alcoholism

Double BINDS – STAYING AWAKE (Part 6a)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , ,


IF I’M GOING TO GET MYSELF FREE
I’m going to have to pay close attention

PREVIOUS: Double Binds (Part 5b)

BOOK: “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” ~ Chip & Dan Heath (review…..)

GETTING STARTED
D. Binds, created by D. Messages, are like being called over to someone who is crooking their index finger, meaning “Come to me, my darling,” – but when you get there they slap your face.
Or being told, “Darling, tell me how you feel,” but then when you do, they sarcastically sneer that you’re being dramatic, hateful, over-sensitive, crazy, ridiculous, immature…. (More…..)

📣 IMPERATIVE : We can not afford to mentally blank out when dealing with controlling, narcissistic, double-binding people – which is what the WIC does when terrified & trying to disappear.
It will make a big difference to your well-being if you stay awake for how you feel around people who do the come-here-go-away dance or give other kinds of DMs.

🔺Identifying the specific D. Messages you’ve been getting is crucial so you know what you’re dealing with, & then figure a way out.
If one specific person you’re around is a S, you’re probably angry a lot of the time, but may not recognize it as that specific emotion. And underneath the anger – you’re really scared of displeasing or losing them – whether you can feel that deeper layer or not.

❗️VERBALIZE what’s going on. You’re only in a full Double Bind while the contradictory statements you’ve been subjected to remain unconscious. Once they’re articulated, they lose some of their force. Questioning AND objecting to the contradictions, & getting external support, can often help with our own internal distorted beliefs

EXP of self-hating D.Message (More….. )  Also DM Part 7b)
a. Having many PTSD symptoms means I’m broken, worthless -AND-
b. Admitting to only a few symptoms means the abuse wasn’t that bad
c. I’m not supposed to notice what really happened, or help myself out of it

❓CHART: Use it for your own DBs, to figure out what were imposed on you by another person or institution. 📕 Expand & add columns as needed
Re. RESULTS: Internally – what’s already happened
Externally: what you fear will happen
Re. OPTIONS: The one best suited to your personality & current circumstances
Final RESULTS – of your choice, in T.E.A. terms

Fill in columns for each part of the Double/Triple BIND you’re in, in as much detail as you can. DO a little, then add as you figure more out. Include:
🔸 (A,B,C) Conflicting commands & Consequences, from yourself or others
🔸 Blatant & subtle Punishments
🔸 Any attempts to unhook yourself, successful or not
🔸 What happened – in yourself or from others / overall outcome
🔸 If still stuck, why you’re still in it (internal reasons)….
“Step Away from DBs“ and post “Negative Benefits

• Since DBs are often stacked together, it’s necessary to unravel them statement by statement – like parsing a sentence. See how many parts you can identify in the following abusive, distorted manipulative communications:
EXP – Toxic Parent to actual Child
“Now you want my help! Hah! I never got into this kind of trouble when I was a kid. Surprise me by doing something right for a change, I’d like that!”
“You should be ashamed of yourself. Listen to me, you’ve got to take control over your life. Stop questioning what I tell you. I’ve been around a lot longer than you have, you know.”

EXP – Authority to ‘Problem’ Person / Patient
“You have to accept that you are X (mentally ill, addict, out-of-control, raging, self-destructive…) before we can help you. We’re only doing this for your own good, out of love and compassion for you, even though you are X (the label).”

“When you say that — “we have the problem, that we’re doing this to suit ourselves because we don’t like the way you are — it only proves that you are indeed X (the label)”

NEXT: DBs, Staring Awake, Part 6b

Double BINDS – Options (Part 5a)

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wash the brain 

I NEED TO SCRUB MY BRAIN
until I’m free of this poison

PREVIOUS: DB – Frames (Part 4b)

SITE: 4 Double-Binds psychiatrists use on mental patients

 

OPTIONS in dealing with DBs
Once you – the R – have gotten caught in a Double Bind (DB) you’re going to have to accept that ‘getting away’ may be painful & slow, especially if the S is important to you & you’re afraid of loosing them.

Remember, people who use DBs need to control others & are NOT safe, most likely a severe narcissist, & therefore not truly loving. That’s an illusion they create & you buy into.
🔴 Feeling angry, frustrated & ‘crazy’ – about yourself & toward someone else – are your HINTS that they’re pulling a fast one on you, whether deliberate to not. It might be necessary to move out of their range, which is not easy, but it’s also not the only option.

• Getting relief from a DB situation starts by recognizing & addressing the Conditions which are required to produce it (see “How It Works”= DMs #3 and DBs, #2).
THEN – know that you have to ‘chose your poison’ & that there will be some repercussions for whichever side of the D.Bind you reject (disobey).

