Dan Mushens examines whether those needing support are open-minded to change
I recently came across a quote by a celebrated American Inventor called Charles Kettering. He said “people are very open-minded about new things...as long as they’re exactly like the old ones”.
It reinforced to me what I’ve long promoted to the service user group I work alongside – those living with a diagnosis of Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) and who continue to recover from alcohol dependency.
When discussing their lifestyle choices, I remind people that they actively need to modify something to bring about change. This is to counteract their often deep-rooted destructive patterns of behaviours from continuing to prevail.
On a conscious level, they need to conclude that if they continue to do what they’ve always done, then the same outcomes are likely to occur. This is of course dependent upon their desire for change to occur at all.
Based on my own professional observations, the people I support who are open-minded and receptive to new ideas and opinions, they are the same group of people who tend to make the most noticeable and sustained recoveries.
The opening up of one’s own mind is an act of surrendering control and entrusting fragments of opportunity into the hands of others. It means you are free from having to manage your every thought, old perspectives and interpretations can be traded in for new ones.
In contrast, the people who outright dismiss suggestions or opportunities that are put to them, and are unwilling to consider or try alternative methods and approaches, are the very people who tend to linger in a perpetual state of chaos and crisis.
Those familiar with the mutual aid movement of Alcoholics Anonymous will be aware of the concept of open-mindedness. The AA’s twelve steps model of recovery encourages members to admit that their “best thinking got me drunk”.
Loosely translated, this proposes that it was arrogant decision making on their part that lead to alcohol dependency; therefore, they need to succumb to and embrace new ways of thinking and living.
From my point of view, generally defining open-mindedness as being receptive to new ideas is a fairly straightforward process, but measuring it isn’t so simple. Deciphering the contents of someone’s mind involves exploring and interpreting their attitudes, values and behaviours and the way they present themselves to the world.
Social psychologists have designed various tools and measurement scales to help quantify the open-mindedness of a person. But in my job the rewards of an open mind tend to be observed by the interactions during support sessions and the outcomes that define their recovery journey. The proof is in the pudding so to speak.
Over recent years, a selection of service users have had their support gradually reduced from sometimes seven days a week, to maybe just once a week. This is usually in recognition of the improved self-management of their needs and risks which tend to coincide with their willingness to fully engage and accept their support. Something they may not have been willing to do in the past.
They also choose to consider the advice given to them before making decisions, access the services that are offered to them or reinvest their finances into their own recovery on items such as memory or mobility aids for example. But most crucially they have a duel desire to abstain and have hope for their future.
In contrast, I also support people who could be seen as being closed-minded, those who regularly rebuff the advice of others, preferring to continue old ruinous behaviours which yield the same dispiriting outcomes.
Presentations of this include apparent isolation and loneliness and choosing to continue to consume alcohol despite knowing the detrimental prognosis of doing so. Placing little importance on attending healthcare appointments and neglecting nutritional and personal care needs is also commonly evidenced.
Fleeting periods of sobriety which can sometimes happens due to hospitalisation are quickly followed by escalating spells of alcohol consumption – this being part of the nature of addiction.
David Richardson, a Penumbra peer volunteer whose own story has been publicised in various local media recalls: ”When I was at my worst, I didn’t know how to tell the time let alone what day it was. I was clearly in a bad way and although I had stopped drinking, my brain no longer worked.
“My housing officer used to visit every month to remind me to get a new sick note from my doctor, this wasn’t her job but she was going above and beyond to help me. Without this casual support, I’d have had no benefit payments and my rent wouldn’t have been paid. In the past I’d never let someone I barely knew help me like this”.
David is now nearly 10 years sober and remembers: “I went on any course that I could get a place on. I attended a woodworking course and was asked to cut a piece of wood six inches long, I ended up cutting it about two meters long.
“My mind was gone and I had to relearn how to do simple things. I made the decision to try everything offered to me because it couldn’t do me any more harm that I’d already done to myself, it could only help”.
Closed-mindedness isn’t always solely due to someone’s arrogance and unwillingness to receive help, but can be a manifestation of the illness of addiction and ARBD.
Diminished motivation, lethargy, confabulation and confusion, reduced self-esteem and a lack of hope - mixed with the wider effects of alcohol abuse can impact upon someone’s willingness to take a step into the unknown too.
Loss of employment, the breakdown of relationships, the impact of newly acquired physical and mental health diagnoses as well as the wider effects of poverty also shape a person’s outlook.
Recovery is always unique and self-defined by the person choosing what they wish to achieve, and therefore some form of recovery is always possible.
Critics will suggest that addiction is a self-inflicted illness and the solution also lies within. But as with most areas in life, help and support from external sources can always be beneficial, so being open-minded and receptive to receiving it can be invaluable.
Dan Mushens is a recovery practitioner with Scottish mental health charity Penumbra. He can be found on twitter @danielmushens
