Addiction: The Stigma, The Facts. The Hope
Everyone has heard of addiction, but what exactly does it mean? How do you know if someone you love is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse? What are the most effective ways to help someone who’s battling addiction? Addiction affects millions of people in America every year, and it’s important to understand what it really means, how it affects both the addict and the loved ones around them, and how you can help yourself or your loved one to get better.
Stigmatization - Why It's So Common
Stigmatization is one thing that is the UGLIEST about this world, YET we are ALL guilty of it in some way, shape, or form. We ALL make assumptions or judgments from first glance, but what happens when something innocent goes to far? The Oxford describes stigmatization as the action of describing or regarding someone or something as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval. I want to add that it's of a certain group or type of people that have something in common. Some would even go as far as to call it.. DISCRIMINATION. What separates the two though? Stigma is a discrimination against because of an obvious and distinguishing mental health issue, according to many websites- so many I refuse to give one all the credit! You can see one here .
Stigmatization creates more fear and does more harm than ever should be caused. People have lost their lives because of our failure to educate ourselves better instead of judging.
Common Misconceptions
We have been taught that addiction is a lack of will power or thee individual is characteristically flawed. Today, I want to clear up that myth and all the ones like it. It's true that people are scared of what they don't know or understand, and let me tell ya, even as a recovering addict- addiction is still hard to understand. Addiction makes people do and say things they normally wouldn't, sometimes to degrading degrees! It's hard to imagine something having that strong of a hold over you that it changes your entire moral build. Thus, stigmatization of addicts is born. Most individuals who are addicted harbor a strong regret inside them and they become depressed and because of this they will refuse to seek treatment. Being an addict doesn't mean you are a bad person by any means! Some of us make decisions that are very poorly decided upon and that alone is a stigmatization of it's own. Just because ONE person who is addicted made a poor judgment, doesn't mean every person addicted will do the same. One thing about being an addict that I can say NEVER changes is your heart. If someone has a genuinely good heart, no addiction in the world can change that. Society is too judgmental and let me say this, if we had to walk around this world ONLY able to see the real hearts of people around us.... Well, this post wouldn't be written, that's a fact.
Some Shocking Stats on Substance Abuse
According to Drug Abuse Statistics [3]drugabusestatistics.org, This is Americans 12 years old and older for these statistics back in 2020.
- 50% of people 12 and older have used illicit drugs at least once.
- 700K Drug overdose ending in death since 2000 nearing 1 MILLION!
- The Federal Budget for drug control was $35 BILLION in 2020
- 25.4% of users 12 and over have a drug disorder.
- 24.7% of those who have a drug disorder have an opioid disorder or prescription drug disorder
- 138.522 MILLION Americans 12 and over drink Alcohol
- 570,255MILLION use tobacco or Nicotine Products (vape)
What Is Addiction?
No matter where you get the definition for it, addiction is so much more than just what your dictionaries tell you in their nice little bow wrapped boxes. The books say addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disorder in which an individual continues to use substances or engage in activities no matter the harmful, destructive consequences. I can't argue with that very much, but there is always more to the story than what they like to tell ya know? You don't hear the stories of the agonizing physical pain a person is in without using that substance. The many many trips to the bathroom they take because their stomach is messed up so bad they can't even use the bathroom! The feeling of being stuffed in a small box unable to move or even breathe because the anxiety is so bad. I can VIVIDLY remember the very first time I knew I was "dope sick". I didn't have any idea why I wasn't getting better only getting worse day after day. I laid in my grandparents bed, praying to die because I was so miserable. That was when I knew I had a problem after I had managed to get back to my house and somehow ended up getting something and doing it, I WAS CURED INSTANTLY! That feeling knowing what I had really done to myself hit me. I was 19 years old and only been on my own (out of my grandparents' house) one year.
Nobody talks about when you feel so bad that you would literally do anything to feel better. Crying and begging your mom/grandma to just make it better; I can only imagine their feelings knowing they can't do anything. I was always the type of person who felt like a brand new person ass soon as I knew I was about to feel better. My grandpa use to tell me it was all in people's minds who were addicted. I hated to hear him say that because I thought I knew better because of the physical part... Of course back then, I would've ran my head through hell fire before I would've owned up to him that I was anything short of an angel, but he knew better. I'm still mending that relationship along with many more to this day, 11 years later.