You will need the ego-strength (self-esteem) to bear whatever reaction you’ll get from the Sender you’ve known a long time, which can include raging, insults, threats, silence, shaming…. Since Ss are control freaks, they’re more likely to hang on & keep trying to keep you hooked rather than dump you. If you stick to not playing along, they’ll either adjust, withdraw or separate / leave

1. DO LESS: At first, if the pattern of interaction with a special person is so deeply ingrained & your connection to this S is like your childhood & probably symbiotic – you’re likely to be too mentally confused (T) & emotionally scared (E) to make radical changes (A).

The best thing is to DO LESS of whatever they’ve trained you to do/be, & see what happens. Naturally it will be uncomfortable – not just because of their reaction, but from your own feelings of guilt & fear of abandonment. Remember that guilt is the E. that comes from breaking a Toxic Rule or law.

EXP: No matter how much effort Anna puts into cleaning & prepping for Mother-in-Law’s visits, the older woman will always find something to find fault about!
IMPLIED MESSAGES: “I disapprove of you when you haven’t cleaned your house ‘perfectly’” (you’re such pig) and “I disapprove of you when you think you’ve cleaned everything thoroughly (I can always find something you missed)

So, finally Anna decides to only do the most needed cleaning & storage, & let the chips fall where they may. (Maybe – give mom something ‘legit’ to criticize?)

2. INTERMEDIATE option
– If you’re young enough to not care what your parents say,
– OR know yourself well enough to have a sense of what works for you, you can alternate between the ‘options’ presented in the D.Messages, with the understanding & acceptance that you’re going to get flack either way, BUT YOU’RE OK

EXP a : SO – between “I disapprove of you for not socializing (dating)” and “I disapprove of your choice of boyfriends when you finally do”
– YOU can choose BOTH – when you want to go out & with whom, & when you’d rather stay in to read (or secretly text with friends)

EXP b : MASH’s Klinger tried to get out of the war on medical grounds, SO –
X: he pretended to be crazy – BUT was told that –
Y: only crazy people would want to be in a war
Result – he was never allowed to be discharged
NOTE: This is a DM – the word “crazy” being used on two different logic levels. However, Klinger did not fall into the trap. In an impossible situation he chose the ‘crazy’ that suited him & went merrily on his way.

NEXT: DBs – Facing ourselves (#5)

Double BINDS – Frames (Part 4a)

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Frames I’VE BEEN FRAMED –
but I’m innocent!

PREVIOUS: BDs (Part 3b)

SITE: “Framing:…Least recognized daily Mental Activity”


FRAMING Theory
Frames are made up of pre-conceived ideas that allow people to quickly organize & interpret new & complex information. They function as mental shortcuts or a “rule of thumb,” & in psychology, are known as scripts or schemata.
Framing is a feature of our brain’s architecture. Our minds react to the context in which something is embedded, not just to the thing itself.
EXP: The cover influences our judgment of the book, a line appears longer when vertical than when horizontal……

Goffman, in Frame Analysis wrote that people interpret what’s going on around them in their world through their primary framework – which is taken for granted by them.
He identified 2 distinctions within basic frameworks:
❖ natural = physical events, separate from any social forces
❖ social = socially driven events, based on the whims, goals & manipulations of the players, but built on natural assumptions

EXP: If you look out of 2 different windows from the same room at a landscape outside – you’ll see 2 (maybe very) different aspects of that world. It hasn’t changed – only your perspective.

USE of Frames
re. THINGS
Artifact: giving objects intrinsic symbolic value (car=freedom)
Contrast: describing an object in terms of what it is not
Slogans, jargon : using a catchphrase to make an object more memorable & relate-able
Tradition (rituals, ceremonies) : cultural values that give great meaning to every-day objects / artifacts (buildings, land….) .
re. IDEAS
Euphemism : serving to soothe, distract or reduce conflict (I put my dog ‘to sleep’)
Metaphor: expressing an idea by comparing it to something else
Spin: presenting a concept with a value judgement (positive or negative) not  immediately obvious, or create an inherent bias
Stories (myths, legends): narrative presented in a vivid & memorable way

🤓 Each type of frame has several parts, making up the whole. EXPs:
• Commercial Transaction has: seller, goods, buyer, money
• Communication: message, messenger, audience, medium, images & context
• Group Therapy: therapist, clients, personal problems, suitable location ……

Re. DM & DBs
Framing Theory can help make sense of how D.Messages lead to D.Binds, because it explains that “how something is presented influences the choices people make”.
★ If you don’t ‘set the frame’ – for yourself & with others – someone else will, AND whoever does – controls the situation by creating the context for everything that happens in the interactionFRAME Cartoon

• Controlling our frame is not necessarily bad. In fact we all do it every day – parent to child, teacher to class, boss to employee…. It’s only bad when the frame is designed to con, ensnare or control another person or group.

Our personal reality is constantly changing, & always includes our active participation. It’s made up of the events, objects, processes & facts we experience, & can only be fully understood in context.
EXP : if you say “I’m on a street”, that could be anywhere.

