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Psychoanalytic Theory (Cont’d)

Personality Structure (3 subsystems)

1. Id – Biological force

2. Ego

3. Superego

Id – Original source of personality consisting of internal drives, needs, urges and cravings

Id produces an expressed wish craving for a substance. The wish is expressed as bodily excitation.

This excitation motivates the addict to seek out the substance and consume it.

Id is responsible for addiction. Biologically becomes addicted to the substance.

The id operates on the pleasure principle. - To seek out pleasure and avoid pain. The id is pleased by getting its urges and cravings met. Food, water, alcohol, drugs, sex.

Your id is concerned with instant/immediate gratification. It wants what it wants when it wants it.

Id is responsible for lapses and relapses.

The id is not concerned with reality demands or moral concerns

The id finds frustration and deprivation to be painful.

In order to be successful in recovery according to this model. The person can no longer see drinking or drugging as being pleasurable. They must now view drinking and drugging as being painful.

EGO – Emerges from the ID. It is the psychological origin of behavior. The ego seeks to satisfy demands of the id and does so by making external transactions with the world.

The ego seeks out food, water, the ego seeks out alcohol or drugs. The ego must answer the demands of the id.

It does so using cognitive resources. Reasoning, planning, delaying of immediate gratification, and other rational resources.

Ego operates on the reality principle. The reality principle is to suspend the pleasure principle temporarily until an appropriate place and time to release the tension caused by the id.

But that requires ego strength.

Alcohol and drugs weaken our ego strength.

We need to build ego strength in people who are getting help for alcohol or substance use.

How to build ego strength:

1. Performance Accomplishments - Recognition of achievement that sustains motivation and gives people the power to keep going. Highlighting their performance accomplishments.

2. Vicarious learning experiences/vicarious observation - Get them to learn by observing others and their experiences.

3. Coaching/Verbal Persuasion – Provides encouragement and gives direction on how to live life. Recovery coach. Certified Peer

4. Controlling negative emotions – teach people coping skills to control their negative emotions.

Superego - the moral component of personality. It emerges from learning morals and social norms or taboos. This is also known as your conscience. It is concerned with right and wrong, good and bad, do’s and don’ts.

It develops from early childhood and adolescence as a result of reward and punishment.

3 main functions.

1. To suppress the impulses of the id

2. To press the ego to abandon realistic goals for moralistic goals

3. To strive for perfection

Alcohol and drugs can weaken our superego as well.

Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms

Anxiety is purposeful. Anxiety is our body’s natural alarm system. It warns us when we are in danger. It motivates us to take action when there is a threat.

Anxiety is useful. People are motivated by discomfort.

However, most people can deal with anxiety using rational resources. Coping skills. We are not overwhelmed by our anxiety.

Ex. Breathing exercises, rest, hobbies/interests, exercise, medication, meditation, talk to someone.

Other times, people are overcome by their anxiety. When we can no longer deal with anxiety using rational resources, we turn to irrational resources. These irrational resources are known as defense mechanisms.

Typical ego defense mechanisms among the chemically dependent include:

1. Compensation: making up for the deprivation of abstinence by overindulging in another pleasure. (Example: A recovering drug addict becomes compulsive about gambling, work, eating, etc.)

2. Denial: inability to perceive an unacceptable reality. (Example: An employee denies he is suffering from alcoholism when confronted about the bottle he keeps hidden in his desk.)

3. Displacement: directing pent-up feelings of hostility toward objects less dangerous than those that initially aroused the anger. (Example: An addict in treatment comes home from a group counseling

session and screams at his wife. In group, he had received feedback from the facilitator indicating that he was not actively participating.)

4. Fantasy: gaining gratification from past experiences by reliving the euphoria and fun. (Example: While in rehabilitation, a group of addicts experience cravings as they reminisce about the “good ol’ times.”)

5. Isolation: withdrawing into a passive state in order to avoid further hurt. (Example: A depressed alcoholic in early recovery refuses to share her problems.)

6. Projection: assuming that others think badly of one, even though they have never communicated this negative regard in any way. Example: An addict unexpectedly blurts out to a counselor, “I know you think I’m worthless.”

7. Rationalization: attempting to justify one’s mistakes or misdeeds by presenting rationales and explanations for the misconduct. (Example: An addict reports that he missed a 12-step meeting because he had to take a very important telephone call from his attorney.)

8. Regression: retreating to an earlier developmental level involving less mature responses. (Example: In a therapeutic community, an adult resident “blows up” and makes a huge scene when she learns that iced tea is not available for lunch that day.)

9. Undoing: atoning for or making up for an unacceptable act. (Example: An alcoholic goes to a bar after work and gets “smashed.” He doesn’t get home until 4:00 a.m. His wife is furious. The next day he brings her flowers and cooks dinner.)

10. Repression: pushing away and avoiding issues that a person does not wish to deal with.