Quotes from the book The Addictive Organization by Anne Wilson Schaef and Diane Fassel
Basically, most organizations have addictive structures– from families to corporations to governments. If you feel caught up and ‘stuck’ in an unhealthy relationship at home or are struggling with the boss or group dynamics at work, this might be a topic worth exploring. The authors of The Addictive Organization estimate over 90% of people are codependent. Organizations of all types, including our cultures, promote this behavior. (It’s something I’ve had to work on myself!) Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) implies codependency. You do not have to have been raised by an alcoholic to be one. You can find more resources here. Read on for pertinent quotes from the book…
“Substance and process addictions usually have a meaning beyond the personal. The society in which we live needs addictions, and its very essence fosters addictions. It fosters addictions because the best-adjusted person in the society is the person who is not dead and not alive, just numb, a zombie. … When you are full alive, you are constantly saying no to many of the processes of society: the racism, the polluted environment, the nuclear threat, the arms race, drinking unsafe water, and eating carcinogenic foods. Thus, it is in the interests of society to promote those things that ‘take the edge off’, get us busy with our ‘fixes’, and keep us slightly ‘numbed out’ and zombielike. Consequently, the society itself not only encourages additions, it functions as an addict.”
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“We referred earlier to the scientific method and world-view as system some believe is entropic and no longer viable. One of its problems is that it narrowly defines what is worth knowing. Much of what is [considered to be] not worth knowing comes from the imagination, intuition, spirituality, and other realms of consciousness and experience. At its extreme, the scientific worldview said, If it cannot be measured and controlled, it is not real. It is easy to see how the scientific method belief system and the addictive system espouse and support the same process of invalidation. This process truncates information and knowledge.”
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“…ACOAs [Adult Children of Alcoholics] feel they must do each job perfectly. They berate themselves for even the smallest mistake. Their self-criticism is so extreme that they disregard praise, feeling it could not possibly be true. They tend to put in ordinate amounts of overtime, in order to ensure the projects are just right.
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“One of the most important ways the organization functions as an addictive substance is through the promise it makes and holds out to every employee. Remember that the purpose of the promise of the addictive system is to take one out of the here and now. This process moves the person from he or she knows, and fosters looking outside the self for answers, security and a sense of self-worth.
The organization holds lots of promises. It promises that you will get ahead. It promises power, money, and influence. It promises that you will be a nice guy or gal if you perform in certain ways. If you live up to what the company promotes, you make even be liked and ‘belong’.
Almost all the promises of the organization are linked to the promises of the society. They are same: power, influence, and money. They are the good life as defined by the popular culture and by advertising. This is seductive.
The promise of the good life keeps us actively focused on the future in the belief that even if things are not so good now, they will get better. The future orientation of the promise in the organization is one of the processes that prevent us from looking at the present functioning in the system and seeing it for exactly what it is, addictive. “
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“Another form of communication in addictive organizations is what Chris Argyris calls ‘skilled incompetence’. This refers to the phenomenon of executives who are skilled communicators, highly committed and respected by each other, using communication skills (much like disinformation?) to cover up real problems.”
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“…it is possible to be involved and not enmeshed. Objectivity is a form of illusion and requires removal from self-awareness.”
“…it is possible to have feelings and awareness and yet remain neutral.“
Discover your True Self and escape the traps of dependence. You are not your pain, you are not your thoughts, you are not your experience. Learn how to transform negative feelings back to unbroken wholeness and uncover your innate clarity of mind. Emily is a psychotherapist who works with clients doing transformational therapy online and in person in Glenwood Springs, CO. Schedule a session online or in-person. Affordable, efficient, effective therapy.
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