In almost any situation, we have the choice to either frame it in a positive light, or plunge it into the dark clutches of negativity. Framing things in a positive way will improve our mood & help develop compassion for others.  “I know I can figure it out”

5 WAYS information can be framed
🔹Gain F – wanting certainty & positive gains, being risk-averse
🔹Loss F – choosing a desired goal with a significant loss, rather than an unwanted goal with no loss at all = risk-seeking

🔹Goal F – respond to info based on whether it helps or hinders you trying to improve your circumstances
🔹Temporal F – choose immediate smaller rewards over long term large ones
🔹Value F – respond better if available info is framed such that it affects what you care about

EXP of a GAIN F. re DB communication = Mother to her child : “Be spontaneous.”
If the child then seems to do something unexpected (spontaneous), he can’t actually be acting spontaneously, because he’s following her direction.
Mother wants total control, so the child has to be put in a no-win situation, to prevent autonomy. Subjected to this kind of manipulative communication over many years, it’s easy to imagine how this boy could become thoroughly confused – & mentally paralyzed.

NEXT: DBs & Frames (#4b)

Double BINDS – Logical Types (Part 3b)

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DB mouse trapIT’S A MOUSE TRAP
& I’m the mouse!

PREVIOUS: DBs, #1


🧩 REVIEW (3a)
♨️ SENDERS
💢 RECEIVERS (Rs)

🧩 LOGIC TYPES (cont)
DBs are best understood in a larger framework, as part of Cybernetics & Complex Systems Theory. It shows the inter-dependence of message components, providing an order to what looks like chaos (if you’re a Newtonian). The mind itself, & therefore human communication, functions inter-actively, like all ecosystems  CIRCLEs ⬇️

NORMALLY, context & body reactions (meta-language) allow participants to decipher the kind of interaction they’re part of – not just the ‘words’.
EXP: As two puppies are playing, they growl & nip at each other gently. But their tails are wagging & their ears are NOT back.
Lower level message: “I am threatening you – I will bite”
Higher level : “This is play- fighting – I won’t hurt you.”

IMP: ‘Levels’ is a common metaphor for arranging experience. Lower levels are defined by more specific examples of higher levels.   (Explanation)

IN CONTRAST – DBs are based on Level-confusion, the contradictory statements being expressed on different Logical Levels of Abstraction (higher/lower) in ‘orders of message’ sent – causing the bind. Are you confused enough? (MORE…..) 
EXPs:
✦ Paradoxes are a special kind of contradiction, where the incompatible statements exist on different “logical levels” – one of them is part of the context of the other – which is a logical no-no.

✦ A lose-lose evolutionary DB is the rhino horn – meant for protection & to enhance ‘desirability’ for procreation. But the very same feature has caused their near extinction, the horn being harvested for the human desire for sexual potency. Ironic, since it only works for the rhino! CHART ⬇️

DBs No exitAnother lose-lose DB, in “Alice in Wonderland”, exemplifies the needs of the individual and its physical characteristics being mutually incompatible, one on a more abstract level than the other:

A: If the bread-&-butter fly, which lives on weak tea with cream, does not get its food, it dies.  And / But –
B: If it does gets its food, it dies, because its head is made of a sugar lump, which will dissolve in the tea

MORE Confusion: If a R objects to or ‘outs’ the distortions inherent in a D. Message, the Sender can reinforce the DB by disqualifying the person, making the R’s objections seem unimportant & therefore to be ignored (from 32 DBs….. )
BY:
• negating the whole discussion, or evading it in some other way
• twisting the meaning or context of the objections
• changing ‘reality’,  by doubting the validity of the objections
AND reminding the R who has the power: S claims to have a higher status, so what it says is of higher value. (More DB from NLP Institute)

• Q & A Confusion: Head-scratching is inevitable when a Q. is asked on one logical level but answered on another. This is the basis of much humor.

• Abbott and Costello’s routine “Who’s on First” works on two levels of ‘orders of message’ at the same time, incorporating Lower-order (literal) & Higher-order meaning (implied).
This is NOT a Q, only a statement of fact, but is heard as a Q, so the response is another Q (“I don’t know, who IS on first?”).
If said in a direct way, the higher-order Q. would be: “Who is the guy on first base?” & the lower order A. would be: “Mr. Who is on first base.”

• ACoAs – Discrepancies in Levels of Communication is one reason we go BLANK when someone responds to us from a different Logic Level than the one we’re coming from, or says something completely out of context. (TA’s Crossed Transactions, scroll down)

We were taught to not pick up on twisted communications, having nothing to do with our intelligence. We know these people are ‘off’’, but not having learned to ‘hear’ distortions, we’re stumped!

Sadly – we realize it later & think what we could/would have said, levels of logicbut then it’s too late to defend ourselves, or point out the inconsistency or ask for clarification. It can be very frustrating & enraging – but never let it take you all the way to S-H!

