Overview
Commentary
Denial is a River
Denial is inherently difficult to work with, since if you know you’re in denial, you’re not really denying you have a problem. If you are in denial, then being told you’re in denial is unlikely to do anything except touch a reflex to double down. If you’re not in denial but being accused of it anyways, then you’re denial of denial can be treated as further evidence of how deep into denial you are.
In substance use disorders, it’s common for users to be in denial about whether they have a problem and need help; after all, there’s no binary switch one crosses that turns “someone who uses drugs” to “someone with a drug addiction.” On the other hand, there are a lot of people with substance use disorders who don’t struggle with accepting they have a problem, but struggle with accessing the right type of solutions. There are also users who accept they have a problem, but that doesn’t automatically mean they have any desire to change. I caution people from assuming every person with substance use disorders struggles with denial, or that denial stems from a personal ego that resists the label compared to genuine questions about what is considered a disorder.
Kubler-Ross
As far as the Kubler-Ross model of the stages of grief go, “denial” is considered the first stage, though the model isn’t really empirically substantiated as a definite linear progression.