Denial

I am always amazed by the power of denial. I have seen it in almost every form and fashion and yet it never gets old. I have had clients say things like, "I don't have a problem with cocaine. I am just here for heroin. " I have also seen the mother of a fairly low functioning child with Aspergers and possibly Tourettes say "Are you sure he is not just being a normal teenager?" Really? When was the last time she saw a normal teenager?

I realize now that I too have been guilty of some major denial. I was in denial regarding working with children. I am just not into kids. I have never in life wanted to be a teacher and being closed in a room trying to do group therapy with preteen boys is way to too much like teaching! I feel like my entire session is spent redirection. I am also convinced that everyone's medication wears off right in the middle of the first group. That leaves me with three and a half hours of group time with people who have been couped up all day and are ready to burst. AWESOME? Not really.

I was also in denial about the travel. I am a girl that never drove more than 15 miles to work and now I drive for over 60. I thought that maybe I would enjoy the time to myself or find something cool like books or language classes to listen to, but the truth is that I hate driving maybe even more than I hate teaching.

They say they first step to recover is admitting you have a problem. My problem is that denial wrote a check that my heart can't cash. Now what can I do?