In this example ↖️, some responses :  “You just asked another question” , “That’s not an answer” , “What’s wrong with my Q?”,  “I’m interested / curious / worried…..”

In other word, we don’t have to be stumped or blank out. By not giving up or disappearing (on ourself), we may get useful / important info about the other person – OR we can decide to withdraw as an act of self-care, if the person is hostile or consistently unable to communicate. We don’t have to chase the unavailable, but also don’t have to take it personally!

NEXT: DBs – (Part 4a)

Double BINDS – Origins (Part 2)

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Screen Shot 2015-09-21 at 4.31.29 PM
I NEED TO LEAVE
but I have to stay……”

PREVIOUS: DMs, Part 3

SITE: “Double Bind Theory: Still crazy-making
after all these years”


🌀 Types of BINDS (Part 1)

🚻 In PSYCHOANALYTIC Terms 
The ego’s unconscious intentional structure has the “logical form” of a double bind.
Everyone’s original DB is the un-resolvable early childhood conflict between —> staying connected to or leaving the protection of the mother. It starts out psychologically, but later also becomes physical.

It’s a pull between attachment & safety vs separation & independence. Whichever the young child wishes for at any given moment, it will experience fear & a sense of loss.
It’s the need TO:
a. STAY under the mother-hen’s wings, for safety & warmth.
But if the child stays too long, it can’t develop the crucial S & I  of maturity. Symbiotic clinging will result in anxiety, because suppressing a legitimate need for autonomy creates a constant fear of completely losing one’s identity & freedom. The outcome would feel like ‘death’
AND ALSO 
b. a need to develop one’s own identity, which requires ‘LEAVING’ – but not too early in life! Total separation also causes traumatic anxiety – the terror of facing a vast alien world alone, unprepared & helpless. The outcome would be ‘death’

In healthy families, this dilemma gets (more-or-less) resolved for the child by being given a balance of loving availability & personal freedom. ⬇️ CHART for details = Great info, like how injury blocks consciousness….

RESULTS of the attachment-separation dilemma start in infancy. Once set in motion, they continue underground into adulthood, until hopefully brought to consciousness & resolved.
If not, as adults we’re vulnerable – via the WIC – to be manipulated by unscrupulous or unaware people who tap into the original DB.

💟 PROCESS in Childhood
1. Not able to decide on either unbearable alternative (be free vs. to stay), the infant’s MIND develops the Super-ego (SE), a judgmental voice of the Ego-Self that’s been captured by the BIND.
>> It then creates a second layer of psychic binds (bondage) – the demand to always ‘be good’.  If the child gives in to the ‘voice’, it’ll feel weak & enslaved, but if it rebels, it’s stung by guilt

2. To counter the power of the inner Judge (SE’s too-ethical perfectionist), the subliminal censor generates another voice, the ‘evil SE’ Rager, demanding that the Ego-Self throw off all social conventions & appropriate behavior.

In adults Rager might say: “Tell the boss to stuff it, have another drink, don’t pay your bills, cheat on your spouse….”. It viscious cycleenjoys the delicious feeling of power that comes from sticking it to the overbearing Judge…..  so the Rager scores.

3. BUT defiance scares the child’s id, worried about losing its connection to the only internal caretaker (SE) it knows, which would cause a collapse (death).
This leads to self-punishment, dictated by the Judge, such as isolation (from shame), sabotaging daily functioning & plans, physical suffering or injury, in trouble with authority…. so the Judge scores

4. The vicious cycle continues. To keep from crumbling, the Rager takes over again, & in adults it revels in antisocial / immature behavior, like missing work or avoiding other unwanted obligations (even sexual) – but also causes depression, migraines, being fired….
Score-points go to the Judge, who gets double points, as it enjoys punishing Rager with the pain it causes as punishment

🦠 But the Rager rescues / ‘soothes’ the Self with remedies, such as drugs that otherwise would not be allowed by the Judge…..mental games
— so the Ego-Self finally gets to score a point too – by numbing out.  Everyone ‘wins’, right??
BUT:“What does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world but looses his own soul?” Mark 8:36

COMMENT: This unconscious game is how most people function, wondering why they haven’t fulfilled their dreams or found happiness.  Unresolved, It can turn us into damaged Senders or Receivers, limiting the True Self which is mostly free of internal or external coercion
• We may say “I never play games, I like to be direct.” Unfortunately most of us DO (4 outlined on acoarecovery.com), but they’re so incorporated into our daily relationships & spread over a lifetime, we don’t recognize them.

NEXT: D.Binds (Part 3a)

Double BINDS / Basics (Part 1)

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DB sanke I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO – I’m all knotted up!

PREVIOUS:Double Messages (Part 8)


QUOTE: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” ∼ Einstein

NOTE: This set of posts is a continuation of the Double Messages series. Please read or review those first.

