2The Daily Tar HeelFriday, April 3, 1992
More than
Editor's note: John and Anne are
composite characters based on typical
cases of chemical dependence and co
dependence. By Robin Lowe
Staff Writer
Early morning before class, John gets
ready for the day. He shaves, brushes
his teeth, reviews his notes, then makes
himself a drink.
A little orange juice with a shot of
vodka to get him through the morning.
It's no big deal, he thinks.
John has a drinking problem. He rep
resents one of many college-age Ameri
cans who depend on alcohol or some
other chemical to fill a void in their
lives.
DeeDee Laurilliard, a certified clini
cal social worker who works with Stu
dent Health Services in health educa
tion, said several signs mark the distinc
tion between a social drinker and a
problem drinker.
Social drinkers drink slowly, know
when to stop, never drive after drinking
and respect and obey laws concerning
alcohol, she said.
Having a social drink with friends
turns into a problem when the drinker
drinks mainly to get drunk, relies on
alcohol to solve problems and to give
self-confidence in social situations, un
dergoes personality changes while
drinking or causes harm to himself
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The search has begun.
We want your poetry, prose, pictures, graphics music.
Submission forms available at the Union desk or Room 216A
Submission deadline: TODAY
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relationships: Co-dependency
herself or others.
John falls into the problem-drinking
category because he needs that morning
drink to help him cope with the stress of
his classes, and he harms other people.
When classes are over, John goes
back to his apartment, has a few more
drinks and calls his girlfriend, Anne. He
tells her to come over.
Soon after Anne arrives, she realizes
that John has been drinking. She con
fronts him with the problem, telling him
to find help or find another girlfriend.
John begins to get angry and defen
sive. He insists he does not have a
problem.
Anne becomes upset and tries to
leave, but John blocks the door and
throws her down. He hits her and calls
her names.
When she finally regains the strength
to leave, Anne vows the relationship is
over, and she will never see him again.
But a few days later, the whole sce
nario repeats itself. It's a continuous
cycle.
While many understand the profile
characteristics of a heavy drinker, oth
ers may not be familiar with Anne's role
in the problem.
Anne enables John to continue his
drinking and abuse by not acting on her
promise to leave. She enables him to
treat her badly, even though she knows
it's not what she wants. Anne is co
dependent. PTWTTTTTT1
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St.
The term co-dependence has been
thrown around a lot in the media. Most
people associate the term withaperson's
continuing tolerance of hisher mate's
abusive behaviors. While the most com
mon form exists in relationships with
others, people can become co-dependent
on food, chemicals, shopping, per
fectionism and even stress.
Elizabeth Adams, a psychotherapist
at the Pathways Center for Counseling
and Psychotherapy, offered another
definition.
"Co-dependency is a pattern of pain
'Machinal' shows never-changing
societal pressure on the individual
By Martin Scott
Staff Writer
In this age of enlightenment, it is
surprising to see a play about a dysfunc
tional family based on life 70 years ago,
a time that seems to have no bearing on
contemporary life.
Yet Lab! Theatre Director Walt
Spangler feels that by bringing the 1 928
Sophie Treadwell play, "Machinal," to
life, he can illustrate the universality of
society's pressure on the individual.
As a piece of American Expression
ist Theater, "Mach inal" can be expected
to act as a catalyst for thought. With the
main characters only referred to by ge
neric titles, such as "Young Woman"
(Jen Davis), "Husband" (Clint Curtis),
and "Man" (Nolan North), the effect
encompasses all levels of society.
The play itself takes place through
the eyes of Young Woman. When the
play begins, she is living at home with
her mother, and out of this setting her
problems arise.
Her mother refuses to communicate
with her. Yet when Young Woman tells
her mother that she has met someone,
the only thing the mother can say is
"Does he know that you have a mother
to support?" She is pressured by her
mother into marrying him.
