Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Agassai admits he lied to tennis officials...


...Andre Agassai has written an autobiography where he admits to lying about the use of Crystal Meth in 1977.  I bring this up only to initiate discussion about drug use and specifically the most insidious side effect - lying. In the book, Agassai, in an attempt to protect his career, blame an assistant. Lying is to drug abuse what a sneeze is to a cold. No one doubts the sneeze will accompany the cold but lying seems to surprise those closest to friends and relatives using drugs.
Posted by Michael
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4 comments:

  1. Brian the old manOctober 28, 2009 at 10:59 PM

    That is a good analogy. I believe this is due in part to family members and friends not wanting to admit their loved one has a problem. They do not want to recognize the fact they are doing drugs, so when they find this person has been lying, it comes as a shock. It is understandable this person lies because he too is in denial and wants to block out reality. His self esteem has fallen and lying helps him deal with his own feelings of inadequacy. He doesn't want others to look down on him for using drugs because he is in enough pain from beating himself up. He ends up believing his own lies to build himself up in his mind. Then lies lead to more lies and he doesn't know how to stop the cycle. It is not surprising Agassai wants to blame an assistant so he can make himself feel some self worth.

    Have a nice day!

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  2. MichaelOctober 29, 2009 at 12:18 PM

    Hi Brian,

    All that you say can certainly be true although I am not sure of the application in the case of Agassai. Agassai lied to protect is ability to play. Had he been found liable for the test, (I believe), the suspension could have ranged from 6 months to 2 years. His reaction in the press thus far relates that he saw a suspension as the loss of all he had worked toward; the hours of practice, the countless matches...that kind of thing. It appears what he did was, for the most part, a reaction. Interestingly, lying still accompanied the issue.

    While it is also true that all of what you say can apply to many, if not most of those that use, (or perhaps more appropriately), abuse drugs, I see the lying a very basic. When you are abusing drugs, you will do anything needed to ensure your supply. Making sure of your access ends up occupying growing amounts of time. To that end, if someone attempts to help, the abuser either consciously or subconsciously feels them as a threat to their supply and therefore must lie to protect their stash. The deeper issues noted are all a part of the deeper reasons for the addictions but not necessarily shared from abuser to abuser. On the other hand, they all do share the common trait of ensuring access to their drug(s) of choice and, get in the way and you will hear them lie....all of them.

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  3. MichaelOctober 29, 2009 at 12:40 PM

    More to Brian,

    On the subject of the family members...you are absolutely right about denial although you are talking about family members that have made their way beyond the user's lies. Interestingly, many present-day drug abusers are very sophisticated, intelligent individuals that have crafted a weave of deceit that goes beyond fooling others; the abusers believe their own lies. The front line lying is the well-scripted info that will keep friends and family members in the dark until law enforcement or injury makes the situation known to all. At this point, the deeper level of lies will begin, generally right after the first relapse when those that now know must be deceived again and then, the combination of the well-practiced liar and the support person in denial takes over.

    A physician friend of mine says it this way, "When it comes to drug abuse, the only thing I have been able to detect is the bad liars..the good ones I do not know about yet and statistically speaking, there must be many."

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  4. Brian the old manOctober 29, 2009 at 9:14 PM

    Thanks for filling me in about Agassai specifically; I was not aware of the details. I agree with all of what you say. I especially agree with the physician's comments. I am sure there are multitudes of abusers out there who have mastered the art of deception and have eluded being detected by most everyone.

    Enjoy your weekend and Happy Halloween!

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Thanks for taking time to comment...with your help and feedback I will best maintain useful, interesting and thought-provoking content
Michael

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