🌀DOUBLE BINDS (DBs)
a. In the D.Messages posts, we looked at one side of this harmful transaction – mainly that of the Sender. All the basic components are the same for DBs, except for the crucial difference – the perspective of the Receiver (DMs, #2).

Eric Berne’s student Claude Steiner, in “Scripts People Live” showed how Senders & Receivers play an interactive game, each gaining points (Negative Benefits) – so the S is always in charge, while the R is always the victim & stays dependent (no S & I).   ➡️ IMAGE article re. DBs

b. The other side of the transaction is the Double Bind. One way the R gets hooked is when —
📣 they’re told specific words, while
👞 the accompanying actions or non-verbal reactions
🔕 directly contradict the  words that were said .
EXP: A mother screams at her child “I love you, and you’d better believe it or I’ll leave!”

• D. Binds are created by D. Messages as logic fails, Boolean questions** (in 3 parts) being asked in binary terms (in 2 parts). That doesn’t work.  A person is presented with a 3-way, no-win situation: You’re damned if you do / Damned if you don’t, and / Damned if you notice that you’re damned both ways

**Boolean Logic: the main operations are the conjunction ‘and’, shown as ∧, the disjunction ‘or’, shown as ∨, & the negation ‘not’, denoted by ¬ (More…), which correspond to the 3 major components of the DM. (DMs #3)

• Accepting or trying to deal with DMs leads to a great deal of angst, causing the R to think:
Re. Actions: “I must do them both, but I can’t, but I must, but I…. If I don’t then I’m really bad!” OR, in other cases
Re. Emotions: “I have to make sense of the 2 demands / expectations, but they don’t make sense, but I have to, but I can’t … I must be crazy!”
Since DMs are inherently irrational, they must NOT be honored, which then eliminates the D.Bind

🌀 TYPEs OF D.BINDs
CONFLICT : A struggle between equal but opposing forces (intentions). 
”Part of me wants to and part of me doesn’t.”
DILEMMA: A situation requiring a choice between 2 equally (un)desirable alternatives.  “I’m in trouble either way.”
IMPASSE: A situation where the intention to progress is stopped by a difficulty which can’t be overcome.  “I keep banging my head against a brick wall.”
PARADOX: A self-contradictory statement(s). 
”My head aches from trying to stop you giving me a headache.”  (More….)
Also see chart in DBs – Part 2

EMOTIONAL Bind patterns focus on giving you the illusory choice of how to feel. It’s less obviously harmful but still manipulative, & confusing:
a. Which chair would feel better, the soft one or the hard one?
b. Would you feel better if I ignored you or talked to you?
c. Which restaurant would you enjoy eating at, Olive Garden or Red Lobster?…..
>> The manipulation is the limiting of your physical & emotional choices.

Qs presented in binary form (either-or) eliminate the larger truth – that in reality you have several other possible options, like – MAYBE YOU :
a = would rather stand than sit, OR perhaps leave
b = are not interested in me either way, OR maybe prefer to talk later
c = don’t like Italian food OR chain restaurants, OR not hungry

NOTE: You’re not in a bind if you’re ‘allowed’ to speak up, object or offer a 3rd choice.
However, if you don’t go along with the other person’s suggestions, and they get angry, act hurt, plead, whine, make you feel guilty, threaten to leave…. you’re being offered a DB. Stick to your guns, don’t fall for it AND don’t feel bad!

NEXT: Double Binds (Part 2)

Double Messages – RESULTS (Part 8)

dmtorbi ACoAs, al-anon, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help

 PREVIOUS: DMs – (Part 7b)

⬆️ “Learned Helplessness“ = Designed & Created by DMT,
Theme #39 : THERAPY

SITE: The Power of Vulnerability

BOOK : “Healing the Shame that Binds You”, John Bradshaw

OUTCOME of Double Messages (DM) – which cause Double Binds (DB)
HINT that we’re in a DB:
🌀Compulsively over-react to a DM communication, & are surprised by your behavior – like being in a trance – “I just wasn’t myself.”
✂️ AND the sender (S) blames us for the conflict that often results, BUT
❓ we can’t see how or why we caused it. We become frustrated, distrusting the sender, (“What DO you really mean / want?”), but distrust ourselves more (“What did I do wrong?”)

We don’t realize our reactions are normal & fit the situation. While we are in fact a temporary prisoner – we’re not the creator or cause, but is the very thing the S wants us (R) to believe.