The character of Young Woman is
essentially tender and compassionate,
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929-9990
ful dependency on compulsive behav
iors and on approval from others in an
attempt to find safety, self-worth and
identity," she said.
Adams estimates that 87 percent of
the American population is co-dependent
on something. "It happens natu
rally in our society."
People who are co-dependent com
monly evaluate themselves on the basis
of external factors, Adams said.
In other words, people who are co
dependent devalue their own reality in
an attempt to find meaning and value in
while the surrounding world is harsh
and unforgiving. As a result, she must
compromise her own desires and con
form to the roles that society dictates.
Young Woman feels compelled to
play the roles of a wife and a mother
even though she really has no internal
desire to do so. To be expected, she
finds freedom from these constraints in
the arms of Man. It is only with him,
away from a husband who she does not
love, that she can truly be herself. Yet,
the affair cannot last, for she forces Man
away from her by trying desperately to
hold onto him. In this instance, she, too,
is a product of her society.
The conclusion of the play is quite
dramatic. There is a shocking outcome
as a result of Young Woman's attempt
to free herself from society'sconstraints.
Unfortunately, this attempt may be her
last.
With"Machinal,"WaltSpangleradds
another successful production to his
directorial career that includes last
spring's Lab! production of Ibsen's
"Ghosts." Spangler says he has been
heavily influenced by such directors as
Peter Greenaway and Antje Lenkeit.
Spangler has spent two of the last five
years in Germany as an apprentice to
Lenkeit.
Spangler says he hopes that "the
audience's perception of reality will be
somewhat jolted" and that "they would
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extends to all areas
their lives. This longing stems from a
lack of identity and spiritual barren
ness, Adams said.
This lack of identity usually has its
roots in the person's family, where there
has been extreme rigidity and bad com
munication, Adams said. Often, people
who become co-dependent later in life
come from achemically dependent fam
ily. Both Anne and John's problems
evolved from a need to fill a personal,
internal gap; both are self-destructive,
but John's problem is biochemical, and
Anne's is psychological.
"There is a difference between a
spouse who chooses to stay with a prob
lem drinker and those spouses who have
grown up in a chemically dependent
family, where they don't recognize their
own feelings or know how to express
them," Adams said.
"These kids grow up and find them
selves in (detrimental) relationships, and
they don't know how to feel. For ex
ample, when these people are faced
with the lying and denial associated
with alcoholics, they view this as nor
mal because it happened in their family
also. This (acceptance) can lead to co
dependence." Adams compared co-dependency to
a mirror turned outward and said co-.
dependents' interactions were based on
pleasing others instead of themselves.
"People stay in these toxic relation-
realize if in fact they are living by con
vention ... because others expect them
to live that way." Spangler is very en
thusiastic about this production's abil
ity to reach his audience.
Assisting Spangler are Emily Ball,
lighting director, who worked closely
with him on his previous production of
"Ghosts," and Byron Kaiser, dramaturg,
who is acting as a consultant to the
director.
According to a piece written by Kai
ser, he contends, "The forces of con
vention which imprison the Young
Woman continue to vex us all today,
indiscriminate of gender."
In addition, Davis, who has appeared
in the Department of Dramatic Arts fall
production of "Ghost on Fire" and the
Lab! production of "Endgame," lends
her talents to the lead role as the Young
Woman. Davis says, "By playing this
role, it has made me more introspective
into my own situation in society."
While "Machinal" presents feminist
issues, Kaiser says, it transmits a mes
sage of universal pertinence: We must
examine the norms and expectations of
society if we are not to lose our indi
viduality in them.
The Lab! Theatre will present
"Machinal" at 4 and 8 p.m. Sunday,
April 5, and Monday, April 6, and at 5
p.m. Tuesday, April 7. Admission is
free.
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ships because they don't know who
they are," she said. "When a person
finds themselves continuing to tolerate
behaviors that they don't ordinarily ap
prove of, or they wouldn't recommend
to their friends, then they need to ask
themselves if maybe they're co-dependent."
