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iQuestions Faculty, Dr. David Eckman 
 
 
Question: 
 
Why is there so much dishonesty among the compulsive and addicted? 
 
Answer: 
 
Compulsion and addiction just generate dishonesty. But, it has to be 
thought through why the dishonesty is there.  
 
Let me tell you a personal story. I grew up in an alcoholic home, and 
in dealing with my Dad it hit me, with great force, that what was in his 
heart was addictive alcoholism, and the experiences of pain that were 
in his life were vastly closer to his heart than the relationships he had 
with the people in the home. That’s the reality of addiction. 
 
When a person gets into addiction, the chemical bath of compulsion—
what’s going on in the emotions and the thinking— is much closer to 
their heart than the relationships they have about them. That being 
the case, they’ll tend to become more and more dishonest, because 
they’ll want to justify the world they inhabit, they’ll want to look 
through life through that chemical bath they’re swimming in. 
 
If you’re dealing with a person who is struggling with heroin, with 
alcohol, with pornography, with an eating disorder, what you’ve got to 
remember is that the chemical bath that they’re swimming in is closer 
to them than you are. It’s something that they’re always aware of, 
something that is inundating them, something that is grabbing them. 
 
That being the case, you’ll notice the dishonesty. You’ll notice the false 
view of reality. But what’s really going on inside is that compulsive 
mindset where the desires, the high, the thinking is supporting the 
 
 
habit. And you’ve got to take that in account. Otherwise, you’ll be 
outraged every second of the day.  
 
 
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