BASIC RESULTS of DMs – we believe THAT:
1. I’m crazy – what’s really going on here?crazy/stuck
> Can’t decide what’s real – leading to ‘pathologies’
2. I’m at fault – I’m always causing problems in this relationship
> Can’t step out of the attachment to the significant other (S)
3. I’m stupid – can’t figure this out, no matter how hard I try.
> Can’t understand the META-communication (subtext & cues to get real meaning)
4. I’m stuck – whichever way I turn, I can’t move
> Can’t withdraw from the situation or see a way out

IN IT : DMs generate the excruciating feeling of SHAME 
Brené Brown (TED Talks reminds us that shame comes from the belief that our essence is bad – which means our needs – & therefore unworthy of acceptance & belonging.  The problem is that we still believe this as adults (Part 7b).

OUT of IT : To outgrow / escape the DM trap, we need Emotional Resilience.
• No matter how it got started, anyone caught in a DB suffers damage to their ego – i.e self esteem.
While various kinds of therapy are vital to healing, being able to bounce back from trauma & the resulting grief is also encouraged by supportive friends, family & images a spiritual community.

Shame separates us from those rich sources of help. It makes us distrust & judge ourself, disconnecting us from our intuitive wisdom. DMs make us doubt our sanity & basic value, so we hide parts or all of ourselves by withdrawing emotionally &/or physically from the very relationships that would nourish us.

• “Learned Helplessness” : In a classic study (U. of Penn, 1960s) animals were repeatedly hurt by an electric shock when trying to get out of a locked cage. After many attempts, the animals stopped making the effort.
Eventually the experimenters opened the cage door, left it open & turned off the shock grid, giving the animals a change to get out.
BUT, even seeing the door open did not induce them to make a dash for freedom – they’d ‘learned their lesson’ too well – unwilling to take the risk of being hurt again.

Turned-off child• Not Feeling: Children are naturally in touch with their emotions & intuition, so are more likely to resist & react to DMs – at first.
Eventually they have no choice but to submit. The emotional pull of the unspoken message (META-language) is stronger than what’s being said. They can ‘feel’ something is wrong, but don’t know why they keep getting into so much trouble with the controller.

> To survive emotional & mental torture, children have to ignore their own awareness. By compartmentalizing, they only focus on the S, hiding the awful reality from the conscious mind & trying to avoid punishment – which sadly is impossible.
This is then carried into adulthood as a deeply ingrained pattern of denial.

lazy or learned?• Having Feelings: Yet in spite of this defense, Rs do have strong emotions –  both loving & hating one’s captor / beloved. For adults, the confusion created by DMs leaves victims assuming they have no options, causing great anguish.
♣︎ Turned outward: it’s anger/ rage at the S, but left smoldering under the surface, becoming resentment & bitterness. It can also be directed at others we pick who are similar
♠︎ Turned inward: it’s S-H & despair – at oneself. Being in a no-win environment saps the will, & leaves us disconnected from self & others.

NEXT: Being CONFIDENT (Part 1)

Double MESSAGES – ACoAs (Part 7b)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , ,

I CAN’T WIN for LOSING!
If I let go, I’ll be all alone! Wa-a-a-a

PREVIOUS: ACoAs & DM (#7a)

 

1. DM from Family

2. OUR inner D. Bind as a result
Once we have a working knowledge of this ‘game’ we can take a serious look at the D. Messages we give ourselves & how the repercussions permeate our whole life.

★ We rarely realize what we’re ‘saying’ to ourselves, or that it comes from the WIC (R = receiver) via the PP (S = sender).
EXP:
Belief A – It’s good to flirt (sexy, desirable, successful…) – AND
Belief B – It’s bad to flirt (slutty, superficial, manipulative…)
RESULT
— If I DO flirt I’m inundated with Self-hate (ACoAs’ main form of self-punishment, courtesy of the PP).  Flirting expresses my natural sexuality, but I can’t enjoy being seen as sexual because it shows that I’m ‘dirty’.

— If I DON’T flirt, I may: > ‘put off’ potentially positive relatiflirt or notonships
> miss out on -safe- attention, compliments, sex… (my right to have)
> be considered frigid, unfriendly, a snob…. (even tho’ I’m just scared!)
> miss opportunities to get legitimate favors, help & considerations by being charming (with boundaries)…

★ Another way we trap ourselves & frustrate others is being stuck in the ‘Complain —> Help offered —> Reject —> Complain’ syndrome.
• we go on & on about a problem to anyone who’ll listen, implying that we need help. (Of course we would never ask for it outright!) BUT
• when people offer possible solutions, we reject them all & continue complaining!

WHY: The suggestions may not fit our specific need, which is legitimate, but most often – we’re addicted to being unhappy (Victim), don’t feel worthy of being helped, or think there is no solution – for us.
Eric Berne calls it the “Why don’t you – Yes, But….”  Game
See post: “People should treat me better, but I won’t let them”

★ Most common Double Message we give OURSELVES
The 3-part hamster-wheel-thinking, even ACoAs in Recovery:
A: I’m stuacoa DB wheelck & in a lot of pain. I’m trying really hard to heal from my childhood, which I -sort of- know wasn’t so great. I read books, go to Meetings & therapy, Couple’s Counseling, seek alternative & spiritual healing …..
AND / BUT,
B. No matter how hard I try I’ll just never get any better. I’m always going to mess up, & get abandoned. I’ll never get the relationship I want, I don’t know how to love, I wouldn’t know a healthy person if they bit me!…..
It’s my fault because I’m just too slow, too dense, too stubborn, too damaged.
C. I can’t notice or object to or escape my self-imposed trap (WIC obeying the PP) !

