Emotionally-Charged Expressions Fall Flat on Alcoholics
August 22nd, 2009
There are a number of challenges that alcoholics in search of recovery face on a regular basis, but a recent study has suggested that it’s the face itself that may present one of the most difficult social aspects of recovery. The research, performed at the University of California at San Diego, tested the reactions of a group of abstinent, long-term alcoholics to a range of emotionally-charged faces against those of a control group, and found that the study group had a significantly lower ability to understand the meanings of facial expressions, reacting to the full range of faces in similar ways. The study helps support the idea that recovering alcoholics, perhaps those receiving therapy and counseling, may benefit from a more direct exploration of social cues and behaviors.
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Comments
This is a little bizarre for me… I don’t get it. How would recovering alcoholics miss social cues and facial expressions???
How would this be significant and what is the purpose of this study?
I am a recovering alcoholic and when I read this it did not fall on deaf ears. When I was drinking I forgot how to read the emotions of others because honestly I was too wrapped up in having my own good time, or more likely masking my own emotions. I did not want to see or think about what I was feeling much less what my drinking and behavior was doing to others. Throughout my own recovery and treatment process that has been something that I have had to relearn. Alcoholism took away any empathy that I had for others- I was dealing with my problems in my own way, why couldn’t they? Or at least that was how I used to think. While I have stopped drinking relearning to recognize social cues and be more aware of them has been just as much of a challenge for me as putting away the beer. But I am getting there.
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