Modern research has shown that pain can be influenced by what a person expects, how the person directs his or her attention, and the type of distracting stimuli that are present. (Weich et al., 2008 p.61) There are ways which people alleviate physical pain. Some take prescriptions and/or drink alcohol; others approach exercise or physical therapy. There is also emotional pain which is alleviated with these approaches as well. I would like to talk about alcoholism. The main topics that I will focus on are the emotional pain acquired from alcoholism and how the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) works as a placebo effect.

Alcoholism is defined by the American Medical Association as “a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.” I myself have experienced this disease, which I am relieved they diagnosed as a disease. I have experienced physical and emotional pain as a result of alcoholism. I can remember the insanity of thinking I can successfully drink “this time”, after bouts of defeat. The next day I would wake up to the guilt and remorse, crippling emotional pain and regret. The promises I would make to my family and friends that I will not repeat this tragedy again. There I am the next day, indulged with the bottle. My perceptions of how I seen my addiction what severely different than those around me.  I did not feel pain while active in my addiction. As I stated earlier, pain can be influenced by what a person expects. (Weich et al.,2008)   After several years of drinking, I knew my expectations, which were none. I was relieved of the feeling of pain. When I would “come to” or become conscious, the pain quickly appeared.

Alcoholics Anonymous had its beginnings in 1935 at Akron, Ohio, as the outcome of a meeting between Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron surgeon. Both had been hopeless alcoholics. These two men approached and helped other suffering alcoholics, and the group grew larger becoming a fellowship. The program was based on spiritual principles and way of living. Early in 1939, the fellowship published its basic textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous. The text, written by Bill, explained A.A.’s philosophy and methods, the core of which was the now well-known Twelve Steps of recovery.

Our text, Cognitive Psychology, gives an example of how Ian was experiencing physical pain after coming in contact with a radiator and his forehead. The example states Ian did not realize he was in pain or bleeding until after he looked into the mirror and seen the gash on his forehead. Consequently, one way to decrease pain would be to distract the person’s attention from the source of pain. I believe A.A. did just this for me. Once I actively participated in the program, developed spiritual principles, my attention was diverted from where it once was for many years. What a miracle!

References:

The free dictionary by Far lax (2003-2016) Retrieved on September 9, 2016  from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/alcoholism

Alcoholics Anonymous (2016) by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. Retrieved on September 9, 2016 from http://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/historical-data-the-birth-of-aa-and-its-growth-in-the-uscanada

Goldstein, E. Bruce (2015, 2011). Cognitive Psychology, Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience Stramford, CT: Cengage Learning