Can you hear the D.Message, creating the D.Bind? 
• Position A. implies that you’ve been wounded AND can heal from it. You believe it’s actually possible to Recover because you did not start out defective – you were damaged by your early environment, so you’re willing to do the work at healing – as unfair as that is!
At the same time:
• Position B. blatantly asserts that your ‘f—ed-up-ness’ was not caused by anyone other than yourself. Didn’t your family love you, mean well & do the best they could? It was you who were born defective & therefore it’s hopeless to improve or outgrow your flaws & weaknesses. It’s just the way it is – everything is your own fault & it’s never going to change. You cause your own misery, but it’s what you deserve, so “why bother”.

You can’t have it both ways! Either you’re wounded & can repairingheal, or you’re defective & therefore intrinsically, irrevocably worthless.
a. If you were truly defective you’d be un-repairable. So why would you even try to work on yourself? Why go into Recovery? It would be dumb = futile, a waste of time & money
b. However –  If you are in fact wounded – by your upbringing – which you did cause! – then you can slowly outgrow / repair the damage.

BUT to do that you must give up the belief that there’s something fundamentally wrong with your personality. It cannot be both A & B! With this conflict UNresolved, is it any wonder why we’re stuck?

BTW – some ACoAs try to cover up this dilemma by always being angry, distant & blaming everyone else for their problems, but the original DM  (Form #3) is always running in the background, like a computer virus.

NEXT: DMs – Results (Part 9)

Double MESSAGES – ACoAs (Part 7a)

dmtorbi ACoAs, al-anon, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , , , , ,

acoa DBs
I CAN’T BELIEVE
I’ve been so duped!

PREVIOUS: Double Messages, Part 6 




FACING OURSELVES
1. Many of us grew up drowning in Double Messages (DMs). Being raised in this kind of atmosphere this is how we connect with others, using this way of communicating in all relationships, especially the intimate ones. So if we’re serious about Personal Growth & taking responsibility for our patterns, it’s important to see how this all plays out

Childhood EXP: In many alcoholic families, where the addict (& most everyone else) is/are in total denial – if one of the kids has the nerve to complain about or object to the harmful effects of the drinking, the alcoholic (& others) will label them as THE problem, rather than the addiction, because that kid is disrupting the family’s fragile mobile (Post: B. Distortions, #1).
Then the whistle-blower child is forced into either being a co-dependent enabler, OR withdrawing & eventually leaving the family altogether. Either way – everyone loses.

Adult EXP: 2 clients who both attended 12-Step meetings were going to the same psychologist – separately. At some point they started dating.
> Sarah didn’t tell the therapist right away, but instead asked his opinion about seeing someone in the Program. The reply was that it waDM angry clients not a great idea, especially in the first year of attendance. Sarah finally came out with the whole story but concluded: “I get it, you just don’t want me to date Chuck!”

> After a few weeks Sarah complained in session about all the problems with Chuck. She said in angry accusation: “So why didn’t you warn be against seeing him? Aren’t you supposed to be helping me?”

>> AND there was the DM: The therapist was bad for “preventing” and bad for “not preventing”.
However, he didn’t get caught, but pointed out the Double Bind she had created so she wouldn’t have to own her decision or deal with the stress of two WICs trying to have an adult relationship!
PS: the 2 clients did marry AND eventually divorced.

REVIEW / REMINDER : Parental DM – forced on the Hero, the Introvert or the Sensitive child : 
A. Incompetence – Be dysfunctional, like us (misery loves company)
• parents (& later our PP) want us to be their carbon copy : fearful, self-hating, stuck, not risking, depressed, powerless, OR controlling, angry, limited, paranoid ….
• and they spend a lot of time putting us down, pounding into us all the things we can NOT do, & how lazy, weak, wrong, selfish & over-sensitive we are
BUT ALSO:
B. Competence : Be confusuion cornerfunctional, like we wish we were (so you can take care of us)
•  we must make them feel safe, not feel abandoned, fix them, be their parent
• and, have to be : > perfect, strong, gutsy, able to take risks – for them
> have backbone, fight for them, save them from themselves
> be smart, capable, clever, & use all our knowledge (for THEM)
AND
C. Be in Denial (the way we are)
They won’t tolerate questioning or objections to how they’re treating us, insisting that we’re ungrateful, making things up, being defiant, ‘difficult’, spoiled….
“I never said that!  ,  How dare you speak to me that way?!  , Stop complaining, after all I’ve sacrificed for you!…. ”   DENY, deny, deny what we’re doing to you.

