In a drug and alcohol rehab program there is always work to be accomplished in the area of communications.  One area that understanding between indiviuals breaks down is in definitions.  You may hear the word someone is saying, but do you know the meaning of that word, to that person.  Here is a classic example.  A parent comes into their child's room and turns to their son a says, you have one hour to make this room neat and tidy young man, or you will be grounded.  The parent leaves the room feeling like they have been clear.

However in the parents mind, this is what they are thinking.  I want all the clothes pick up off the floor, I want his desk tidy, and I want the dirty leftover dishes take downstairs and put in the dishwasher.  If he doesn't do this I wiil ground him for 2 weeks.  This what the child heard according to his definitions.  I'll pick up some clothes and straighten my bed a  bit.  If I don't do it she'll only ground me for a couple of nights and it's only Tuesday so I be free by the weekend anyway.  When the definitions of words like neat and tidy can vary so much only a misunderstanding can occur.

In the drug and alcohol rehab field many of the same things can occur.  What is the definition of sober for one.  Is it simply time without drug or alcohol use?  Does it involve work and socialization skills?  Does one slip or lapse mean you are not sober? Everyone has different meanings to these events.  Success is another word, that will have almost a different definition for every person who uses it.  If we are to be clearer in our communications with others, we must be sure to add in our definitions in when we talk to them.  Talking the time to be clear in our meanings and spending the effort to find out the definitions of others will lead to far fewer misunderstandings and all the consequences that go with that.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2007 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.