TERMINAL UNIQUENESS
An addict's downfall...
Virtually every person suffering from addiction to alcohol and/or drugs suffers from “terminal uniqueness”. Before we look at this in the context of addiction, let’s take a look at “uniqueness” and its meaning.
In the dictionary, uniqueness is the quality of being the only one of its kind. And, the quality of being particularly remarkable, special, or unusual.
Synonyms include distinctiveness, individuality, and separateness. I think “separateness” is key when it comes to alcoholics and addicts.
Feeling different, not comfortable in their own skin, and troubled by fear drives addicts into isolation thinking no one can understand their problems. This uniqueness allows people to ignore the likely consequences of their actions.
Why Terminal Uniqueness? Failing to understand consequences helps to provide a false sense of security and can lead an individual to be unwilling to believe that treatments that help other people can help them.
Here are some of the key reasons why “terminal uniqueness” is so dangerous:
It provides a false sense of security
It divides the world into me and them
It leads to the individual thinking that they are either worse than everyone else, or that they are better than everyone else
It prevents the individual from seeking help for their problems
It can be a barrier to communication
Feeling like no one can relate to you
Feeling superior to those around you
It leads to feelings of loneliness and desperation (isolation) (SoberPodcasts)
Another term for this uniqueness is “personal exceptionalism”. The personal exceptionalism of addicts permits them to outflank facts and moral considerations that would normally prove decisive in halting or at least decelerating their addiction. Because the addict believes that they are "not like those other people" and that their case is special, they have a virtual blank check to rationalize and justify behaviors on their part that contravene their values and beliefs. (Obstacles to Recovery From Addiction. Floyd P. Garrett, M.D.)
Addiction to alcohol and/or drugs can be deadly for some. The nature of addiction dictates that, untreated, “it never gets better” which means, it always gets worse.
To me, terminal uniqueness means that this type of thinking will not allow a person to get honest with themselves or others; will not allow an admission that he/she is powerless over their drug of choice; will not allow a person to recognize that their life and the lives of everyone around them has become unmanageable.
In my early sobriety, the old timers would always say: if you continue to drink alcoholically, there are only three places you can end up; a mental institution, a penal institution, or a grave.
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