Personality Traits of the Alcoholic
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The alcoholic, whether male or female, suffers from a variety of personality traits that act to predispose him or her to the disease. These personality traits include low self-concept, anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, underachievement, feelings of social isolation, Inability to love him or herself or to receive love from others, hypersensitivity, impulsivity, dependence, fear of failure, feelings of guilt, self-pity, and suicidal impulses. Moreover, the alcoholic uses alcohol to blunt his or her anxiety and attempt to control what he or she perceives as painful reality (Corey, 1991). Schaef (1986) adds that alcoholics tend to be co-dependent, whether or not they are male or female. To these, Blanton (1988) and Lawson, Ellis and Rivers (1984) report that female alcoholics tend to manifest difficulties within the home, given the socialization process that produces shame for women in admitting to this disease, while male alcoholics do so in the work-place and in a variety of social settings, particularly those involving other men who drink. Relative to the alcoholic marriage, Steinglass (Rothberg, 1986) reports that it is sustained by "wet" and "dry" cycles, which produce shifts in power positions. This predisposition with power is evidenced in both the alcoholic and his or her mate. There are a variety of games that alcoholics play consequent to their disease, which are augmented by important family members (i.e., typically the spouses) (Corey, 1991; Rothberg, 1986; Schae
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There have since been presented a multiplicity of theories as to the motivation underlying alcoholic family dynamics. Schaef (1986) reports, for example, that both alcoholic and spouse are typically about an obsessive need to control their environments, thus having power and control issues. They both often manifest several personality deficiencies which influence their actively seeking and maintaining alcoholic marriages. These Include low self-esteem, low sense of self, other-definition, a need for power and control, external locus of control, and attachment obsession. These "pseudo-self" individuals tend to fuse into a whole person, evidencing poor interpersonal differentiation. Further, their interactions are fueled by their strivings for need fulfillment, which results in the development of increased tolerance to system dysfunctionalism. As a result, they cannot "act out" one time in such a relationship, after having received a "fix," but continue fueling dysfunctionalism in an obsessive manner. They develop psychological and physical dependence on the behaviors exhibited by one another, which results in the needed "rewards." Lacking these "rewards," they have little sense of personhood. There is the general assumpt
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Steinglass Rothberg, Ellis Rivers, Ravich Rothberg, Bailey Rothberg, , Don't Trust, Smalley Schaef, Satir's Kymissis, Highlen Lassiter, rothberg 1986, Black Beattie, alcoholic spouse, schaef 1986, family system, alcoholic family, dry period, hollander 1983, alcoholic families, communication patterns, steinglass rothberg 1986, spouse alcoholic, ellis rivers 1984, lawson ellis rivers, alcoholic family system, rothberg 1986 notes,
Approximate Word count = 2179
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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