Families often ignore the Elephant in the living room, here's why

"Elephant in the living room" as defined by wikipedia:
The elephant in the room (also elephant in the living room, elephant in the parlor, elephant in the corner, elephant on the dinner table, elephant in the kitchen, elephant on the coffee table, and horse in the corner) is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there might be concerning themselves with relatively small and even irrelevant matters, compared to the looming big one. ......
The following is by John Carcerano "A New Journey"
When crises or hard to handle matters strike and effect families they often choose to silently acknowledge them, but also ignore them. This is known as "The family silent secret".
When a family is faced with the addiction of a mom or dad, brother or sister it is usually acknowledged in secrecy. This is usually the case when they are unable to treat or "cure" the problem. So quiet acknowledgment is a way of blocking and defending the issue from the outside world. Mental illness carries with it a raw, cold hard stigma which should not exist in the first place. People seem to think that mental illness is a rare and hardly ever seen disorder. People are shunned when it is found out they are a sufferer. But why? 1 in 5 have a mental illness and 1 in 3 have an addiction and nearly every family and everyone is affected by the addict. So why all the secrecy from family members? Good question. Families would find they are much better off to address this "elephant in their living room". But a few good reasons why it is not addressed is because families do not know how to properly address them and also the family member in question may rebel and leave or completely abandon the house hold if too much pressure is put on them to "change" or "get treated". So the family chooses to be in denial about the situation or just enables it for the safety and shelter of the loved one involved.

The problem with addiction is that families and most people in general do not know how to treat problems such as alcohol and drug addiction or mental illness because they are such complex illnesses.

Complex situations that cannot be handled or dealt with are then swept under the rug. "A New Journey" Is here to help you learn to properly deal with these situations that most plague the family. The family must first look through the stigma because mental illness and addiction are very common illnesses. The problem is that most people themselves do not properly recognize or admit to having an addiction or an illness, thus this ignorance and misunderstanding causes and feeds this unnecessary and unwarranted stigma. remember to deal with things head on and with dignity.

If your family has an elephant in it's living room there is plenty you can do about it other than taking the easy way out and ignoring it. Stop the continued damage it causes and take action, contact a counselor or mental health professional and "talk about and discuss" your families issues so that it won't destroy the health of those around the suffering loved one.
You can get free counseling and support by contacting your states social service agency and get the help, education and guidance you need to make the situation right. This blog along with the e-zines I am writing are all designed to help you help yourself or your loved one to end the suffering and trauma associated with addiction and mental illness. Click here for links to all 50 states social service agencies.

More links on dealing with denial
Dealing and understanding how denial stops progress