Read the article \"Women Suffer Too\" http://silkworth.net/bbstories/2nd/222_229

Question

Read the article "Women Suffer Too" http://silkworth.net/bbstories/2nd/222_229.html in its entirety, keeping in mind how the study of life histories or oral histories can reveal important features of societal norms and everyday life. Pay close attention to how the story describes both deviant behavior and the process of deviance avowal, and consider the following questions: 1. Identify the incidences of deviance described in the writer's story. Why do you consider these behaviors deviant? 2. In what ways was she in denial, or actively trying to disavow the deviant behavior? 3. How did deviance disavowal affect her self-concept? 4. In what ways did deviance avowal allow her to consider err past in a different light? 5. How has her deviant identity become a positive part of her life?

Explanation / Answer

In the given narration, the writer describes the intense fear and overwhelming anxiety related to what we call the ADLs or activities of daily living. Routine activities led to nervousness, anxiety and over-thinking/ negative anticpation regarding what could possibly happen. Looking at 6'o clock in her watch led to anxiety abnormal to the actual gravity of the situation. This simply meant that the event and the subsequent reaction had too much discrepency in terms of the exaggeratedness in its responses. She was in denial regarding her substance abuse since she states her disbelief towards her doctor who claimed that she couldn't afford to have another drink for the sake of her health. She is seen stating that he wouldn't know the plight of a person who drinks since he himself doesn't. Her self concept seemed shaken at times. She has an acceptance of her increasing despair and grief. She does realise how grave the situation is but at the same time pleases herself by explanations for the same and manages to drown her worries in drinks. Walking upto a room full of strangers in the AA group led her feel a sense of belongingness and an belief that she wasn't alone in the struggle which was highly reassuring in itself. Everything fell into place and she accepted all her traits for what they were including the flaws unlike before. She therefore starting poerceiving her past in a different light and saw how one could make that single decision to initiate change in a moment of that desire to alter their own narrative. This later became a positive part of her life since the constant questioning, deviant identity, perceiving what was distorted as 'normal' and not considering it grave made her engage in her own unique journey of trial and error. The experience of failure, repeated giving in to her senses made the moment of change more determined and significant than ever.

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