Females are more likely to exhibit
the signs of co-dependence than males
because they tend to put too much em
phasis on other people's opinions with
out checking out their own feelings
first, Adams said.
In many cases, she said, it might be
premature to label a college student as
co-dependent, because most of them
look to their friends for identit) and are
just discovering who they are and what
they like.
"However, it's easy to get stuck in a
co-dependent stance if the person limits
themselves and doesn't explore their
options," she said.
For example, Anne and John have
dated since their freshman year. She
spends all her free time with him and
has a bleak social life.
Now, in her senior year, Anne can't
fathom taking a job someplace John
wouldn't live. She always puts his hap
piness before hers, therefore limiting
her options.
Both chemical dependence and co
dependence can be cured with the help
of trained professionals, but if the un
derlying co-dependence is not treated,
the relationship will still suffer, Adams
said.
"Psychotherapy can help address the
issue of identity through nurturence,"
Adams said.
The key to successful therapy is
achieving abalance between body, mind
and spirit, Adams said, "... either by
nurturing the identity through medita
tion, a group activity or a personal rela-;
tionship with a higher power."
Adams suggested familiarizing your
self with the problem if you felt you
might be co-dependent on a destructive,
relationship. She recommended several
self-help books, including Anne Wil
son Shafe's "Escape from Intimacy;
When Society Becomes An Addict." .
Although there are no co-dependency
support groups on campus, a chapter of
Co-Dependents Anonymous meets in
the Triangle, and a number of profes
sionals in the area specialize in indi
vidual therapy, Adams said.
"At (the college) age you're moving
from dependence to independence,"
Adams said. "In order to ensure this
freedom, students need to learn to trust
their instincts and pay attention to inter
nal cues."
Campus Calendar
FRIDAY
1 p.m. Juggling Club will meet at the flagpole
between South Building and Wilson Library. Rain
cold location: Carmichael Ballroom.
3:30 p.m. Graduate Art Students Association
will hear Dr. Larry Silver of Northwestern University
speak on "Dieter Bruegel and the Culture of Early
Capitalism" in 1 1 7 Hanes Ait Center.
6:30 p.m. FOCUS will have a pollack dinner for
graduate students and a discussion of the "Four Spiri
tual Food Groups" at 4 1 3 Granville Road. Rides from
Craigeat6:10p.m.
Juggling Club will host a juggling festival in
Carmichael Ballroom until midnight today, from 10
a.m. to midnight Saturday and from 1 1 a.m. to mid
night Sunday.
SATURDAY
UNC Water Ski Club will host the UNC Ski Mites
Intercollegiate at Young's Pond in Angier, today and
Sunday. Information: 933-3312 or 929-8720.
SUNDAY
6 p.m. WXYC FM's talk show will feature Black
Student Movement President Michelle Thomas and
Campus Y Co-chairman Scott Wilkens. Call 962
8989 until 8 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Institute of Latin American Studies
presents "X1CA DA SILVA," the legend of a black
slave who rose to power during 18th Century Brazil,
in the Union Film Auditorium.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Delta Sigma Theta is offering a $500 women's
scholarship. For applications contact Sharyn. 933
5741 , or Cassandra. 933-5274.
Cellar Door Literary Magazine needs yourprose,
poetry, photo, music and graphic submissions by
April 3 for the spring '92 edition. Forms are available
at the Union Desk or 2 1 6A. Union Suite B.
Carolina Week by Week is looking forpicturesof
campus life. Send your black-and-white or excellent
quality color photos by April 1 8 to: Carolina Week by
Week, Dean of Students Office, CB 5 100, 01 Steele
Building, Carolina Campus.
Yackety Yack is taking yearbook portraits in 21 3
Union from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until April 16. Come to
213 Union to schedule an appointment.
Slugfest Double Elimination Softball Tournament
to benefit Ronald McDonald House will be April 3-5
on Carmichael Field. Call 929-8940 to register your
team.
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