★ This DM forms the basis of our own DB – next post

OUR PAIN: They were our first role models. What kind of example did they set? Kids absorb & imitate their parents, regardless. We imprint on them like ducklings! Yet what left for us is fear & confusion.

• If they were capable of **truly loving us, they would have wanted us to be happy, free & successful – for ourself.  So obviously they didn’t / couldn’t love us – not really!
No matter how much we don’t want to hear that, the WIC knows!

Just because they say/said “I love you” doesn’t mean they do – except in some narcissistic way. Remember, if you had been truly loved, you could have ‘normal’ human insecurities, but NO self-hate!

NOTE ** Healthy parental love is expressed in many ways, but most of all by being Nurturing. Children can only develop self-esteem if they feel truly loved. And that can only happen if parents have the capacity to be loving, kind, supportive, rational, available, sober….  not just give it lip service.

NEXT: ACoAs & Self DBs, Part 8b

Double MESSAGES – Forms (Part 6)

dmtorbi ACoAs, al-anon, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help

DBs & WomenTHERE ARE SO MANY
different way to get trapped!

PREVIOUS: DMs Part 6 –  Styles

SITEs:  Double Bind: Escaping Contradictory Demands of Manhood Rodney L. Cooper, Ph.D.,

☼ Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership

PURPOSE of D.Messages is to D.BIND another
1. From Manipulation to ‘evil‘
bounda. to keep you symbiotically tied to the Sender, unable to escape – preventing your autonomy & personal growth (S & I), because of their unconscious Fear of Abandonment (FoA)
b. for power & from greed – to sell products, ideology or a way of life
c. for total control, a compulsion to always be ‘one-up’, forcing others into a weaker position
d. to mess with someone’s head out of resentment, jealousy, revenge….

2. Not malicious, but just as controlling:sweet/sour
a. to not hurt someone’s feelings, by not saying what you really feel or think (‘I act like I want to be with you, but I really don’t, but I can’t say it’)
b. cowardice – fear of setting boundaries or having confrontations
c. social or religious training – must always be polite or ‘spiritual’
FORMS
DMs are disorienting by design so you can’t prove what the S is really doing. That way they never have to admit culpability – nor change!
So, we must understand that the problem is not you, only the Sender’s twisted ‘frame’ – how info is presented. (see Part 3)
If you got caught up in this game, whichever side you try to ‘obey’ – you’ll always pay a painful price for ‘winning’ the WRONG one.

FORM 1, a ➖ with a  ➖: Presented by the S as 2 negative injunctions (warnings or commands) that always cancel each other out.
neg/neg DMsBOTH must be obeyed, AND whichever one is ignored is punished :
A: Do NOT do ___ or you’ll really ”get it” (not allowed),  AND
B: You HAVE TO do ___, or I’ll punish you (you must)

A: I’ll hurt you badly if you stay = so leave & save yourself – AND
B: Everyone always hurts me, I’m used to it = so stay & save me

FORM 2, a ➕ with a  ➖ : More often, Message A can sound like a positive about something, while Message B is a negative about the same thing.
A: I love it when you play the piano (so I can brag/show you off) – AND
B: I hate it when you play the piano (you get too much attention)

A: I want to be with you because of you’re so wonderful (perfect) – AND
B: I’m angry at you for not being everything I want/need (not perfect)

FORM 3Screen Shot 2015-09-23 at 11.43.30 PM, a ➖ with a  ➕ : In reverse – Message A is hostile & B is ‘friendly’.
ACoAs: A familiar set-up for us by an abusive, drunk &/or mentally ill parent, who needed to:
A. keep you insecure, scared, feeling stupid & confused, even crazy, by constantly belittling & disapproving: “You’ll never amount to anything, you never do anything right, no one will ever love you, you’re lazy, ugly, stupid…”

These were said to INSURE you would never feel good enough about yourself to leave the symbiotic connection, to always be available to take care of them, one way or another

While at the SAME TIME they:
B. manipulate you (demand, cajole, whine, complement, attack) into being highly capable for them: figuring out how to do all kinds of complicated, intelligent, creative things to solve their problems, (and not just when they’re old!)
– their nurse, therapist, lawyer, accountant, companion, manager, cook, housekeeper…..
– as long as you never used any of it for your own benefit. And so you didn’t, & still don’t!all tied up

☻ Talk about crazy-making! In other words – the parent says:
A = “You’re stupid & incompetent – for yourself,  and
B = “You’re clever & capable – for me”

ACoAs are addicted to this cruel DM which put us in a D. Bind, & now we perpetuate it in self-destructive ways, finding many other relationships to play it out. The problem isn’t just that we run into Ss, like our family – it’s that we stay.

NEXT: DMs – Part 7, Re. ACoAs