Understanding Addiction
One thing is for certain, nobody asks for any of this to happen to them. I didn't, I thought I was just having some fun and I would be okay. Addiction creeps up on you, like a thief in the night. You think a time or two won't hurt and before you know it'[s 10 years later and you HAVE TO HAVE that drug you were playing with just to feel NORMAL! After so long of using your body gets a tolerance and you don't even get high anymore. Around that time is when you can safely say- You are in trouble! That one or two little pills or whatever turns into 10 or 12 a day just so you don't feel bad. The last two years of me using I can't tell you when I was ever high. I was just a normal person doing normal things only if I didn't have my drug of choice I wasn't moving, eating, cleaning, nothing.
Then of course ya know when you feel bad, you dang sure don't care how ya look either. I remember my brother looking at me one Christmas and the words that came out of his mouth just- they still break my heart because I can still see the look in his eyes when he said, "that's not my sister." I didn't look like his little sister anymore. I didn't dress up, I didn't do my hair or make up. I looked horrible. I was ashamed to tell anyone because I knew how they would feel toward me and I was right for the most part, but they never gave up on me. It takes a lot to try to understand anything from someone else's point of view especially something so destructive. It's not something we choose to grow up to be. Some people just don't know anything else because they were exposed to it all their lives. Society has got to do better towards addiction and stop pretending like people wait their whole lives to jump out in the streets and do what they do to get high. I promise you, that is NOT AT ALL how it came to pass. Not one person will tell you when they were 5 they wanted to be a prostitute or a heroin addict. These people don't need nor want your judgement- they need your help and support. To know they are not alone and someone cares is all an addict wants in the world.
Ending the Cycle of Addiction
There IS hope for people who are enslaved by addiction. It's a tough fight, especially if you're stuck in a never ending cycle. The get clean for a few months and then right back to using and failing into old habits is probably the most irritating and most sad part of all to me. It took me what seemed like forever to get clean and stay clean without going back to my old ways. It was like I would see the light and after i got so close someone turned the lights back off on me. I never could figure it out and I felt so defeated- I just wanted to give up. But the thing about it was, I wasn't changing anything else: my environment, my circle of friends, nothing. It took my husband and I moving 400 miles away from home almost flat broke for it to stick. You see, the people and places I was hanging with and out at were triggers for me. The only way to avoid relapse is to eliminate the things that trigger you to use to start with.
Emotions play a big role too. So, I had to find what triggered me and replace it with a better and healthier habit. Meditation helped me keep my mind clear and not stay so stressed out along with coloring. I will always say that my biggest downfall and worst trigger is my mental state- my depression is very severe and sometimes I end up having Britney Breakdowns and those can go on for days! Coloring saved my life! It kept me grounded and relieved so much stress and anxiety. I really recommend it to everyone who asks me how I managed to avoid relapse. Your diet along with exercise is another great way to break the cycle. Not everyone is going to have the same triggers so it's important to find out what makes you want to use and replace using with a better habit so you can defeat that trigger. I encourage everyone to replace their old friends with a better support system - you can still be friends with the old people BUT from a far at least till you can get a hold of those triggers because it's only going to take ONE slip up and that's it. Addiction is so easy to fall back into. And the people you use to hang with that are still using, they aren't gonna care that you are clean - that doesn't affect them so don't think they are going to have some great respect for you and your situation. Sadly this is one fight your friends aren't going to follow you on. That's why it's detrimental to your sobriety to replace them with a great support team, people who do care about you and your well being.
I know finding these triggers are hard and sometimes you won't even realize something is triggering you, so I have put together a little worksheet for you to help you figure out what your triggers are. I hope you enjoy the worksheet and find it helpful in your journey! I do hope this post helps someone who needs it especially those who don't know very much about addiction. Until next time my lovelies and never forget, YOU ARE WORTH YOUR RECOVERY! Never let anyone tell you any different!
trigger worksheet can be downloaded here!
