danger is you put all your eggs in one basket. If the primary attachment figure dies or moves away then you may be left bereft of other attachments.

Graffiti

Kahless script currency analysis

Results

One and only ++
Reverse status ++
Drugs ++
Booze ++

Analysis


Booze and drugs

Games: alcoholic, cops & robbers
Psychosexual stage: Oral
Lifestyle/occupation: Gourmet, wine taster, narc, temperance league, junkie
Illnesses: Gastrointestinal, oral problems
Therapist: Addiction counselling
Personality: Antisocial, schizoid, narcissistic
Issues: Can be more severe in terms of life threatening, despair rather than depression




Tends to result from pre-verbal quite early problems with the primary attachment figure. Primary attachment figures may be emotionally absent in some way.

May have a tendency to move to a position of non life if not obviously self destructive. Stroke deprivation can result when the individual enters periods of incapacitation (non life) which may last many months.

Possibility of openly self destructive behaviour with the use of alcohol and drugs but also by other means as well. Possible suicidal urges.


The sophistication of smoking Peter Styvestant thins.


Quite amenable to psychotherapy but needs to find a good attachment figure in a therapist. If achieved then considerable psychological gains can result but it takes time.

Needs to structure life such that social isolation does not result even though there maybe a constant pull to that position.

Graffiti

Linda life script currency analysis

Results

Uniqueness +++
One and Only na
Tears and Feelings na
Sex + 
Violence n/a 
Pied Piper n/a
Drugs n/a
Booze n/a
Food +
Power na
Reverse Status ++
Words +++
Money ++
Beauty ++


Analysis

Words
Games: Psychiatry, Greenhouse
Psychosexual stage: Anal or possible oral
Lifestyle/occupation: Lawyer, politician, writer, journalist, orator, salesman, psychotherapist, debater
Illnesses: Elective mutism, migraines, neck/shoulder pain,
Therapist: Intellectual therapies are attractive
Personality: Obsessive compulsive, paranoid




Issues:
These people are sometimes said to be “Dead from the neck down”. They retreat to the safety of thinking and thus there can be a mind body split. Out of touch with their body and thus one can have eating disorders or various forms of self harming. Out of touch with what their body is saying and thus detached from part of the Free Child.

Retreat to intellectualisation so as to hide from feelings (at least some of the painful ones).



Need to access the Free Child in therapy. The Free Child has gone into hiding for some very good reason and accessing it will bring up those reasons which may be quite distressing.

Body therapies might be an idea to deal with the mind body split. Physical contact needed as there may also be a history of prolonged stroke deprivation.

If it is a reflection of oral stage issues there could be obvious suicidal or self destructive impulses or more subliminal self destuctive impulses displayed through such things as alcohol abuse, chronic cigarette smoking or severe eating problems.

Graffiti